Fun facts about Santa’s reindeer

Glenn Selk for Drovers

How do Santa’s reindeer get the job done?

Have you ever wondered how Santa’s reindeer can make that monumental journey on Christmas Eve?  Let’s look into some key facts about reindeer that may help us understand how they get Ole St. Nick on his appointed rounds over the world. 

First of all, historians report that reindeer have been domesticated by humans for over 5000 years.  Since Santa himself is no spring chicken, we can assume that they have worked together for quite awhile.  They should not have any trouble finding their way around.  There is no need to worry about them getting lost. 

We do know that reindeer are ruminants. They are like cattle in this regard. They have four compartments to their stomach.  Of course Santa gets them filled up with hay and moss before he leaves the North Pole, so they should have plenty of feed stored in the four compartments to make it all around the globe. Also, cattle nutritionists have known for years that hay digests more slowly than grain, therefore the big meal that the reindeer eat before the journey should last even longer.  Or just like your mom says “It’ll stick to their ribs!”

As for drinking water that should be no problem whatsoever.  In their homeland the water is all frozen so they are used to getting the moisture they need by eating snow.  So as the sleigh is parked on snowy rooftops in cold weather cities, the reindeer can take on the moisture they need if they get thirsty. 

How do they keep warm while flying around on Christmas Eve?  The reindeer coat is made of two layers; an outer layer of bristles and an inner layer of dense fur.  The fur that they have is very thick and can hold a lot of air.  The “blanket” of insulation combining fur and air helps keep them warm in even the coldest of climates.  Plus flying around Christmas night in many areas of the world that are warmer than they have at home should not be a problem. 

How do they fly?  Well that’s a tougher question, but let’s look at what we do know about them. Reindeer are amazingly fast runners on the ground.  University of Alaska researchers report that a newborn baby reindeer at one day of age can out run the fastest graduate student.  By the time that they are fully grown it is hard to tell what speeds that they could reach.  Next remember those huge antlers.  Antlers of adult male reindeer can be as much as 4 feet long!  Just think about it.  Each reindeer has 2 sets; that’s 8 feet of antlers and with eight reindeer, or nine, if we count Rudolph on foggy nights, that is 64 to 72 feet of total antler span. 

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