Reindeer are shrinking - will Santa need more to pull his sleigh?

12 Dec 2016

“The implications are that there may well be further smaller reindeer in the Arctic in the coming decades but possibly at risk of extensive die-offs because of increased ice on the ground

Often portrayed as pulling Santa’s sleigh, reindeer are a Christmas staple. Now, ecologists have found that reindeer are shrinking due to the impact of climate change on their food supplies.

Speaking at the British Ecological Society annual meeting in Liverpool this week, researchers revealed that over the past 20 years – during a period of noticeable summer and winter warming in the Arctic – reindeer on the Svalbard archipelago have got smaller and lighter.