New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Reindeer (Caribou)

The reindeer, known as caribou when wild in North America, is an Arctic and Subarctic-dwelling deer. About 1 million live in Alaska, and a comparable number live in northern Canada. There are an estimated 5 million reindeer in Eurasia, mainly semi-domesticated. The last remaining European herds of the genetic wild reindeer are found in central Norway. In the wild, most caribou migrate in large herds between their birthing habitat and their winter habitat. Their wide hooves help the animals move through snow and tundra; they also help propel the animal when it swims. Reindeer are ruminants, having a four-chambered stomach. They mainly eat lichens in winter, especially reindeer moss. However, they also eat the leaves of willows and birches, as well as sedges and grasses. There is some evidence to suggest that on occasion they will also feed on lemmings, arctic char and bird eggs.

Related Stories
 


Plants & Animals News

August 1, 2025

Ape behavior just got a name upgrade — “scrumping” — and it might help explain why humans can handle alcohol so well. Researchers discovered that African apes regularly eat overripe, ...
A team at the University of Florida used drones and smart modeling to accurately count over 41,000 endangered turtles nesting along the Amazon’s Guaporé River—revealing the world’s largest known turtle nesting site. Their innovative ...
Eggs are finally being vindicated after decades of cholesterol-related blame. New research from the University of South Australia reveals that eggs, despite their cholesterol content, aren't the dietary villains they've long been made out to be. ...
Mesopelagic fish, long overlooked in ocean chemistry, are now proven to excrete carbonate minerals much like their shallow-water counterparts—despite living in dark, high-pressure depths. Using the deep-dwelling blackbelly rosefish, researchers ...
A groundbreaking study has revealed that the mass administration of ivermectin—a drug once known for treating river blindness and scabies—can significantly reduce malaria transmission when used in conjunction with bed ...
Fermenting stevia with a banana leaf-derived probiotic turns it into a powerful cancer-fighting agent that kills pancreatic cancer cells while sparing healthy ones. The secret lies in a metabolite called CAME, produced through microbial ...
Millipedes, often dismissed as creepy crawlies, may hold the secret to future painkillers and neurological drugs. Researchers at Virginia Tech discovered unique alkaloid compounds in the defensive secretions of a native millipede species. These ...
Scientists have discovered a sugar compound from deep-sea bacteria that can destroy cancer cells in a dramatic way. This natural substance, produced by microbes living in the ocean, causes cancer cells to undergo a fiery form of cell death, ...
New research from the University of Sydney sheds light on how coronaviruses emerge in bat populations, focusing on young bats as hotspots for infections and co-infections that may drive viral ...
What scientists once dismissed as junk DNA may actually be some of the most powerful code in our genome. A new international study reveals that ancient viral DNA buried in our genes plays an active role in controlling how other genes are turned on ...
A scorching marine heatwave from 2014 to 2016 devastated the Pacific coast, shaking ecosystems from plankton to whales and triggering mass die-offs, migrations, and fishery collapses. Researchers ...
Gene editing may hold the key to rescuing endangered species—not just by preserving them, but by restoring their lost genetic diversity using DNA from museum specimens and related species. Scientists propose a visionary framework that merges ...

Latest Headlines

updated 12:56 pm ET