Rudolph easily could have been a red-nosed caribou

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December 23, 2011

Anonymous Daily Star The Daily Star Fri Dec 23, 2011, 02:24 AM EST

A strange phenomenon will occur in a couple of days. Reindeer will fly.

It happens every year, and with so many believing in such an occurrence, it must be true.

Since we all know Santa Claus lives at the North Pole, I've always wondered why he didn't use the Perry's caribou _ oops, sorry, the Perry's reindeer _ to pull his sleigh. After all, they live closer to his winter residence.

I guess since the pure white Perry's caribou is much smaller, it might lack the strength to pull an overloaded, gift-bearing sleigh all the way around the world on Christmas Eve.

Reindeer and caribou are basically the same. They were called reindeer in Europe, and people found that they were easily domesticated. In fact, the Northern European reindeer has been used by man for more than 2,000 years.

European reindeer were taken to Alaska and other northern regions in the last century, but relocation attempts failed. Native people preferred to hunt the wandering caribou instead of herding reindeer. Today on some of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, caribou are farm-raised and called reindeer.

In 1985, my friend Paul and I went to northern Quebec to hunt the Quebec-Labrador caribou. We hunted north of the Arctic Circle, where hundreds of thousands of animals migrate every year. These animals actually migrate north in the winter. Strong northern winds blow the snow from their only food sources _ moss and lichens.

The native Inuit people have hunted this same herd along the same rivers and lakes for thousands of years. By the way, not one of those animals had a red nose. All of their noses were covered with hair to protect the skin from the harsh, frozen elements.

The Quebec-Labrador caribou we hunted is the largest of the species. As is the case with all caribou, cows and bulls grow antlers. Some say they use them to clear away the snow when they eat. Others think they use their antlers to protect themselves from the wolves that always follow the migrating herds.

Caribou herds are always on the move. When a calf is born, it will be up and running with the herd in a little more than an hour.

There are two species of caribou that don't live in the Arctic regions. The Woodland caribou resides in Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and the Mountain caribou makes its home in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia and western Alberta.

Santa's reindeer are believed to be a European specie of the caribou rather than being related to Alaska's Barren Ground variety. The only true differences are in body size and the shape of their antlers.

If you've never had the opportunity to see these magnificent animals up close and personal, stay up Saturday night and keep a sharp lookout. That red-suited man just might land them in your backyard.

Merry Christmas to all and God bless!

Rick Brockway writes a weekly outdoors column for The Daily Star. Email him at robrockway@hotmail.com.