Ruud Streefkerk

Reindeer (Rangifer Tarandus) are the large grazers of the tundra. They live in herds and eat mainly reindeer moss, a lichen in which algae and a fungus live symbiotically. In winter, when the tundra is covered with snow and ice, the reindeer are able to remove this with their hoofs in order to reach their frozen meal. Their main enemy is the wolf, who grabs the weaker animals. Originally reindeer were common in all the tundra’s around the North-Pole, but especially in the more southern parts of these regions the animal disappeared. For centuries it was used by man for its fur, meat, milk and as a draught-animal. In northern Scandinavia only four Lapponian families  still herd reindeer on large-scale and in a modern manner, for instance with helicopters to round them up in the fall. The sleigh of Santa Claus is pulled by reindeer, and one of them with the name Rudolf, has a red nose. Clearly a namesake, but fortunately my nose isn’t red.....