When you get hundreds of reindeers together and try to move them around, they turn into one gigantic sentient-seeming swarm that spins around together. This footage, taken from above with a drone by photographer Jan Helmer Olsen, shows the stunning spirals that are created when herding reindeers. It’s got to be dizzying for them.
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Finland is a dangerous place for reindeer to be in the winter. In a place where it’s dark most of the day, these beasts blend in with their surroundings, making it hard for drivers to see them. So Finnish herders are getting creative.
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Dogs and cats are adorable creatures by day, but under the cover of night their eyes seem to shine like demon spawn. That’s the work of the light-reflecting tapetum lucidum, a layer of tissue that sits right behind the retina. As it turns out, that same tapetum lucidum just might be responsible for turning reindeer eyes from gold-hued in the summer to blue-tinted in the winter. Neat!
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It might not be bright red, but Rudolph’s nose really does go glow. These thermal images of reindeer acquired by scientists show that Santa’s flying friends have incredibly warm noses.
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Reindeer might seem like mythical beasts that make an annual holiday appearance only to disappear back into some magical North Pole night—but the big-horned mammals are very real and, for centuries, they’ve been herded by the Sami people who live year-round in arctic-adjacent Lapland. French photographer Celine Clanet has been snapping the incredible goings-ons of their cold weather culture since 2005, and shared her findings with the good folks at Modern Farmer.
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At Christmas time everyone loves to wear those antler headbands, even AT-ATs. This awesome gingerbread creation captures an Imperial Walker getting in the holiday spirit. And a little snowspeeder too. I would love to wrap some tow cables around it’s legs and trip it into my hungry and waiting cartoon mouth. Nom nom nom.
This beautiful sculptural treat was made by Magnolia Hotel & Spa in Victoria, Canada. More specifically their hotel restaurant Catalano has created this gingerbread masterpiece for the Canadian National Gingerbread Showcase in partnership with Habitat for Humanity Victoria.
The best part is the red nose. You can almost see other AT-AT Reindeer not letting him join in on their AT-AT Reindeer games. Awesome job guys and gals.
[via Facebook]
Sure, Google’s not in the Santa Tracking NORAD cabal anymore, but that’s not stopping it from rolling out St. Nicholas-related goodies. It just launched a series of new games, including a chimney / gift dropping challenge, a rocket-powered elf race and a Santa chat that lets you send a droll holiday greeting to your “hoodlum besties.” You can even play Rudolph for a lark and drag Santa around in his sleigh — badly, in our case — so check the source (hint: click the red box at the bottom left) for some holiday cheer, Mountain View-style.
Source: Google Santa Tracker
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