What are the names of Santa's reindeer?
Santa’s sleigh is pulled by nine reindeer, whose names are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Donder, Cupid, Blitzen, and... Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer, capable of seeing through the thick fog. Rudolph is no doubt the most famous of Santa's reindeer, and you may like to read his story


Are Santa's reindeer boys or girls?
Santa has both boy reindeer and girl reindeer: five boys and four girls. They are all very talented reindeer and have specific places on Santa’s sleigh, the boys being on the right and the girls on the left. Except for Rudolph, who leads the team.
- Dasher, a boy – first on the right. One of Santa’s oldest reindeer, Dasher is known for both blazing speed and stamina.
- Dancer is a girl – first on the left. She is very nimble and often when Santa get stuck in snow or mud it is Dancer who can help lead the team out of the mess.
- Prancer is a boy – on the right, just behind Dasher. He is Dancer’s brother, in fact. Prancer, as his name might suggest, is very strong.
- Vixen is a girl – on the left, just behind Dancer. She is pretty and as strong as her partner Prancer.
- Comet is a boy – on the right, just behind Prancer. He brings happiness to children.
- Cupid is a girl – on the left, just behind Vixen. She is a real sweetheart. She brings joy and love to children.
- Donner is a boy – on the right, just behind Comet. He’s Rudolph’s father, as you know, and like the thunder he makes everything tremble.
- Blitzen is a girl – on the left, just behind Cupid. She runs as fast as lightning. Blitzen is the coach reindeer.
- Rudolph is a boy, of course, and the youngest of Santa’s reindeer. Famous for his nose, Rudolph leads the way.

How do reindeer look like?
Reindeer (also called caribou) are large animals and have very wide hooves, a broad muzzle, and thick brown fur. Reindeer live in herds and have a life span of about 10 years in the wild. Both males and females grow antlers. In fact, unlike most other types of deer, both males (bulls) and females (cows) have antlers, which are shed each year but regrow. Male reindeer drop their antlers around late November. Female reindeer keep their antlers until after they give birth, usually in spring.

Does the presence of antlers indicate Santa's reindeer are indeed all female?
Well, it’s not typical but it’s also not impossible that a male reindeer retains his antlers as late as Christmas Eve. Besides, it’s no secret that Santa’s reindeer are an uncommon subspecies (saintnicolas magicalus) that exhibit characteristics atypical of other subspecies of reindeer… We cannot forget that Santa’s reindeer have the unique and remarkable ability to… fly.

What do reindeer eat?
The reindeer is an herbivore, which means it is a plant-eater. During the winter, reindeer eat lichens and moss; in warmer months, they also eat leaves and herbs.

Where do we find reindeer?
Reindeer are found in the Arctic tundra, forests, and mountains in Russia, Northern China, Canada, Alaska, and Scandinavia. Reindeer were domesticated roughly 2,000 years ago in northern Eurasia, and are herded today by many European and Asian Arctic people.

They used to live a lot farther south
Reindeer now live exclusively in the northern points of the globe, but when the earth was cooler, their territory was larger. In fact, reindeer used to live all the way down in Nevada, Tennessee and the Iberian Peninsula during the Pleistocene area. Its habitat has shrunk considerably in the last few centuries.

Life in the tundra is hard. How do they survive?
Thanks to their amazing evolution, reindeer have it easy surviving in the tundra. Their noses are specially adapted to warm the air they breathe before it enters their lungs and to condense water in the air, which they then use to keep their mucous membranes moist. Their thick fur traps air, which insulates the reindeer from the cold and helps them float in water when they often travel across massive rivers and lakes while migrating.

Now that you learned so much about reindeer, I suggest you make fun activities about this amazing deer species that plays such an important role during the Christmas season.