posty Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/...s-a-female.html Edinburgh University professors Gerald Lincoln and David Baird say Rudolph cannot be a male because female reindeer still have antlers at Christmas. Males shed theirs before mid-December. Prof Lincoln said: "Rudolph classically is this red-nosed reindeer who is around at Christmas. "We picture him in the snow with his antlers, but if you know anything about nature you discover that things are not quite so straightforward. "Male reindeer actually cast their antlers before Christmas, so they don't have any antlers at Christmastime. "They have their mating season in autumn when they use their antlers to fight, but once it finishes they cast them. "So you can't picture Rudolph as a big red-nosed macho male because he has cast his antlers already and can't arrive on your doorstep with his antlers on, looking handsome. "I just wanted to remind people that it is never quite so straightforward and even females develop weapons when it comes to the real world of seasonal breeding." Of the forty different species of deer in the world, only in reindeer do females have antlers. Females cast their antlers in spring, growing them back in time for winter when they need their antlers to compete with other females over holes they dig in the snow to reach lichens and to provide food for their offspring. Prof Lincoln came up with the discovery while looking into how female reindeer grow and cast their antlers each year. He suggested if Rudolph was not a female then he may have been a eunuch. When a male reindeer is castrated it stops the process of casting the antlers in the winter time, and they turn into being more like females. He added: "Rudolph could be a castrated male, or a female. I think it's nicest to think that Rudolph was a female!" The professors will present their findings during a talk at the Queen's Medical Research Institute of Edinburgh University on December 9. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt770 Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 The professors will present their findings during a talk at the Queen's Medical Research Institute of Edinburgh University on December 9. Anyone know where I can score some tickets?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Did they also talk about how the North Pole is all ice on the Arctic Ocean, so there can't be trees nor caves there, for instances? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukon Cornelius Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 we all know that bumbles can really swim. I never forgave the writers for that when we did the shoot back in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Anyone know where I can score some tickets?? Can you par-tay til you puke? Nah, I don't think you can hang with this wild bunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTed46 Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Can you par-tay til you puke? Nah, I don't think you can hang with this wild bunch. Translation = TimC will plow Rudolph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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