Reindeer games at Santa’s Village

EAST DUNDEE — Kyle Wilson is used to explaining to parents that yes, reindeer are real.

Kids, he said, understand without question that reindeer are real animals, related to deer but similar to cattle.

Their parents, however, raised with the ideal of Santa Claus and his “eight tiny reindeer” — followed by their eventual discovery that Santa might not be real — are more pessimistic.

“They will ask me, ‘No, really, what are they?’” Wilson said.

Wilson joined 50 other reindeer owners and breeders this weekend at East Dundee’s Santa’s Village for the annual Reindeer Owners and Breeders Association meeting. Those owners come from all across the lower 48 states as well as Canada and Alaska.

The meeting, held Friday and Saturday, was hosted by Jason and Amy Sierpien of the Azoosment Park at Santa’s Village. The Azoosment Park, which opened last fall on part of the Santa’s Village property, is a combination petting zoo, carnival rides, and attractions suited for children and their families.

Reindeer facts

Included in the conference were talks and discussions on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s role in animal exhibition, reindeer nutrition, marketing reindeer, dealing with the press, and insurance requirements for animal displays.

Wilson, of the Knoxville, Tenn., area, bought his first three reindeer 11 years ago after deciding to get out of the automotive service industry. He rents his 12-animal herd for parties or displays, leases them to zoos or Christmas tree farms, and sells breeding stock.

He doesn’t, however, slaughter his reindeer for meat. While a common food in Alaska, some northern European countries or northern Asia, “nobody wants to eat Rudolph” here, he said.

But yes, he has tried reindeer meat. It is not gamey, he claims, but does tend to taste more like venison and less like beef.

Through his years of ownership, Wilson has educated himself about the animals, their diseases, and how to market them. He also can explain the difference between caribou and reindeer.

The animals are cousins but are not the same.

“Technically, a caribou is a reindeer, but reindeer are not a caribou,” he said.

Reindeer, he added, have been domesticated, possibly for thousands of years. Caribou, however, are not. Reindeer are indigenous to northern Europe, Russia and Mongolia, and even if free range, are considered domestic. Caribou are indigenous to North America and roam in vast herds. A caribou would never allow itself to be penned, Wilson added.

There can be some crossover. In the early 1900s, the U.S. government brought Finnish reindeer to Alaska, Wilson said. The idea was that they would be more easily farmed by native peoples. But, reindeer also had a habit of running off with the caribou herds.

There is a sub-species of caribou and reindeer that live in the North Pole. These tiny deer are called peri-reindeer on the Asian side, but peri-caribou on the North American side. Those are an endangered species, he added.

Still flying?

Wilson also often finds himself explaining to reporters every holiday season that, no, it is not true that Santa’s reindeer are females because they have their antlers.

Both sexes grow new antlers every year, he explained. And yes, the male reindeer tend to lose their antlers first — right around the winter solstice on Dec. 21. But that isn’t always true either, he added.

Conventions like the one held here are a great way to learn more about the animals they are raising, said Tim Ellsworth of Donnellson, Ill. He raised elk until a run-in with a formerly docile bull sent him via medivac helicopter to a Springfield hospital. In 2005, a friend asked him to house a few reindeer while the animals got their TB tests. They proved to be much easier to work with than elk.

While the animals are income-producing, he added, most of that income comes in the weeks between Thanksgiving an New Year’s. In those weeks, he has four crews out, running reindeer to events.

“Everybody wants them for Black Friday” shopping events, Ellsworth said.

And yes, Wilson added, reindeer really do fly.

“The answer is, of course they fly,” Wilson said. “When you quit believing in that is when Santa starts giving you underwear for Christmas, and not the Victoria’s Secret kind.”