Time for Reindeer to Shine
Posted at 12:59 pm December 19, 2008 by Brent Clohesy
G’day everyone!
Now, most of our visitors to San Diego Zoo will be familiar with our polar bears. They are incredible, powerful, and very beautiful animals that are always popular with our guests. (Read blogs about the polar bear trio.) But what you may not have noticed is behind the polar bears, in the San Diego Zoo’s Polar Bear Plunge habitat, in a very cleverly designed exhibit that blends into the background are two Siberian reindeer.
For 11 months of the year, the reindeer are happy to keep a low profile and let the polar bears steal all the attention. But in December, the reindeer are the stars of the show! I haven’t seen any Christmas decorations, or TV specials where polar bears are helping Santa Claus deliver Christmas presents to the kids….
We have two female Siberian reindeer at San Diego Zoo; they have the affectionate names of “Ear-Notch 16″ and “Ear-Notch 7″ (Most hoofed animals at the Zoo have small notches in their ears to make identification easier.)
Reindeer are amazing animals. They are found throughout the world’s Arctic regions, including, yes, the North Pole. They are the only species of deer in which males AND females have antlers, and like other deer, these antlers are shed each year.
They are perfectly designed for living in freezing temperatures with thick coats, hooves that shrink and tighten depending on the conditions, and a nasal passage that heats the incoming air before it hits their lungs. Amazing!
Reindeer have been incredibly important to the indigenous people of the Arctic regions. They were one of the first animals to be domesticated, and while polar bears are terrorizing communities and reminding us all about global warming, reindeer are providing food, clothing, and transportation to people. And let’s not forget about gift delivery: very handy!
So next time you are at the Zoo admiring the polar bears, be patient, stick around, and have a look at our reindeer. And I’d be happy to hear anyone’s suggestions for some better names that EN-16 and EN-7, but sorry, there’s no way we are calling one Rudolph.
Merry Christmas!
Brent Clohesy is a keeper at the Melbourne Zoo in Australia doing a keeper exchange at the San Diego Zoo. Read his previous blog, An Aussie in San Diego.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Scroll to the end to leave a comment. Pinging is not allowed.
December 19th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Oh, I love reindeer. Is it true that the females are the ones that still have their antlers in the winter? I do think you should name these beautiful girls Holly and Ivy. Remember the lyrics mention deer:
“The holly and the ivy,
When they are both full grown
Of all the trees that are in the wood
The holly bears the crown
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir
December 19th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Of course you’re not naming one Rudolph, that’s a boy’s name, and SDZ has girl reindeer. I always figured Dancer and Vixen are girls, so those would be good names. But I also like Linda’s (#1) suggestion too.
December 20th, 2008 at 11:45 am
I agree, Holly and Ivy are perfect names. I was disappointed not to see the reindeer when I was there in July. Just as we got to the exhibit we saw the head of one disappear. We hung around for ages, but they refused to come back!
December 26th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
I like the Reindeer facts. Thanks Brent!
December 27th, 2008 at 4:43 am
Has any decision on the reindeers’ names been made yet?
July 17th, 2009 at 9:13 am
What subspecies of Rangifer tarandus are they?
If they haven’t yet been renamed, I’d suggest Peoria and Natasha.
Moderator’s note: They are Rangifer tarandus sibiricus.