Santa Beside His Reindeer

About this drawing

Most American children have left a carrot out for the animal in this picture of Santa and reindeer with gifts, but a real one would rather have something else. In the Arctic summer, reindeer munch grasses, willow and birch leaves, and mushrooms, building up fat for the hard months ahead.

Winter leaves little to eat, so they turn to lichen, a tough organism that grows on rocks and soil. One type is even called reindeer moss. A sharp sense of smell helps them find it under the snow, and they dig down with their hooves, which harden into something like shovels at that time of year.

Food shapes their whole lives. Some caribou herds in Alaska and Canada make some of the longest land migrations on Earth, moving hundreds of miles between summer and winter ranges. Wolves and bears follow them, and the herd has to reach safe calving grounds in spring. Calves stand within minutes of birth and can keep up with their mothers surprisingly soon. Few animals could handle that kind of endurance test, which may be why storytellers trusted the species with the longest trip of the year. So by all means leave that carrot, even if a handful of lichen would be closer to the mark.

• santa
• reindeer
• gifts
• snowy field