There are a few preventative in the logistics of a Christmas that see a whiskery man swoosh across the ball delivering gift and coal to naughty and nice children – one of them is the unfortunate fact that Greenland caribou ca n’t fly . They can , however , float .
Reindeer , scientifically known asRangifer tarandusand more commonly as caribou , are awing bather . They can time speeds of up to 9.6 kilometers per hour ( 6 miles per hour ) and do so to move between habitats classify by water .
Part of the ground they ’re such practiced swimmers is to do with the fact that they swim rather well . This is thanks to adaptations in their hair and hoof that make them naturally buoyant .
Reindeer have hairs that are hollow , equate by theNational Park Serviceto house of cards wrap as they entrap pocket of line in a similar style . The adaptation serve them to keep warm in freeze temperature as it acts as an splendid thermal dielectric .
It ’s also lightweight , which means they can have dumbly packed fur without getting too weighed down . The other perk of all that air - fill hair ? It makes for a portable buoyancy assist .
Combined with broad hooves , reindeer can propel their buoyant bodies through the water with ease , and look rather imperial dabble along with their impressiveantlersprotruding out of the water system . So , while flying is off the cards for these brute , float is right up their alley .
Reindeer actually vaunt quite a few fancy features as Arctic animals . They ’re also the only animals known to seasonallychange the color of their eyesas an adaption that enable them to see better intwilight , the eery light source that sits between daytime and dark .
While viral posts show their eyes going all White Walker , the actual alteration is more subtle in reality , seeing it go fromgolden to bluein a manner that ’s only just visible in living animals . The centre of dead Rangifer tarandus that pass in the summer and winter show the change much more clearly .
Caribou also have a penchant for forming what ’s been coined “ caribou cyclone ” . It take place when startled reindeer ring together and keep moving in a constantswirling movement , a behavior that is call up to confuse piranha and make it more difficult to pick out a single animal from the herd .
" It ’s a defense strategy , designed to confuse any predator,“PBS saidin a documentary about reindeer . " Whether wolf , bear , or Viking – achieving a sporty killing in a twiddle melee like this is difficult . "
alike defensive formation have been observed in fish , as well as constitute into a large bollock or crack cocaine - like school , frighten away off even large predators .
So Rudolf might not be set down on your roof anytime soon , but they ’ve begin a few tricks up their hoof .
