SCOTT SHALAWAY "Daddy, can reindeer really fly?"

I've heard that question twice --14 years ago when Nora was four and six years later when Emma was the same age. Both times I struggled for an answer. As the naturalist/father of curious little girls who could barely contain their excitement for all that is Christmas, I should have been better prepared. Instead, I stalled.
"Well," I began, "let me tell you what I know about reindeer.
I pulled out some books and a globe. The first point I made was to emphasize that reindeer are real. In North America we call them caribou. Europeans call them reindeer. All populations, however, belong to a single species, Rangifer tarandus. They are large members of the deer family -- much bigger than the white-tailed deer we see in our backyard. Male reindeer weigh 275 to 600 pounds; females 200 to 300 pounds. So I assured the girls we needn't worry about an over zealous hunter taking any of Santa's team. (But after reading a recent story about the Kentucky yahoo shooting an 800-pound elk and bragging about his big "buck," one never knows).
Where the caribou are: Caribou distribution in North America is limited almost exclusively to Canada and Alaska. European reindeer roam northern Scandinavia and Russia. Much of the European herd, though, is domesticated. They are an important source of meat and hide to natives.
Unlike other members of the deer family, both sexes of caribou grow antlers. Racks tend to be much larger than those of white-tailed deer. Bucks shed their antlers shortly after breeding. Does retain theirs until spring calving. This gives pregnant females weapons to protect themselves from wolves and grizzly bears. Females also use their antlers as shovels to scrape away snow to find winter food. Both sexes often eat their own shed antlers because tundra soils contain so little calcium. This enables them to grow new racks each year.
Caribou live in the arctic tundra and the surrounding coniferous forest. Woodland caribou wander throughout the year in search of food, but they cover relatively small distances. Barren-ground caribou, on the other hand, are noted for long-distance migrations across the frozen tundra. Some herds travel as far as 3,000 miles each year.
Big herds: Caribou move in tremendous herds. One account from 1792 described a herd as, "180 miles in length, by 100 yards in breadth." Allowing each individual in the group a space of eight by 10 feet, that herd was estimated to consist of more than 3.5 million caribou. Today herds numbering tens of thousands are more typical. As they deplete the limited food supply of lichens, grasses, sedges, and willow and birch browse, they move almost constantly in search of food. A thousand miles may separate winter pastures from spring calving grounds.
For protection against the cold, caribou wear a coat of thick fur. Their fine, dense underfur is covered by a layer of coarse, hollow guard hairs. These outer hollow hairs insulate the body and improve the caribou's buoyancy. Consequently, caribou are excellent swimmers; they must be to negotiate the many rivers that cross their migratory routes.
Unstable status: The status of caribou populations has been unstable for years. In the late 1800s, after modern rifles were introduced, market hunters decimated the Alaskan herd. In 1891 and 1892, the United States government imported domesticated reindeer from Finland to restore the North American population. The purpose was to help native Alaskans, whose culture and economy were bound to caribou herds. The plan backfired. The reindeer population exploded and overgrazed the winter range. Today about two million caribou roam North America.
Both times I arrived at this point in my tale of reindeer natural history, my daughters' eyes were glazed and heavy. They'd obviously heard more than they bargained for.
"But Daddy," each persisted, "can they fly?
Finally, I confessed that I didn't know. I've certainly never seen a reindeer fly. Heck, I've never even seen a wild reindeer. And yet I know they exist. .
"So," I concluded, "just because I've never seen reindeer fly doesn't mean they can't."
The smiles that crossed those sweet innocent faces told me all I needed to know.
sshalaway @aol.com