Reindeer really do live in Lapland and they have been trained to pull sleighs for people, but they don’t have red noses and they can’t fly!

Reindeer belong to the deer family. They live in the Arctic regions of Northern Europe, Asia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland. North American reindeer are known as caribou and although reindeer and caribou are slightly different, they are scientifically classed as the same animal. They are the only species of deer to have been domesticated by humans.

Male reindeer are called bulls, female reindeer are called cows and young reindeer are called calves. Both female and male reindeer have antlers. They are the only species of deer in which the female has antlers. New antlers feel like soft velvet and as they grow, they get harder. Cows use their antlers to dig holes in the snow to find food, to protect their calves and to fight off hungry animals, like bears and wolves. Bulls use their antlers to impress the cows and to scare off rival bulls.

Their coats have two layers of hair. The first layer is woolly and traps air against the body for warmth. The second layer is long and hollow and protects the reindeer from the cold. Reindeer have white tails and necks. In the summer they have a short, dark coat and in the winter they have a thick, lighter-coloured coat.

Reindeer have large, broad hooves, which allow them to walk on snow and stop them from slipping over on the ice. They eat grasses, plants and mushrooms in the summer. In the winter, they feed on lichen which is known as reindeer moss.

Every year, reindeer in the Arctic region migrate up to 1,600 km (1,000 miles) south to their feeding grounds. When spring comes, they return to the north where there will be plenty of food to eat. They are known to travel in herds of as many as 100,000 animals!

Rudolph is the most famous reindeer of all. He is the leader of the other eight reindeer, who pull Santa’s sleigh, called Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen. The names of the eight reindeer were published by Clement Clarke Moore, in his 1822 poem ‘A Visit From St. Nicholas.’ Rudolph was first written about in 1939, by Robert May. Of course, the elves knew their names long before Moore and May did! It is the elves who sprinkle magic dust on the reindeer on Christmas Eve to make the reindeer fly.