The first written account of Santa Claus having reindeer was in 1821, and since then most people have assumed the reindeer were male B次元官网网址� but a scientist says those people would be wrong.

Andrew Hebda, a zoologist at the Nova Scotia Museum, says while both male and female reindeer have antlers, only the females have their antlers during the winter months.

B次元官网网址淏eing members of the deer family, the males grow their antlers a little bit earlier and just after mating season, which is just about finished now, they drop off. So over a winter youB次元官网网址檒l never see a male with antlers,B次元官网网址� Hebda said.

Pregnant females use their antlers to dig through the snow in search for food, and lose them just before giving birth, he said.

ItB次元官网网址檚 most likely, he said, that Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen are all female.

B次元官网网址淎ny reindeer right now with antlers is a girl,B次元官网网址� he said.

New focus has been placed on their gender in part because of a New York City Twitter userB次元官网网址檚 assertion this month they are B次元官网网址渁 team of strong, powerful, underrated women.B次元官网网址�

The tweet, relying entirely on the antler theory of gender, proved very popular B次元官网网址� it has garnered more than 680,000 likes and more than 200,000 retweets.

MALE REINDEER LOSE THEIR ANTLERS IN WINTER AND FEMALES DON'T THEREFORE SANTA'S SLEIGH IS ACTUALLY PULLED BY A TEAM OF STRONG, POWERFUL, UNDERRATED WOMEN!!!!! YOU GO, GIRLS!! I SEE YOU!!!

B次元官网网址� Cat Reynolds (@catreynoldsnyc)

A Chicago Zoological Society blog post echoes the contention that the antlers tell the tale.

B次元官网网址淭his isnB次元官网网址檛 to say Santa only had female reindeer, but the nine flyers were girls,B次元官网网址� it said.

B次元官网网址淟etB次元官网网址檚 be honest, unlike Santa, reindeer donB次元官网网址檛 live forever, so Santa needs both male and female reindeer, no? Because boy reindeer donB次元官网网址檛 give birth to future generations of magical flying reindeer.B次元官网网址�

Hebda says thereB次元官网网址檚 another option B次元官网网址� castrated male reindeer donB次元官网网址檛 lose their antlers.

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B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 always a possibility. ItB次元官网网址檚 a question of whether Santa has followed a code of practice for proper raising of animals in castration is perhaps up in the air at the moment, but thatB次元官网网址檚 a possibility,B次元官网网址� Hebda said.

Hebda said European reindeer are cousins of the North American caribou. There have been some introductions of reindeer into North America B次元官网网址� most recently into Newfoundland, he said.

While Hebda can talk about reindeer gender, heB次元官网网址檚 not prepared to explain how they fly.

And while many children leave milk and cookies out for Santa on Christmas Eve, Hebda said thatB次元官网网址檚 not a good choice for the reindeer.

And he said carrots may also be too rich of a treat to leave out for SantaB次元官网网址檚 reindeer. He suggests lichens, leafy greens and dried mushrooms instead.

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