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It's the reindeer, we imagine, that makes Santa's whirlwind tour around the world possible. Because of this, children across America wait anxiously in their beds on Christmas Eve, hoping to hear the clopping of hoofs on their roof. The story of Santa's magical flying sled team led by a bioluminescently endowed outcast has become an integral part of Christmas lore, inseparable from its iconography. But what would the holiday season be like without reindeer?
Increasingly, this is becoming a possibility. Long threatened by a shrinking habitat and over-hunting, reindeer, called caribou in North America, are now facing a new challenge: climate change. Freezing rain in the Arctic creates a hard ice layer on the ground that makes it more difficult for reindeer, and other hoofed animals, to find food and escape predators.
The effect of climate change on reindeer populations has archeological evidence as well. Scientists have found evidence in Paleolithic caves that the number of reindeer went down as summer temperatures increased. It is thought that, somewhere around 10,000 years ago, this warming actually led to the extinction of some reindeer groups in Europe.
Whether the current warming trend could lead to extinctions of reindeer populations in the Arctic remains to be seen, but it is becoming clear that we must act now to fight global warming if we are going to protect this holiday icon.
Get more of the latest environmental news in Focus Earth: December 27, 2008: The Changing Lives of Reindeer.
Read more about global warming and animals:
Focus on Focus Earth: Saving the Condor
Focus on Focus Earth: Growing Up With Global Warming
Focus on Focus Earth: U.S. to Battle Global Warming
Focus on Focus Earth: Opening of the Arctic
Focus on Focus Earth: eBay Bans Illegal Animal Products
Focus on Focus Earth: Grey Wolf Protected
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