Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)
Читати українською(переклад на редакторській перевірці)
MammalArcticDeer
Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) near Lake Khövsgöl, Mongolia.
Image: Bernard Gagnon, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Overview
The reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) — called caribou in North America — is a deer of the Arctic and subarctic. It is the only deer species in which both males and females normally grow antlers, and one of very few large mammals that thrives year-round in the far north.
Reindeer are built for cold: a dense two-layer coat, a compact body, and broad, splayed hooves that work as snowshoes on soft ground and as paddles when swimming. The hooves also change with the seasons, becoming harder in winter for digging through snow.
Conservation note: reindeer and caribou are a single species split into several subspecies and populations, and those populations differ widely in trend and status. Verify current assessments at the IUCN Red List rather than treating the species as a single case.
Habitat & Range
Reindeer occupy Arctic tundra, boreal forest and mountain habitats across northern Europe, Siberia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland. Some populations undertake long seasonal migrations between calving grounds and wintering areas; others, particularly forest and island populations, are far more sedentary.
Diet
Reindeer are herbivores. In summer they eat a broad mix of grasses, sedges, herbs, and the leaves of willow and birch. In winter they depend heavily on lichens — especially the mat-forming 'reindeer lichen' — which they reach by digging through snow with their hooves, a behaviour known as cratering.
Behavior
Reindeer are gregarious and often form large herds, which in migratory populations can be enormous. Antlers are grown and shed annually, and the timing differs by sex: males typically shed after the autumn rut, while females often keep theirs through winter — an advantage when competing for feeding craters in the snow. Reindeer are strong swimmers and readily cross rivers and lake narrows on migration.
Human Interaction & Conservation
Reindeer have one of the longest relationships with people of any northern mammal. They are herded and semi-domesticated across Fennoscandia and Siberia — by Sámi, Nenets and other peoples — for meat, hides, milk and transport, while wild caribou remain central to subsistence in North America. Pressures include habitat fragmentation from roads and industry, changing snow and icing conditions, and disturbance on calving grounds. Status varies sharply by population; consult the IUCN Red List.
Sourced facts
Each value below is traced to the specific reference that states it. Open a row's evidence to see the source, where to look in it, and how firmly it supports the value. Sources checked 2026-10-09.
| Fact | What the source states | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Geographic range | Nearly circumpolar: the woodland subspecies reaches as far south as 46° N; Peary caribou and Svalbard reindeer reach as far north as 80° N.The latitude limits belong to particular subspecies. ADW adds that over-hunting and habitat loss shrank the historic range, which once reached Germany, Great Britain, Poland and Maine (USA). | Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we knowAnimal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
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| Habitat | Arctic tundra and subarctic (boreal) forest; most caribou winter in forested areas, where snow conditions are more favourable. | Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we knowAnimal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
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| Diet | Primarily grazing herbivores. The summer diet is the most varied (willow and birch leaves, mushrooms, cotton grass, sedges); lichens matter most in winter but are not eaten exclusively.Caribou find forage under snow by smell and dig craters with their front paws to reach it (Behavior). | Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we knowAnimal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
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| Body size | Shoulder height up to 120 cm; total length 150 to 230 cm. Size varies widely by subspecies, and males of some subspecies are twice as large as females.Species-wide spans covering both sexes and all subspecies. ADW says southern subspecies are generally larger than northern ones but gives no separate figures. | Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we knowAnimal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
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| Body mass | 55 to 318 kg across the species; males of some subspecies are twice as large as females.The mass figure appears only in the account's data panel; the prose gives no mass and no breakdown by sex or subspecies. | Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we knowAnimal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
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| Lifespan | Wild: an average life expectancy of 4.5 years, or 10 to 15 years by another figure; bulls typically live under 10 years. Captivity: 20.2 years.sources disagreeFemales generally live longer than males, some over 15 years. The data panel also lists Max Planck wild averages of 8.0 years for males and 10.0 years for females. The captivity figure is from the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. | Sources disagree · Animal Diversity Web — how we knowWhat each reading says
The prose gives an average life expectancy of 4.5 years (repeated in the data panel as a wild 'average lifespan'), but the same panel also lists the wild 'average lifespan' as 10 to 15 years and as 15.0 years. These cannot all be the typical wild lifespan. Animal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
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| Activity pattern | Diurnal and migratory, with extensive spring and fall migrations; caribou can travel more than 5,000 km in a year.'Diurnal' appears only as a Key Behaviors keyword; the prose does not describe daily activity. Spring migration leads from winter range to calving grounds. | Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we knowAnimal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
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| Social structure | Gregarious; the largest groups, numbering in the tens of thousands, form in summer. Polygynous: in the rut, dominant males restrict access to small groups of 5 to 15 females.Groups become smaller as cooler weather arrives and may aggregate again during the rut and fall migration. The rut occurs in October and early November. | Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we knowAnimal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
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| Distinguishing traits | The only deer species in which both sexes have antlers; caribou also make an audible clicking while walking, from tendons rubbing across a bone in the foot.ADW also notes large, concave hooves. Mature bulls usually shed antlers shortly after the rut, whereas cows can keep theirs until spring. | Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we knowAnimal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
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| Conservation status | Vulnerable (VU), global assessment, 2016 | Matches source · IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — how we knowIUCN Red List of Threatened Species
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References for the facts above
- UniversityAnimal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of ZoologySupports: Range, habitat, diet, body size and mass, lifespan, activity and social structure, as the account states them. Retrieved 2026-10-09.Limitations: A peer-edited account written largely by students under faculty review. Figures are compiled from the literature rather than from a single study, and some are regional.
- ReferenceIUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesSupports: The global Red List category and the year of the assessment. Retrieved 2026-10-09.Limitations: Read from the Red List export IUCN publishes to GBIF; iucnredlist.org itself does not answer automated reads. Categories are reassessed over time.
Frequently Asked Questions — Reindeer
Are reindeer and caribou the same animal?
Do female reindeer have antlers?
What do reindeer eat in winter?
Why do reindeer hooves click?
Sources and further reading
Authoritative wildlife references used for general educational context. Conservation status should always be verified against current IUCN Red List data. External links open in a new tab.
- UniversityAnimal Diversity Web — Rangifer tarandus (caribou / reindeer) — University of Michigan species account
- Wildlife referenceSmithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute — Animals — Educational species pages from the Smithsonian Institution
- Wildlife referenceIUCN Red List of Threatened Species — Authoritative source for current conservation status