These inhabitants of the tundra and northern forests differ from the rest of their brethren by the presence of horns, which are present not only in males, but also in females.
The peculiar habitat of these artiodactyl animals left, sorry for the pun, its mark on their hooves: they are very wide. Thanks to such hooves, the reindeer does not fall into the snow, which is more than enough in the North! The size of its footprint has an area of approximately 10 by 9.5 centimeters. In addition, wide hooves are a great help in moving through marshy soils.
Reindeer is a fairly large mammal, reaching two meters in length and one at the withers. Its winter coat is unusually dense, long and wavy; it is so dense that no wind can blow through the deer. Its "fur coat" is usually dark brown in domestic individuals and gray in wild ones. Interestingly, almost all types of deer are born spotted, and when they grow up, they change their color. By the way, a large amount of air contained in the wool gives the deer excellent buoyancy, which gives it another unique ability - to easily cross rivers!
There is a reindeer in Siberia, Scandinavia and Greenland. This animal prefers predominantly mountainous areas, rich in moss and alpine grasses, which make up its diet.
Reindeer are still nomads! For example, in Siberia, every spring they travel along the “forest-tundra” route, and in the summer, due to the abundance of annoying mosquitoes, they return back to the taiga forests. Deer roam in huge herds. On the way, they face many dangers in the form of hungry wolves and other predators, whose victims are old or sick animals. A he althy and strong deer is usually too tough for a gray predator, but only until the first ice cover on the snow: most deer often cut their legs on the ice, which is what the “forest orderlies” use when attacking lame, exhausted animals.
Reindeer and red deer: who is more beautiful?
Unfortunately, the reindeer is not the first "guy in the village". Short legs, a small tail, fangs on the upper jaw of males - all this makes him far from the ideal of beauty, which cannot be said about the red deer. This is a fairly large artiodactyl mammal with a very graceful and slender physique and beautiful branched horns.
However, in defense of its northern counterpart, we note that the latter is one of the most beautiful animals of the North.
An irreplaceable friend
Northern peoples are entirely dependent on deer. Their whole life passes side by side with this animal. The inhabitants of the North always take care of places rich in foodfor these deer, and also roam after the animals in pastures. In addition, the reindeer is the prerogative of the rich. “You are a poor man if you do not possess this animal!” - says the rule of the northern peoples.
Life in captivity
In captivity, the reindeer becomes more tame, but still do not forget that this is a wild animal. Even such an ordinary procedure as milking becomes possible only after a long and tiring lassoing of a female. The wild reindeer strives to show its proud "I": it is worth a little less vigilance, as a domesticated animal turns into a wild handsome man!
