What do reindeer eat in the tundra

The winner chooses 5 to 15 females to be in his harem. This is a stressful time for the males, and they lose up to 25 percent of their body weight. Females that become pregnant leave the herd in the spring and travel to a traditional calving ground. Here, they give birth within a day period of each other, usually in May and June. Mother reindeer usually give birth to a single calf, although there may be twins, and three and four have been recorded.

The calf is not spotted like in other deer species. Newborns are able to stand just one hour after birth, can follow their mother at five to seven hours old, and can outrun a human when one day old!

By two weeks, it has doubled its birth weight. The calf is weaned about six months later. Antlers first appear as little hairy buds when the reindeer is in its second year.

They soon grow into spikes called dag antlers. The young reindeer may grow these for several years, but more than likely, the third year will bring forth a forked set. The next year, another point emerges. In its prime, at about six years, the antlers are at their best. The worldwide reindeer population, including domesticated reindeer, is about 5 million , including about , caribou in Alaska.

Today, population density, predation, and disease seem to determine reindeer herd sizes. Historically, overhunting has caused some reindeer populations to decline. Despite strict anti-hunting measures, poaching is still a major threat in Russia. In Finland, logging and winter sporting activities may disturb reindeer habitat. And hybridization with domesticated reindeer is a potential problem for some populations.

The Arctic is changing, and as temperatures rise, white-tailed deer move into areas occupied by reindeer. These deer carry a worm parasite that is fatal to moose and reindeer populations. Warmer summers also mean more insect activity. Reindeer that are harassed by insects may not be able to forage enough to put on the weight they need to last through winter. People are changing the tundra, too. Expanding oil exploration, industrial development, and increased disturbance from aircraft and snowmobiles are just some examples.

So far, reindeer have been able to adapt to the presence of people and machines. But as people continue to develop the Arctic, the ongoing challenge will be to consider the needs of reindeer herds. By supporting San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, you are our ally in saving and protecting wildlife worldwide.

Weight: Females - to pounds 55 to kilograms ; males - to pounds 65 to kilograms , depending on time of year. Some reindeer travel 9 to 40 miles 15 to 65 kilometers daily in the same area; others migrate miles 1, kilometers twice a year in large herds. Adult reindeer can swim 4 to 6 miles per hour 6 to 10 kilometers per hour and can run up to 50 miles per hour 80 kilometers per hour.

Introduced Countries. Greenland, Alaska. Biome Tundra. Climate zones Cold. Habits and Lifestyle Reindeer travel distances that are greater than those traveled by any other terrestrial mammal. Group name. Terrestrial, Cursorial, Precocial, Grazing.

Seasonal behavior. Diet and Nutrition Reindeer are herbivores folivores, graminivores and mainly eat lichens in winter, especially reindeer lichen.

Diet Herbivore, Folivore, Graminivore. Population Trend. Vulnerable VU. Population Population threats Oil and mineral exploration may threaten the reindeer habitat. Population number According to the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology , the total population size of the Reindeer is around 5 million individuals. Ecological niche Reindeer have a dramatic effect on vegetation in their range. Domestication Reindeer were some of the last animals that humans domesticated, considered by some to still not be fully tame.

Fun Facts for Kids In most populations both the male and the female reindeer grow antlers and they are the only cervid species in which females grow them as well as males. Antlers begin to grow on male reindeer in March or April and on female reindeer in May or June.

This process is called antlerogenesis. Antlers grow very quickly every year on the males. As the antlers grow, they are covered in thick velvet, filled with blood vessels, and spongy in texture. The velvet that covers growing antlers is highly vascularised skin. When the antler growth is fully grown and hardened, the velvet is shed or rubbed off. Reindeer hooves adapt to the season: in the summer, when the tundra is soft and wet, the footpads become sponge-like and provide extra traction.

In the winter, the pads shrink and tighten, exposing the rim of the hoof, which cuts into the ice and crusted snow to keep reindeer from slipping. This also enables them to dig down an activity known as "cratering" through the snow to their favorite food, a lichen known as reindeer lichen.

The knees of many subspecies of reindeer are adapted to produce a clicking sound as they walk or run. The sounds originate in the tendons of the knees and may be audible from several hundred meters away. Reindeer can see light with wavelengths as short as nm i. It is thought that this ability helps them to survive in the Arctic, because many objects that blend into the landscape in light visible to humans, such as urine and fur, produce sharp contrasts in ultraviolet.

A specific layer of tissue in the eye of Arctic reindeer changes in color from gold in summer to blue in winter to improve their vision during times of continuous darkness, and perhaps enable them to better spot predators. Reindeer are ruminants having a four-chambered stomach. They are the only large mammal able to metabolize lichen owing to specialized bacteria and protozoa in their gut; this is a unique adaptation among mammals.

Around the world, public interest in reindeer peaks in the Christmas period. According to folklore, Santa Claus's sleigh is pulled by flying reindeer through the night sky to help deliver gifts to good children on Christmas Eve. During this time, reindeer maintain more sedentary habits to preserve their energy [source: University of Alaska Fairbanks ]. The lichen-only regimen is the reverse of the Atkins Diet. The plant contains high amounts of carbohydrates , but no protein.

Consequently, the carbs provide the reindeer a source of quick-burning energy that carries them through winter. However, lichen isn't a particularly hearty food, and for that reason, reindeer will eat 4 to 11 pounds 1. That's why reindeer pack on the pounds in the warmer months when there's more to choose from.

In fact, these animals gradually lose weight starting in the fall and continuing to March [source: University of Alaska Fairbanks ]. Recently, the changing climate has threatened the reindeer and caribou populations.

Hotter temperatures have led to more rain and snow melt in the tundra regions. That, in turn, results in sheets of ice forming on top of the snow, once the water refreezes. Reindeer and caribou cannot safely break through the ice with their hooves, leading some to starve to death [source: Mcfarling ]. With their seasonally influenced diet, the survival of reindeer depends on the balance of nature. If climate change tips that balance too far, reindeer and caribou could become zoological relics of the past.

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