50 Interestinga Facts About The Human Body

If you've ever wondered why only reindeer pull Santa's sleigh or how fast these animals run, these facts will help answer those questions.

 Reindeer are large deer that live in the Arctic, North America, parts of northern Europe and Asia. Both males and females of this species have horns. The size of the reindeer's weight depends on gender and age. Adult males reach a height of about 1 m and weigh an average of 170 kg. Females are similar in height but weigh only about 90 kg.

1. Run very fast.

 

Scientists claim that they can run at a speed of 80 km / h. When detecting predators, reindeer will launch with their heads high and parallel to the ground, and their tails will stand up. When chased, reindeer gallop very quickly.

 

2. The furthest moving mammal on land.

 

Reindeer can travel up to 5,000 km per year. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, reindeer are the furthest-moving of all land mammals. Meanwhile, the humpback whale is the furthest-moving mammal in the water. They often travel up to 8,000 kilometers under the ocean to return to their breeding grounds.

 

3. Very good cold tolerance.

 

Reindeer live in Alaska (USA), Canada, Scandinavia and Russia. Their food is tundra plants. Reindeer's body is covered with hair that is able to hold air. The layer of air in the feathers helps to isolate their body from the surrounding environment. In addition, reindeer's circulatory system also has the ability to help cold blood in the limbs absorb heat from the warm blood source in their body.

 

4. Move gently.

 

Santa never has to worry about the reindeer waking the kids when he delivers presents. Of course, this is not true of reindeer with bells around their necks. Female reindeer only communicate with their fellow humans for the first few months after giving birth (in the summer), while males only vocalize during the mating season (autumn). The scientists discovered that the males had a large air sac in their necks. Airbags allow them to emit raucous sounds to attract the attention of females during mating season. The call also helps the male reindeer deter competitors. For the children, the airbag allows them to communicate with the child. The cry of each female reindeer has its own intensity and frequency. Their children recognize their mothers by their cries.

 

5. Santa Claus uses only female reindeer.

 

The horns of male reindeer shed at the end of the breeding season (early December). In contrast, the horns on the female reindeer's head persist throughout the winter. That may be the reason why Santa Claus only chooses female reindeer to pull the cart. There is also another reason: Male reindeer have lost up to 95% of their body fat stores, so they have only 5% fat by the time of Christmas. Meanwhile, female reindeer still have up to 50% of their fat in the winter. The fat layer plays an important role in keeping the reindeer warm. Therefore, the cold tolerance of the female reindeer is higher than that of the male during Christmas. Tests show that female reindeer can withstand temperatures of -43 degrees Celsius.

 

6. Reindeer have red nose?.

 

Speaking of the leader of the reindeer herd that pulls Santa's sleigh, the secret to Rudolph's rosy cheeks is the dense network of blood vessels in his nose. Medical researchers in the Netherlands and the University of Rochester in New York say that reindeer appear to have 25 percent more capillaries carrying red and oxygen-rich blood than humans.

 

“In colder climates… increased blood flow in the nose helps keep the surface of the nose warm,” says John Cullen of the University of Rochester. The dense network of blood vessels in the reindeer's nose is also essential for regulating the animal's internal body temperature, as, like many mammals, reindeer don't sweat."

 

7. Where do reindeer live?

 

Reindeer are found in a large expanse surrounding the Arctic, in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Northern Europe and northern Asia in tundra, mountain and forest habitats. Their home range can be up to 500 square kilometers, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

 

Subspecies of reindeer, such as the forest reindeer (Rangifer tarandus caribou), can be found as far south as 46 degrees north latitude (North America). Both the Peary and Svalbard reindeer subspecies (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) can survive as far north as 80 degrees north latitude, passing through Greenland, Svalbard and other northern regions.

 

8. What do reindeer eat?

 

Reindeer are animals that eat only plants. Their diet may include herbs, ferns, mosses, grasses, buds, mushrooms, and leaves. On average, an adult reindeer eats about 4 to 8 kg of vegetation per day.

 

In winter, reindeer have to dig through the snow to find food. They dig using their antlers and nibble on energetic lichens known as reindeer moss.