Reindeer
Reindeer are fabulous animals and are one of
the oldest animals on the North American continent, dating back thousands of years. Males
are called (bulls), Females are (cows) and babies are (calves). Both male and female
reindeer have antlers and on the males they become quite large and impressive. Even the
calves produce antlers in their first year. Reindeer (as with most members of the deer
family) shed and grow new antlers every year. Babies are born in early spring ( usually
March or April here in Michigan) and generally only a single calf is born.
When hand
raised on a bottle, Reindeer become
quite tame and make great pets.
Easily kept in a 4 to
5 foot fence.
One note to this is that bull calves should never be made too friendly and
should never be trusted during the Rut (breeding season). In my opinion a male reindeer
raised for a pet, should be neutered and not kept for breeding. This comes from 1st hand
experience. Reindeer need a high fiber diet. Here at GarLyn Zoological Park we feed a
50/50 mix of a 16% goat sweet feed and a 21% deer pellet along with sugar beet pulp and
good leafy hay. A couple of interesting behaviors that reindeer have is that they seem to
drink with their feet. By that I mean that they always splash the water with their feet as
if to be breaking ice before drinking. Another is the clicking sound that is made by the
bones in their ankle when they walk. I was told this is possibly done so that if an animal
is separated from the herd during a blizzard or during the long nights of the arctic
winter, an individual animal could locate the rest
of the herd by this clicking sound.
It is also how you can tell when Santa's on
the roof top.
This is a new born Reindeer calf
If you would like to see more photos of
Reindeer at the zoo
CLICK HERE
Click on the link below to hear some animal sounds at the zoo
Animal Sounds
