{"id":132,"date":"2021-12-08T14:15:55","date_gmt":"2021-12-08T13:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/?p=38856"},"modified":"2021-12-15T17:49:17","modified_gmt":"2021-12-15T16:49:17","slug":"from-wild-herds-to-festive-favourites-how-reindeer-became-part-of-christmas","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/from-wild-herds-to-festive-favourites-how-reindeer-became-part-of-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"From wild herds to festive favourites: how reindeer became part of Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Carys Matthews\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 08 December 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Reindeer are such icons of Christmas that today they pull sleighs through shopping malls. But these beautiful animals were one of the earliest animals to be domesticated, and the relationship between people and reindeer goes back thousands of years.<\/p>\n

Can you tame reindeer?<\/h2>\n
\""Female\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Female reindeer with calf. \u00a9 Michel Denijs\/Getty<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Yes, in fact reindeer were one of the earliest animals to be domesticated, possibly around 8,000 years ago. But unlike other large domesticated animals like cattle and horses, the wild ancestor of reindeer has survived. In Europe and Russia, reindeer have been domesticated in many areas, but continue to roam freely (followed by their nomadic herders) alongside wild herds.<\/p>\n

The long association between people and reindeer is depicted in cave paintings in southern Europe, and rock carvings in parts of northern Europe and across the steppes of Siberia and Mongolia.<\/p>\n

The Saami people of northern Europe and western Russia are the best-known reindeer herders, but the same lifestyle is widespread and still followed by tribes across to China and Mongolia.<\/p>\n

Reindeer are used for their meat, hides and milk, and their antlers for carving.<\/p>\n