Santa's reindeer

Santa's reindeer don't necessarily have to all be female. The males lose their antlers by January so it is unlikely that they are male but not impossible. For all 8 of them plus Rudolf to have their antlers is kind of stretching it.

Most pictures show the reindeer with antlers that are alive and velvety so this leads us to believe that the reindeer are female because the male reindeer would have the hard antlers that have turned to bone by December and they would have lost the velvety coating.

The females keep their antlers until around June so they would be velvety in December.

Many people use steers for pulling sleds, which are the castrated males but that wouldn't explain the velvety antlers seen in the pictures of Santa's reindeer.

We can assume that the rumors are true about Santa's Reindeer are girls because of the condition of their antlers but we have no proof.


Here are some reindeer antler facts -
"ANTLERS
Reindeer and caribou are the only deer (Cervidae) where males, females, and calves produce antlers. Substantial growth of calf and female antler can be obtained with good nutrition. Some females can grow small shovels (eye-guards), normally grown only by bulls. Like other deer, reindeer shed their antlers annually. Bulls drop their antlers by January, and pregnant cows and calves retain theirs until spring. Normally, pregnant cows retain their antlers a week or so after calving for advantage over food resources. New antler growth in the spring and summer is nourished by a highly vascular covering called velvet which is shed in August. Bull antler hardens (ossifies) in June and cow antler in July. The primary function of antler is for gaining social dominance. There is a demand in Asia (China, Korea) for antler just before it ossifies into hard bone. It is processed in different ways for use as health aids. "

http://web.archive.org/web/20050416080239/http://reindeer.salrm.uaf.edu/html/reinFAQ.html