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Article: ZOO UPDATE: REINDEER.(Weekend)
- Article from:
- The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY)
- Article date:
- December 26, 2003
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Although not officially part of Santa's crew, zookeepers jokingly say the four reindeer at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park are unusually tired Christmas Day.
Tundra, 2 years old, and Parry, a year, are the zoo's male reindeer. Peg, 9, and Vega, 3, are females. Parry, Peg and Vega were born at the Gifford Zoo, and Tundra came to Syracuse from Hemker Wildlife Park in Minnesota.
Reindeer are adapted to the arctic and subarctic regions where they are found in the wild. Reindeer have hooves that are broadly spread for better support on soft ground or snow.
In the wild, they also use these hooves to dig through the snow to eat lichen.