REINDEER SEASON

Reindeer, Talkeetna, Alaska

Everyone knows that Santa’s sleigh is pulled by eight tiny reindeer that fly through the sky.  But in the real world, reindeer are large animals that live on the ground.  With sturdy bodies, thick coats, and broad feet that keep them from slipping on snow and ice, they are perfectly adapted to the harsh climate of the far north that is their native home. We had a chance to see a small herd of domestic reindeer on our trip to Alaska in 2002. It was summer and the reindeer were contentedly munching grass and leaves inside an enclosure.  (In the wild, reindeer feed on mosses and lichens that grow on the tundra.) So, even though the weather was mild, we could imagine what it might be like in winter.

Traditionally, the Sami of Lapland and other native peoples of the far north hunted wild reindeer and tamed them. They used them to pull sleds, as pack animals, and for meat and milk. They made clothes, shoes, blankets and tents from reindeer hides. They shaped reindeer bones and antlers into tools. They followed the herds of reindeer as they went between their summer and winter homes. Today, most Sami stay in one place year round. They no longer follow the reindeer herds but some keep reindeer on farms and raise them for their meat and hides.

If you live in Los Angeles you can see reindeer close-up at the Los Angeles Zoo during the holiday season at the annual Reindeer Romp.  This year the reindeer will be visiting from November 28 to January 4.