Herbivores that eat rodents and fish: amazing reindeer facts

It would seem that reindeer are well-known animals that live in the tundra and are not very remarkable. But in fact, these artiodactyls are an exception to many rules, and they can be called outstanding deer in every sense.

The most northern of all deer

So far north did not climb any cloven-hoofed Olenev family. Only reindeer successfully mastered the tundra and forest tundra with its meager food, cold climate and polar night. Of course, they have a number of important features that allow them to survive in the north: a long, thick and dense fur that covers absolutely all parts of the body and even the nose (which other deer do not have), a special structure of hooves that allows you to walk on loose snow and marshy swamps, as well as tearing snow in search of moss. Wild reindeer live in the north of Eurasia and North America, as well as on some islands of the Arctic Ocean. Small populations survived in other regions. Among the wild deer, taiga (more southern) and tundra (more reindeer) are distinguished. At the same time, taiga deer are larger than their northern counterparts, as they live in more favorable natural conditions.

There are both domestic and wild, but they can hardly be distinguished

With the exception of deer, which are kept in a semi-wild state, and individual farms for the taming of moose, reindeer can be called the most domestic of all deer. Huge herds of domestic reindeer are bred by the inhabitants of the tundra, mainly the indigenous peoples of Europe and Asia. The total number of domestic reindeer in Norway, Finland and Sweden is about 570 thousand, while wild deer in northern Europe are not more than 10 thousand. But on the Spitsbergen islands, which belong to Norway, there is a population of reindeer of about 10 thousand individuals, and on the Danish island of Greenland in the wild there are about 70 thousand deer. In Russia, the number of domestic deer is more than 1.5 million heads, while there are about 950 thousand wild counterparts. In North America, the number of wild reindeer, which is called caribou here, is about 2 million, while domesticated deer are no more than 30 thousand, some of which are kept for scientific and educational purposes. It is interesting that during the domestication, the appearance of reindeer has not changed much, and only reindeer herders or biologists can distinguish them. Although the strength, speed and stamina of domestic animals are inferior to wild deer.

Without them, the existence of a whole group of peoples is impossible.

Regarding the time of domestication of reindeer, scientists still have not come to a consensus, but it is known that reindeer and indigenous peoples have lived with them side by side for more than a thousand years. Moreover, some of the peoples engaged in reindeer breeding are so closely connected with them that without these ungulates their very existence and survival is simply impossible, and no other animal in the world can replace them. The indigenous way of life of the Sami, Komi, Nenets, Chukchi, Nganasan, Yukagirs, Soyots, and many other peoples is completely dependent on the breeding of these amazingly hardy and unpretentious animals.

They eat not only plants, but also animal food

Contrary to popular belief, reindeer are not exclusively herbivores. Of course, their main feed is herbs and moss, several types of lichens common in the tundra. Reindeer eat mainly yagel in winter, when there is simply nothing else, and in summer their diet is replenished with herbs, mushrooms and shrubs. But the most amazing thing is that reindeer gladly eat food of animal origin. They pick up fish thrown on the coast, can eat the eggs of birds or even the chicks themselves, and also eat voles and lemmings - small rodents that are found in abundance in the tundra. According to researchers, this is due to the fact that the meager tundra vegetation is not able to satisfy the needs of these large animals in the basic nutrient elements and they have to break the vegetarian diet.

Even females have horns

All males are representatives of the deer family, elk, red deer and others, have branched horns on their heads, which they annually dump and grow again. But the deer females are deprived of this decoration, with the exception of the reindeer females, who also have branched horns, but do not drop them at the beginning of spring, like males, but in the summer. There are separate populations of reindeer in which part of the females do not have horns, but this is only an exception to the rule. With their horns, females dig up snow in search of food, and can also use them to protect themselves and their deer.

I form huge herds

Another feature of wild reindeer as a biological species is its lifestyle. No other deer form such huge herds as reindeer. Gathering in large groups, deer migrate long distances in search of new pastures, and also make seasonal migrations, roaming from north to south in autumn and back to the tundra in spring.

They lived in Spain and in the Crimea, but they can’t tolerate the heat

Not so long ago, by historical standards, during the Pleistocene, the reindeer range covered a much larger territory. Its remains are found in the Alps, Pyrenees and even in the Crimea, and ancient hunters who lived in Europe, most likely, hunted reindeer. But with the end of the ice age, the reindeer retreat north, following the moving tundra and forest-tundra. This species is not able to exist in more southerly conditions, since reindeer are adapted exclusively to the conditions of polar regions. They do not have sweat glands, so they are extremely difficult to carry high temperatures, and they are saved from overheating by sticking their tongue out like dogs.

Reindeers live in the Sayan mountains of Mongolia

Despite the fact that reindeer are associated with the regions of the Far North, small populations have survived in the south of their former range. Wild reindeer live on the territory of the Kuznetsk Alatau nature reserve, where they are concentrated high in the mountains, in the tundra belt. A small number of wild reindeer lives on the territory of Mongolia, where their domesticated brethren also live.

Aleuts and Eskimos do not breed deer

Despite the presence of a large number of wild reindeer in North America, the local indigenous population, Aleuts and Eskimos, did not domesticate them, as did the inhabitants of northern Eurasia. Moreover, even after domestic subspecies of deer were brought there, reindeer husbandry was not widespread there, and all the relations of the Native American peoples of the north with deer are reduced to hunting for them.

Best Deer Swimmers

Among other members of the deer family, reindeer stand out for their swimming ability. They not only overcome small rivers or lakes encountered along the path of their migration without problems, but also bays, straits and large Siberian rivers. Even deep Yenisei or Ob with their strong currents are not an obstacle for them.