The reindeer is the most widespread animal of the Cervidae family. It inhabits the Russian tundra, taiga, the islands in the Arctic Ocean, Europe and North America, where it is called “caribou”. It is a large mammal with a massive body, which looks graceful while running fast. It is particularly beautiful and majestic due to its large branching antlers. Both males and females have them, which is the main difference between this species and all other deer.

Reindeer wool is highly suited to the climate. It is light gray, almost white. The hair is hollow inside — it holds air, which helps reindeer to swim well and keeps them warm. In winter, soft, delicate underfur grows, which keeps the animal warm in severe frosts and protects it from the wind.

The wide, dense hooves help the reindeer to maintain balance on snow crust, as well as on a swamp and rocky mountainous terrain. Reindeer use their hooves to dig through the snow and find their food — reindeer lichen. It is very nutritious and contains a natural antibiotic, so the animal is both fed and cured with it if needed. Reindeer lichen grows very slowly — only half a centimeter a year, so reindeer are constantly migrating in search of food. In summer, reindeer compensate for the food imbalance by eating grass, berries, mushrooms, shrubs and tree leaves.

Reindeer are gregarious animals, living in groups of dozens to thousands of specimens. The gregarious way of life helps the animals to escape predators and protect their offsprings. In late autumn, herds living in the tundra can travel up to one thousand kilometers south to the taiga and come back in spring. In December, after the rut, the male species shed their antlers. Female species wear them throughout the winter while they are pregnant.

Many northern peoples depended completely on reindeer for tens of thousands of years. Domesticated reindeer and wild caribou are the main rivals for each other. People get their food from domestic reindeer: milk, meat, fat, guts and blood. Reindeer skins are used for sewing clothes and shoes, as well as for building dwellings — chums and yarangas. The exhibition of the museum “Natural Heritage of the Krasnoyarsk Territory” displays a stuffed adult male reindeer.