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Today's word Reindeer was imported from Old Norse hreindýri from hreinn (horn) + dýri (animal).
The Swedes today call it a rendjur or just ren, while the Danes say rensdyr and the Germans, Rentier.
There are rumors that Latin classification comes from ferus (wild, untamed) and Tarandrus (an animal of northern countries).
Reindeer's body length varies between 120 and 220 cm, shoulder height is between 87 and 140 cm while tail measures between 7 and 21 cm. Reindeer can weight 60 and 318 kg.
Coloration is quite variable, ranging from pure white through tan to dark brownish gray. Unlike many deer species, reindeer calves are born without spots.
The hoofs are very large and concave and form a nearly circular print - which support them in snow and soft tundra to keep the animal from sinking in the snow, conditions that they often face.
The broad hooves are also useful when swimming. Reindeers are excellent swimmers, and will readily cross large rivers or lakes. When swimming, adults can maintain a speed of 6.5 km/h, and when pressed can swim at 10 km/h. The reindeer's maximum running speed is 60-80 km/h.
When walking, a tendon in the foot slips over a bone producing a clicking sound. Amplified due to numbers, a migrating herd of reindeers sounds like a bunch of castanets gone crazy!
Reindeers communicate among themselves through vocal, visual, chemical, and tactile cues. They have a keen sense of smell, which allows them to find food buried deep under snow.
Reindeer is the only deer species (or species of anything for that matter) in which both sexes have antlers. Females generally have longer life spans than males, some over 15 years. Bulls typically live less than 10 years in the wild. Average life expectancy is 4.5 years.
The reindeer is thought to have first been tended by humans 3,000 years ago, and still remains the only deer to have gained widespread domesticated status. Used as beasts of burden and farmed for milk, meat and their hides, reindeer are the pivotal species in the culture of the Lapps. Currently, there are over 3 million domesticated reindeer spread over northern Eurasia and Alaska.
The largest herds now occur in Alaska, Canada, and Russia. Humans have heavily hunted this species. They have been extinct in most parts of Europe since at least the 1600s. Once found as far south as Germany, Great Britain, Poland, and Maine, over-hunting and habitat destruction have diminished the historic range of reindeer.
This text is comprised from facts and texts that can be found at following sites:An Ultimate Ungulate Fact Sheet, Animal Diversity Web and Alphadictionary.com.
