Reindeer, also known as horned deer, is the only animal in the reindeer genus of the deer family and the most abundant of the deer family. It is found mainly in the Arctic region of the Northern Hemisphere, including in Eurasia and northern North America, as well as some large islands, inhabiting boreal temperate coniferous forests. Its diet consists mainly of litmus, but also of thorns, mushrooms and young branches and leaves of woody plants. In China, reindeer are only found in the forest area northeast of the Daxing'anling Mountains, and the Chinese Evenk people use reindeer as a means of transportation.
Medium in stature, head length 120-220 cm, shoulder height 87-140 cm, weight 60-318 kg. The head is long and straight, the mouth is thick, and the lips are well developed. The eyes are large, the orbits are prominent, and the nostrils are large. The ears are shorter like horse ears and the tail is extremely short. The neck is thick and short, and the sagging is pronounced. The shoulders are slightly raised and the back waist is straight. The main hoof is large and wide, with a deep central fissure; the large overhanging hoof and broad palm face are the largest of the deer and can touch the ground when walking, so they are suitable for walking on snowy and rough roads.
Both males and females have horns, with male antlers 52–130 cm long and female antlers 23–80 cm long. The horn stems are curved forward, the branches are branched, and the horns are changed once a year from March to April. The body is covered with light but extremely cold-resistant fur, the back of the body is gray-brown and chestnut-brown in summer, the ventral surface and the lower part of the tail, the inner part of the limbs are white, and the winter hair is slightly lighter, gray-brown or gray-brown. Hair removal begins in May and winter hair grows in September. The coat color of different subspecies and sexes varies significantly in different seasons, mainly brown, off-white, flower white and white.
The mating season is from mid-September to October. The reproductive ability is very strong, and the struggle for females is fierce. The most astonishing move of the reindeer is the annual migration of hundreds of kilometers. As soon as spring arrives, they leave the forests and grasslands of the subarctic regions where they overwinter and head north along centuries-old routes. Reindeer have a high economic value, meat is edible, fur can be made of fur, and are also an important means of transportation. Northern humans in primitive societies used reindeer as their main food source, and the Legendary Santa Claus in the West drove reindeer.