Editing Reindeer (section)

{{Short description|Species of deer}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Caribou}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Reindeer<br />(Caribou)
| fossil_range = {{fossil range|.62|0|refs=<ref name="Kurt">{{Cite book |first=Björn|last=Kurtén|year=1968|title=Pleistocene Mammals of Europe|pages=170–177 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OsPBXSNL8ZkC&pg=PA170|access-date=6 August 2013 |isbn=978-1-4128-4514-4 |publisher=[[Transaction Publishers]]}}</ref>|[[Chibanian]] to present}}
| image = Reinbukken på frisk grønt beite. - panoramio.jpg
| image_caption = A reindeer in Norway
| status = VU
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Gunn, A. |date=2016 |title=''Rangifer tarandus'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T29742A22167140 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T29742A22167140.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| status2 = G5
| status2_system = TNC
| status2_ref = <ref>{{cite web |title=NatureServe Explorer 2.0 |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.103369/Rangifer_tarandus |website=explorer.natureserve.org |access-date=30 March 2022}}</ref>
| parent_authority = [[Charles Hamilton Smith|C. H. Smith]], 1827
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758)
| display_parents = 2
| taxon = Rangifer tarandus
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = [[#Species and subspecies|See text]], traditionally 1, but possibly up to 6
| range_map = Rangifer tarandus map.png
| range_map_caption = Reindeer range: North American (green), Eurasian (red), and introduced (orange)
}}

The '''reindeer''' or '''caribou'''{{efn|In [[North American English]], known as '''caribou''' if wild and '''reindeer''' if domesticated<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/animal-health-literacy/fun-facts-about-reindeer-and-caribou | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930165707/https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/animal-health-literacy/fun-facts-about-reindeer-and-caribou | url-status=dead | archive-date=30 September 2019 | title=Fun Facts about Reindeer and Caribou | author=[[United States Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) | website=[[Food and Drug Administration]] | date=13 December 2022 }}</ref>}} ('''''Rangifer tarandus''''')<ref name=Flagstad/> is a species of [[deer]] with [[circumpolar distribution]], native to [[Arctic]], [[subarctic]], [[tundra]], [[taiga|boreal]], and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> It is the only representative of the genus '''''Rangifer'''''. More recent studies suggest the splitting of reindeer and caribou into six distinct species over their range.

Reindeer occur in both [[Animal migration|migratory]] and [[wiktionary:sedentary#Adjective|sedentary]] populations, and their herd sizes vary greatly in different regions. The tundra subspecies are adapted for extreme cold, and some are adapted for long-distance migration.

Reindeer vary greatly in size and color from the smallest, the [[Svalbard reindeer]] (''R.'' (''t.'') ''platyrhynchus''), to the largest, Osborn's caribou (''R. t. osborni''). Although reindeer are quite numerous, some species and subspecies are in decline and considered [[Vulnerable species|vulnerable]]. They are unique among deer (Cervidae) in that females may have [[antler]]s, although the prevalence of antlered females varies by subspecies.

Reindeer are the only successfully semi-domesticated deer on a large scale in the world. Both wild and domestic reindeer have been an important source of food, clothing, and shelter for [[Circumpolar peoples|Arctic people]] from prehistorical times.  They are still herded and hunted today.<ref name="Burch" /> In some traditional [[Christmas]] legends, [[Santa Claus's reindeer]] pull a sleigh through the night sky to help Santa Claus deliver gifts to good children on Christmas Eve.