The folklore Santa’s reindeer story always becomes a fascinating thing for kids during the Christmas holidays. Even though Santa is only a fantasy character, they do exist in real life. Not only seen in animated books or movies, but they also have antlers that can shed during the custom period. If you wonder why this phenomenon happens, jump below to see the details!
It’s a natural thing that reindeer shed their antlers. During the winter season, they will be used to scrape the snow away and find food through it. It also becomes a defensive tool in the case predator targets them.
Male reindeer even use it to attract female reindeer. After no longer using it, they will shed the antlers. Once the antlers fall, they will grow back to a larger size in the next phase.
Both male and female reindeer have different phases of time during the shedding. Males begin to grow the antlers in February while female is in May. The purpose of them to shed their velvet is to protect the young antlers. The furry one is no longer needed, so they can just let it fall off.
Both reindeer and deer gifted the beautiful antlers on their head. Aside from being used as protection, antlers also help them seek food. Male them even used to attract the female. The reason they drop their antlers is due to their lower contains testosterone levels.
Testosterone is used to enhance reindeer's physical strength and endurance. one thing you might be curious about is whether they bleed or not when shedding the antlers. This post is to answer yours!
Due to the coating on the antlers which is called velvet, they indeed have some bleeding during the shedding process. It’s because the antlers carry the solid blood vessels which used to support the growth.
During the shedding process, the open wound does exist at the pedicle. This is where the antlers are linked to the skull. So, it will directly bleed before the scabbing. The amount of bleeding, in this case, is not huge, but it will stop and dry easily.
When looking at the unfortunate case, shedding antlers is not hurtful for both reindeer and deer. They are itchier rather than in pain. It took less than 24 hours to shed in common. However, it’s also common that they thrash the tree to make the shedding process easily done.
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During hiking time, you might accidentally find reindeer in the woods. It’s not something impossible. If you are just confused about what to do if this case happens to you, the answer is just to bring it home and hang it on your wall. Let’s found out the other things you can do with the antlers!
You all agree that antlers have such a beautiful shape and are quite artistic for wall hanging. All you need to do is prepare the wooden frame and hooker to place the antlers on the wall.
It’s like an honor to have your knife with the antler as the holder. Cut a certain part while still customizing the knife size and your comfort holder part.
Antler would create the aesthetic and elegant looks on your bottle opener. Choose the one in silver material and insert it on the antler.
If you already have the part for previous things, use the leftover for your dog toys. It is such a great chew toy, but still, make sure of your dog's safety first before sharing over them.
It’s already become the tradition on Christmas Eve where you and your kids leave food for Santa and reindeer. If your kids come up with the question of this activity's purpose, just say that this is a part of honoring Santa and the reindeer's hard work for sharing the gift. Things that kids could leave for Santa’s reindeer are:
Magic reindeer foods which constructed from rolled oats, edible glitters, and sprinkles. Let the kids wrap it in the clear plastic bag along with the chosen poems for the reindeer. The poems are commonly about thanking others for hard work.
Milk and the rocky road could be your side dish option for the reindeer. Delicate chewy apricots and crunchy almonds would melt well in your mouth. Warm milk on the side will improve the tasting experience.
Christmas cookies are also the great one. Provide plain cookies and let the kids participate in decorating them for Santa and the reindeer. Serve cream in the typical colors along with sprinkles and candies as the toppers.