2023-12-25 18:15:50
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Welcome to the land of cold, taiga and northern lights. We are in Lapland. This region, located in the north of Europe, between Sweden, Finland and Russia, concentrates all the magic of the Great North, its infinite spaces and its stunning beauty. In December, snow covers the entire landscape. From the plains to the cliffs, including the coniferous forests of the taiga, everything is white. A muffled silence surrounds us. Time seems to stand still. Only the sounds of our footsteps in the thick snow and our white breaths are audible. Sometimes we even feel like we can hear our own heart beating in our chest.
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Meet the reindeer of Lapland
We explore a mythical land, populated by grizzly bears, bears, lynxes, wolves and polar foxes. Calm is therefore an illusion: all around us live extraordinary animals, adapted to extreme climatic conditions. Among them, there is one with a particularly magical aura. The reindeer populates Christmas stories and we are here at his home…
Posted very close to a clearing, our mission for the day is to succeed in observing it. We must act quickly, because soon, day will give way to night. Here, at this time of year, the days only last a handful of hours. Whereas in the middle of July, the sun never sets. Yes, life at the poles of our Planet is a little special, I grant you that! Look, between the trees, on our right, there they are. The reindeer of Lapland. There is one very close: its snout stuck to the ground, it is looking for food. Its majestic silhouette is topped with large antlers. So it’s a female! The males have already lost their antlers at this time of year while she will keep hers until spring. Here’s a surprise! Santa’s reindeer are actually… female!
A survival ace but a vulnerable species
What are these antlers that make the reindeer so recognizable? Well, they’re actually bones! Bones that grow from the skull of deer and which have the extraordinary ability to regenerate. In other species, only males have them, but among reindeer, both males and females wear these magnificent headdresses. The antlers are covered with skin and fur, which we call “velvet”. The skin plays an essential role, it connects the antlers to the blood circulation and thus provides them with all the nutrients they need to grow.
File: Discovering the Great North
A female reindeer is now searching the ground using her hooves. Because, another particularity, the reindeer’s hooves harden to face winter and its share of ice and thick snow. Practical, because here it can be as cold as minus 40 degrees… But don’t worry, like her friends, this female is warm, protected by her beautiful brown and white fur, made of two layers of hair. It’s unstoppable protection once morest the cold! What she’s looking for is the fungus that makes up the majority of reindeer’s diet, especially in winter: lichen. Lichen is an extraordinary organism present in the soil of Lapland and to which we should devote an entire episode! And the reindeer love it!
Another individual is approaching! This one has no antlers, so it’s a male. It is larger than the female and approaches 200 kilos. When he walks, we hear clicking sounds. In fact, this sound is produced by reindeer legs which make a “click” sound when they move! According to scientists, this might allow them to spot the herd in all circumstances, even during snowstorms or thick fog.
Observing this herd of reindeer in the heart of Lapland is a magical spectacle. For a long time, we humans have had a special relationship with reindeer. Here it is the Sami, the indigenous people of Lapland, who domesticated them and who live from their livestock by following the reindeer on their migratory routes. Unfortunately the Sami culture is in danger, because their traditions and their nomadic way of life are gradually being lost. Their favorite animal is also in danger. Seeing it peacefully eating lichen, completely adapted to the cold that makes us shiver, the reindeer seems indestructible. However, human activities which damage the forests and global warming which increases temperatures impact its environment, threaten its main source of food, the famous lichen, and expose it to parasites. Our dear deer is now a vulnerable species that it is important to protect.
The largest terrestrial migrant plays a major ecological role
Reindeer inhabit the north of our planet, from Canada to Siberia via Alaska, Lapland, and even Greenland. But what has allowed reindeer to live in these extreme climatic conditions for millennia? You will see that science has some magical anecdotes to tell us regarding this star of Christmas stories!
The reindeer belongs to the species Rangifer fencing. It is called “reindeer” in Europe, and “caribou” in America. A sociable and gregarious animal, the reindeer lives in herds which can reach 500,000 individuals! That’s a lot of people! Grouping together allows reindeer to protect themselves once morest predators and once morest insect attacks which can be ferocious in the Far North. Herd life is organized around large migrations. In spring, females migrate to food-rich areas where they can give birth to their young and meet their needs. Fall migration, on the other hand, can be triggered by heavy snowfall or a drop in temperatures. This is the signal that winter is approaching and it is therefore time for the reindeer to migrate to warmer areas richer in lichen!
File – Lichens: witnesses of atmospheric pollution
These great journeys are extraordinary, in fact, they are even the largest land migrations in the world! And they have major ecological importance! Because by searching the earth in search of food and walking with their large hooves, reindeer plow the ground and participate in the dispersal of seeds and plants in the tundra, boreal forests and lakes (reindeer are very good swimmers!). These migrations are therefore essential to allow the ecosystems of the Far North to continue to develop and all animals to benefit from them!
Self-heating nose, changing eye color and other magical powers
In addition to being an ecological actor, the reindeer has astonishing abilities that allow it to cope with the extreme conditions in which it lives. First curiosity that you may have noticed during our expedition, when the reindeer expires, it does not produce white smoke. You know, the one you see appear when you blow in winter. This “smoke” is in fact steam, created by the meeting between the droplets of water from your breath, which is hot, and the cold from outside! The reindeer’s nose warms the air when the animal inhales, and cools it when it exhales! It’s a marvel of biological engineering!
Another fascinating point is that we humans must protect our eyes if we expose ourselves to the snowy expanses of the far north. Because the Sun’s rays, reflected by the snow, might dazzle us and even damage our eyes! But then once more, the reindeer does not have this problem. In winter, its normally yellow eyes turn blue, to protect once morest light! This is a magical feature! And that’s not all… The reindeer’s eyes also allow it to see ultraviolet rays! Ultraviolet rays are the waves responsible for tanning (and burning!) our skin when exposed to the Sun.
These light waves are invisible to the human eye. But the reindeer sees them! Researchers have discovered that certain elements absorb ultraviolet light and therefore appear black to reindeer. Elements like fur, urine or even lichen (well, practical!). Reindeer are therefore able to see perfectly in all circumstances, elements essential to their survival: the urine of an animal which has marked its territory, the fur of an approaching predator or the lichen which allows it to survive the long winter in the far north!
You will have understood, the reindeer is a surprising animal with absolutely extraordinary adaptation capacities. And the work of scientists around the world allows us to understand what makes it magic.
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