Karen Saunders uncovers a little-known fact in her article: Wildlife experts ponder gender of Santa’s reindeer! Shedding a few antlers of light on exactly who’s pulling Santa Claus’ Sleigh, Greg Finstad, who manages the Reindeer Research Program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks tells us: Young steers finish shedding their antlers in February and March, just as non-expecting females do. Bulls generally lose theirs before Christmas, while expectant mothers retain their antlers until calves are birthed in the spring. This allows them to protect food resources through harsh weather and to have enough for developing fetuses. Bulls typically shed their fuzzy protrusions BEFORE Christmas.
So probably Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and even Rudolph, despite the masculine-sounding name, are all females. We’ll just like the Utah’s Mighty Cheetahs Girls Soccer Team and Katelyn Bouyssou, a Scituate girl, 14, who wrestles and beats boys, the power of “girls” is not always appreciated.