by Noella Noelophile®
OK, admit it. You had a busy Christmas season–and no chance to see real, live reindeer with all you had to do.
But, you’re getting another chance–thanks to the L.A. Zoo, the only place in Los Angeles where you can see live reindeer during the Christmas season. (And, technically, Christmas isn’t over till January 6th–Twelfth Night. But the Zoo is giving all of us a little extra time.)
Their “Reindeer Romp” ends this Sunday, January 8th. After that, visiting reindeer Nick, his mate Holly and their seven-month-old fawns, newly-named “Velvet” and “Elvis”, will be headed for home.
So if you’d like to come get a picture with them for your Christmas cards for next Christmas, or just have fun and hear amazing reindeer facts, you’ll get a chance to do that from 10 am to 4 pm, every day this week.
Daily talks by reindeer keepers are part of the program for “Reindeer Romp”. And they’re likely to tell you some things you never knew about reindeer. (Weekends include special activities, including crafts and ice carving–here’s the link for more information.)
As a warmup, here are some “reindeer facts”, courtesy of Los Angeles Zoo Curator of Mammals Josh Sisk.
Did you know, for example, that:
- Reindeer make a clicking sound when they walk? The noise is due to a tendon in the back of their leg, that snaps. Josh says scientists believe the sound enables reindeer to find one another in a blizzard.
- Reindeer have what amounts to a natural, built-in “snow boot”? “Their hooves, in the summertime, will actually become spongy,” Josh says. “And then during the wintertime, it retracts, and it actually leaves the hard outer shell. as traction for the snow.”
- Forget that “little hoof” stuff. “They’re very stout and sturdy, very cowlike,” Josh says. “They’re a lot different than what people think of, when they think of deer.”
- Reindeer lose their antlers every year? (That’s the difference between antlers and horns, Josh says–antlers fall off. And that huge rack of antlers each reindeer regrows, annually, develops in just six to seven months.)
- Male reindeer lose their antlers in the winter, while female reindeer keep them through the spring? That means, if you see pictures of Dasher, Dancer, Prancer etc., pulling a sleigh in snow, and they have antlers–they’re all female. (Girl power!)
The “Reindeer Romp” zookeepers will have a lot more interesting reindeer facts for you if you get over to the L.A. Zoo this week. In addition to Holly, Nick, Elvis and Velvet, if you go before Sunday, and stay through dark, you’ll get to experience the final week of “L.A. Zoo Lights”, which USA Today readers have listed among the “10 Best Zoo Lights” in the nation.
Now, here’s one more reindeer fact for you, with which you might like to be prepared if you plan on taking any small reindeer fans. Kids know perfectly well what sounds a lion, tiger, cow, etc. will make.
But, what if you’re faced with the question, “What does a reindeer say?”
(As a matter of fact, I didn’t know this one either! I’d have guessed they didn’t have vocal chords–and would have been completely wrong.)
“They kind of have a little cow sound, especially the young calves,” Josh says. “When they’re anticipating food, you’ll hear…almost kind of a little sheepy ‘baaa’ noise from them. Not what you would think, from a deer.”
So, midway between “baaaaa” and “mooo”–and you’d be speaking reindeer.