Avengers of the Week | Santa's Female Reindeer

photo credit: Norman Tsui, via Unsplash

When you google images of Santa’s reindeer, every picture shows eight or nine reindeer in a row, all with antlers. It’s been long assumed that all of these reindeer are male, which probably isn’t true. According to Snopes.com, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game states:

Both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year (the only members of the deer family, Cervidae, to have females do so). Male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December. Female reindeer retain their antlers until after they give birth in the spring. Therefore, according to every historical rendition depicting Santa’s reindeer, every single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen… had to be a girl.

Full disclosure: Snopes.com does point out that Santa’s reindeer do take on uncommon characteristics, you know, like flying, so it’s possible that his reindeer are males that have not yet shed their antlers, but we’re going to stick with science on this one, because Christmas is definitely in winter.

Male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter while females retain theirs until spring. Therefore, Santa’s reindeer must be girls. 🤯 #AvengerOfTheWeek #GenderAvenger https://www.genderavenger.com/blog/avengers-of-the-week-santas-female-reindeer