I’m Nutmeg the Head Stable Elf.
I’m the elf in charge of looking after Santa’s reindeer all year long. My job is to make sure that all the reindeer are fit and healthy and ready for Christmas Eve, our busiest day of the year. Santa asked me to get in contact with you guys and tell you all a few things about his reindeer
Reindeer are a species of deer which are normally found around the Arctic region on Earth. This is the part of the Earth around the North Pole. Reindeer come in a number of different colours and sizes. This is especially true for Santa’s reindeer. Both the male and female reindeer can grow antlers but the males antlers tend to be bigger than the female’s. However there are a few small groups of reindeer in the Arctic where the females have no antlers at all, but all of Santa’s reindeer have antlers.
Male reindeer, which are also called bulls, are normally larger than female reindeer. They can be anywhere from 180-214cm long and weigh between 159-182kg. However some of the biggest reindeer (like our Blitzen) can weigh up to 318kg. The females tend to be smaller than the males and are usually 162-205cm long and weigh between 80-120kg. Reindeer are like cows and have 4 stomachs. They love to eat reindeer moss which is found in the Arctic. They also like to eat the leaves of trees such as willow and birch tree as well as regular grass.
Some of the trees are so tall we need 10 elves standing on each other’s shoulders to pick them. In Spring Santa’s reindeer love to eat fish called Arctic Char once the ice starts to melt.
My stable elves aren’t fond of having to wade into the freezing water to catch the fish but the fish are full of nutrients that make the reindeer big and strong. Springtime also means there are lots of bird’s eggs around which the reindeer love to have for breakfast. I send my best climber elves up the trees to fetch some eggs every morning. One of the reindeer’s favourite foods are mushrooms, but they only grow in late summer. Picking mushrooms for the reindeer is one of our favourite jobs here in Santa’s stables as we get to enjoy the summer sun and explore the Arctic landscape.
I hope you enjoyed these facts about Santa’s reindeer. Over the next few weeks I’ll send some more information on each of Santa’s reindeer. They’re a handful but I love taking care of them. Right I better get back to work. Bye for now!
