Today Christians celebrate Christmas, when, according to tradition, St. Nicholas (Santa Claus) arrives on a chariot harnessed by his reindeer to distribute gifts to the good children. Researchers chose this time to reveal in the scientific journal Current Biology a particularly intriguing detail about these unique deer, which stars in tradition due to the fact that it is the only species of deer that has been domesticated and used by humans as a working animal (for example, for hauling chariots). We used ChatGPT to get the details.
The study, conducted by neuroscientist Melanie Forer and her team at the University of Zurich, found unusual sleep patterns in Eurasian reindeer: the more time reindeer spent raising their cubs, the less time they subsequently spent on non-dreaming sleep (i.e., less deep sleep). Moreover, the researchers found that brain wave patterns during routine are similar to those observed during non-dream-sleep sleep, suggesting that reindeer experience a kind of rest during this digestive activity.
Raising ruminants, as we know, involves returning and re-chewing partially digested food – a process essential for deer and other ruminants. The study focused on the relationship between sleep and used EEG sensors attached to captive deer during different seasons. The researchers found that although they are much more active in summer, the number of hours of sleep they accumulate remains the same throughout the year – unlike, for example, bears, which are awake most of the time in summer and several months straight in winter.
The Arctic environment, characterized by prolonged daylight in summer and prolonged darkness in winter, poses unique challenges to reindeer survival. The study suggests that reindeer multitasking, which allows them to raise their cubs and rest at the same time, may be an adaptive strategy. This becomes especially essential during the summer months, when food is plentiful and reindeer eat almost 24/7 to prepare for the Arctic winter.
The researchers emphasize the importance of boosting ruminants for nutrient absorption and weight gain, especially in summer, when reindeer increase feeding to prepare for the challenging winter months. The study concludes that reindeer's ability to combine digestion and rest simultaneously demonstrates an extraordinary adaptation to the unique environmental conditions of the Arctic Circle.
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