… at least on the inside. And it’s gross.
Flies called reindeer nose bot flies may deposit their larvae in a reindeer’s nostrils. The larvae then grow in the throat or sinuses. A possible result is inflammation. But you couldn’t really say the nose glows.
The reindeer sneezes them out in spring.
… sniff, listen, stare, urinate, “wheeze-snort,” rear back and jump in the air like a stallion, then run away. Often in that order.
Scientists call the jumping an “excitation leap.” It’s a visual warning to other reindeer. It could mean there’s a predator coming, like a wolf, a bear or a fearsome, toothy, bounceable biped you could even describe as abominable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQvbJ-spKuU
… nor singing encouraging songs to each other. Reindeer cows grunt to their calves. Calves bleat and bawl to their mothers. Males snort, hoot, bellow and rattle hoarsely when trying to attract a mate. A special inflatable laryngeal air sac gives the calls of the males extra oomph. More to sing about.
Reindeer make a clicking sound when they walk, and not just when up on a housetop. Tendons snap over sesamoid bones in their feet, and that’s what makes the click. Experts think the sound helps the members of a herd stay in touch when they can’t see each other well, such as, say, when it’s foggy. Hear what it sounds like here (turn your sound up). (Photo: iStock.)
Reindeer are members of the Cervidae, or deer, family. The family, to name a few, includes elk, moose and, as pictured here, Ohio’s white-tailed deer. (Photo: iStock.)
… in general. But maybe, somewhat not.
Reindeer and caribou belong to the same species, which is Rangifer tarandus. In general, people use “caribou” in North America, “reindeer” in Europe and Asia.
“Caribou” also tends to refer to the larger, wild R. tarandus types, like the ones in Canada and Alaska, while “reindeer” often, but not always, means the slightly smaller, domesticated kinds, like many of the ones in Scandinavia.
Scientists say in all, there are 14 R. tarandus subspecies and at least four domesticated breeds.
But a 2013 study complicates matters. Continue reading 8 tiny facts about reindeer: No. 2, reindeer are the same things as caribou …
Once upon a time, about, hmmm, at least 10,000 years ago — until the end of the Pleistocene Ice Age — reindeer (aka caribou, Rangifer tarandus) lived in the area that became Ohio. Paleontologists have found reindeer fossils in the Buckeye State and Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee, among others. (Photo: Not Coach Comet’s hat by University Communications.)
CFAES’s Molly Bean shared this shot of the full house — 1,000-plus people in the Ohio Union in Columbus — at Monday’s night “Grizzly Bear 399” presentation. Thanks, Molly!
Ris Twigg reported on “An Evening with Grizzly Bear 399,” Monday night’s full-house presentation by Todd Wilkinson and Thomas Mangelson, hosted by the Environmental Professionals Network, in Ohio State’s student newspaper The Lantern.
If you’re a city official in Ohio, and you’re struggling with what do to about an overabundant, landscape-devouring deer population, there’s a conference for that. (Also coyotes and Canada geese.)