Did You Know?

You are more likely to see them in a storybook than in real life, but reindeer are real. Here are some cool facts about these cold-climate beasts:

• Reindeer have antlers, even if they're female. In other deer species, only males have antlers.
• Reindeer hair is hollow like a tube.
• Reindeer leg temperatures can drop down to 33ºF, but the body stays at 101ºF.
• Reindeer are native to Lapland, a region mostly above the Arctic Circle that includes parts of Norway, Finland, Sweden and Russia. Reindeer were brought to Alaska in the 1890s.
• Reindeer were the center of the Laplanders' culture. The people followed the reindeer on long migrations every year and used them for meat, clothing and transportation, and even drank their milk.
• Reindeer have leg tendons that make a popping, clicking noise as they walk. Maybe that's why the Christmas song goes, "Up on the housetop, click, click, click."