BIOLOGY OF REINDEER. 



DESCRIPTION. 



The typical reindeer of Alaska {Rangifer tarandus) (PI. II) is 

 colored approximately as follows : The neck and shoulders are a gray- 

 ish white, becoming darker on the back, and shading into the much 

 darker sides of the abdomen and hind quarters ; the legs are dark to 

 almost black; around the root of the tail there is a whitish area that 

 descends between the legs ; the head is dark, except for the muzzle ; 

 and the mane, which becomes long in winter, is almost white. In 

 viewing a herd from a little distance, the various colors unite to give 

 the appearance of soft browns and grays with a tinge of yellow. In 

 conformation the reindeer is symmetrical, and gives the impression 

 of blockiness, as in a well-bred beef animal. The average full-grown 

 reindeer stands about 13 to 13^ hands high, and measures about 7 feet 

 from nose to tip of tail. 

 As compared with the caribou {Rangifer stonei and related forms) , 

 I the general color aspect is similar ; but the caribou on the whole is 

 lighter colored, having a white belly and less black on the legs. The 

 caribou is much longer of leg and more ungainly in appearance. Its 

 nose is inclined to the Roman type, and the underlip is short and 

 drawn up, whereas the reindeer is frequently clishfaced, and the un- 

 derlip is not nearly so trim. The ears of the caribou are a trifle larger. 

 Reindeer and caribou have the distinction of being the only mem- 

 bers of the deer family in which both sexes have horns. These sec- 

 ondary sexual characters are nearly as large in the female as in the 

 male, and it would seem possible that her powers of prepotency may 

 : be greater than in the females of other deer. In the course of the 

 investigations in Alaska, a doe was rarely seen which did not have a 

 : fawn colored and shaped like herself. As regards color and confor- 

 mation, the female seems to impress her characters strongly on her 

 offspring (PI. Ill, Figs. 1 and 2). Under present conditions where 

 I the sire is unknown it is difficult to generalize, but to a geneticist rein- 

 \ deer should be of special interest, since there has been so little inter-, 

 I ference by man in its breeding, with the exception of the preservation 

 of the white animals. 



White and spotted reindeer (PL IV, Fig. 1) are common in Alaskan 

 herds. The spotted animals do not seem physically deficient, but the 

 white animals are inferior to those of normal color. They are gen- 

 erally smaller in stature and seldom look robust. Their horns (PL 



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