To No One’s Surprise, Santa’s Sleigh Is Actually Pulled By All Female Reindeer

You know Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and yes, even red-nosed Rudolph, obviously. However, did you know that all these famous reindeer are all female?

Yup, the original eight holiday reindeer — first introduced in the 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, which became better known as The Night Before Christmas later on— are often thought of to be a bunch of dudes in popular culture.

But, according to science, we’ve had it all wrong for hundreds of years! Men have been getting credit for for something they didn’t deserve! Shocker — I know!

One TikTok mom is going viral for her reveal that, yes, the reindeer — called caribou in North America if they’re wild — fly through the Christmas Eve night sky and pull Santa’s present-filled sleigh are actually hard-working female reindeer!

“Male reindeers lose their antlers in winter, and women don’t,” Louise Boyce explained in her video video that now has 2.5 million views. “So Santa’s sleigh is actually being pulled by a team of women. Of course it is!”

She’s right!

According to Live Science, male reindeer shed their antlers at the end of the mating season in early December, while females sport their thinner antlers throughout the winter. Females drop their antlers after giving birth in the spring. This gives the expectant mothers a means to protect food resources through the harsh weather. That means that Santa’s reindeer might also be pregnant for the Christmas Eve flight.

Female reindeers are also just built better for Santa’s around-the-world journey.

In preparation for winter, female reindeer build up to nearly 50% body fat. The additional weight gives them a couple extra inches of thick fat on their hindquarters, which helps keep them warm in temperatures as low as -45 degrees Fahrenheit.

Their male counterparts? They are only carrying around about 5% body fat, as they deplete the majority of their energy reserves during the previous mating season. So, they wouldn’t even be physically up for the task if they could!

So, in a world where human women and moms are the reason for all the holiday magic, planning Christmas parties, baking the cookies, wrapping the gifts, and moving that damn elf every single night, female reindeer are also doing their part in storybook world being Santa Claus’ leading ladies.