Strange

Rudolph is a female reindeer?

by Amy Judd | December 19, 2008 at 03:28 pm

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Dancing Reindeer leading the way for Santa's Sleigh

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uploaded by Loreigh

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, and the rest of his sleigh pulling friends, is apparently a female, according to new research done at the Texas A & M University.

This may be part of the reason why Santa doesn't get lost on his annual trip around the world, and according to veterinarians, Santa's reindeer were most likely females because only females retain their antlers at this time of year - the males have shed their 'decorations' just before Christmas time.

However, the reindeer could be castrated males, also known as steers, but that doesn't seem like very good Santa behaviour...

Young steers finish shedding their antlers in February and March, just as non-expecting females do. Bulls generally lose theirs before Christmas, while expectant mothers retain their antlers until calves are birthed in the spring. This allows them to protect food resources through harsh weather and to have enough for developing fetuses, he said.

Sledders most often use steers because they maintain their body condition throughout the winter, he said. Bulls are tuckered out from rutting season when they mate with as many as a dozen females in the months leading up to December. That leaves them depleted and too lean to pull a sleigh or sled through heavy snows, Finstad said. Many females are pregnant after rutting season, which lasts from summer and into the fall. That would mean long hours of backbreaking work for an expecting Rudolph, as well as Donner, Blitzen, Cupid, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Comet and Vixen.

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Karenke4

at 15:55 on December 19th, 2008

It doesn't surprise me at all that Santa's reindeer were female!

Cute story.

feijoa22

at 17:20 on December 19th, 2008

Photograph taken December, 2004 in the seaside village of Waldronville, near Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Each year during the Christmas period, many people visit a few streets in the village to view the festive lights.

http://www.ourpage.co.nz/waldronville/

feijoa22 has contributed a photo to this story.

billfroelich

at 17:52 on December 19th, 2008

I cannot recall for sure what year or just where in Chicago this picture was taken but I think it was Navy Pier in 2006. That is my wife Pat in the sleigh sitting alongside a Santa made of Legos; the reindeer are also made out of Legos.

billfroelich has contributed a photo to this story.