Dec 24 2008
Reindeer
We’re a bit too far south to be seeing much of these guys, but considering the date we’ll say the Reindeer, aka Caribou, Rangifer caribou, could possibly be seen in NY tonight.
One of the neat things about this deer is that both the males and females have antlers, something that should be considered for the next version of Rudolf. Their antlers remind me of what the grinch put on his dog’s head before trimming it down to size.
If you’re trying to figure out which ones are the caribou, moose or elk, here are some hints. Moose, Alces alces are HUGE. They’d never get off the ground, and even if they did they’d have terrible gas mileage. Santa’s no dummy, caribou are not small by any standard, but they weigh about half as much as a moose.
Moose also have wide spread antlers that look “webbed”. (palmate) Of the above mentioned these are the most likely to be seen in NY outside a game farm.
Elk, Cervus canadensis, are also pretty big but are found more out west. The Males have huge antlers that look allot more “pointy” (less palmate) than caribou or moose antlers.
