Page 73 - Animals of the Sakhalin Region in myths and legends

R (Rangifer tarandus phylarchus)

Reindeer

The body is elongated, the neck is rather long, the legs are relatively short. The tail is short,
the ears are relatively small. The horns reach large sizes and are very diverse in the length of
the trunk, its bend, the number and size of the processes. The color of the winter fur of the
head, back and legs is brownish-gray. The color of summer fur all over the body is coffee-
brown, grayish-brown. The body length of an adult male is 200–220 cm, the height at the
withers is 110–142, body weight in autumn is from 120 to 220 kg.
Based on the specifics of the plant community, the species composition of plants consumed
by deer is very diverse and includes about 300 species. In spring, deer eat grains, sedges, and
green parts of plants. With the onset of the cold season, 90% of the reindeer feed on mosses
and lichens.
In the Far East, reindeer inhabit Yakutia, Kamchatka, Khabarovsk Territory, Magadan,
Amur and Sakhalin regions. On Sakhalin, reindeer is widespread in the northern and central
parts of the island — Poronaysky, Smirnykhovsky, Tymovsky districts. Habitat boundaries:
southern — the coast of the Terpeniya Bay from Cape Terpeniya to the city of Poronaysk;
western, north-western — automobile road Poronaysk — town. Nogliki; eastern — from the
village. Nogliki south along the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk to Cape Terpeniya.

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