A gentle breeze rustled through the trees, and the stream cascaded over the pebbles on the bottom. The slender bodies of fish swayed, their long silver tails shimmering, and their scales reflected a ray of sunlight.
Beams of warm sunlight filtered through the gaps in the crisscrossing branches, illuminating the stream and riverbank, casting dappled patterns of light that revealed a gray-brown figure bowing its head to drink water.
A herd of reindeer was happily drinking water by the stream when a doe stood on a high point on the riverbank, ears perked up, keeping watch for her companions and alerting the surroundings.
This herd of reindeer is neither too large nor too small, with over three hundred members, making it a relatively large group within the reindeer family. Of course, this herd of reindeer doesn't usually gather in such large numbers; they typically live separately as "family" units.
In the stream, a conspicuous male deer, sporting a pair of enormous antlers, lowers its body and head with apparent effort, gulping down the clear, cool water.
The reindeer leader looked at the sky with a hint of joy in his eyes. Today was a good day, a perfect time to go out.
The deer's forehooves churned the stream, and the sound of their footsteps on the stones echoed on the riverbank, creating a drinking song.
The reindeer leader quickly swallowed enough water from the stream, stood up, and shook its massive head; its heavy antlers looked enormous.
The antlers have two large forks at the top and bottom, and their color is like the brown branches of a tree. In the sunlight, they appear as a lighter brownish-brown. The upper part also has many small forks, which often cause confused little birds to mistake them for branches and perch on them for a while.
Reindeer primarily feed on rock cores, but also eat horsetail, lichen, and tender branches and leaves of woody plants, which is why they often search for lichens along riverbanks.
Reindeer begin shedding their fur in May and grow their winter coat in September. Their main coat colors are brown, grayish-white, spotted white, and white, with white typically appearing on the belly, neck, and above the hooves.
The coat color of reindeer is grayish-brown or chestnut-brown on the back in summer, and white on the belly, lower tail, and inner sides of the limbs. In winter, the coat is slightly lighter, grayish-brown or grayish-brown, and the beard and perineum are densely covered and are white.
The most amazing thing about reindeer is their annual long-distance migration.
Every year at the turn of spring and summer, reindeer begin their northward migration, returning to their birthplace. They leave the subarctic forests and grasslands where they winter for hundreds of years, heading north along routes that have remained unchanged for centuries.
The reindeer began to slowly leave the spruce forests that were scattered everywhere in herds, and headed across the mountains toward the plains on the shore where no trees were growing.
Pregnant female caribou walk in front, dragging their heavy bellies, while the males follow behind—this is a form of protection. Therefore, a caribou herd is always led by the females, with the males close behind.
The reindeer herds are always orderly and move straight ahead. They eat as they go, traveling day and night. Along the way, they shed their thick winter coats and grow new, thin summer coats. The shed fur falls to the ground and becomes a natural landmark.
And so it went, year after year, for who knows how many centuries.
Reindeer always move at a steady pace. Only when disturbed by wolves or chased by hunters will they suddenly burst into a run, making a deafening roar, raising clouds of dust, breaking the tranquility of the grassland, and unfolding a life-or-death struggle on the originally silent Arctic.
Today is the day when this small herd of reindeer heads to join the main group in preparation for their migration.
Herds of reindeer gathered on the flat grassland outside the forest.
In the grassland, there is a mother river that runs through the grassland and the forest. They will follow the river to run across the grassland, cross the forest and the mountains, and embark on a familiar but arduous road.
As reindeer travel from south to north in spring, their shed fur forms road signs along their route.
As the harsh winter approaches, they travel south along this road again. Their downy fur provides clear direction, making it impossible for them to go astray.
Therefore, the reindeer herd is very familiar with this route.
Of course, their routes are not fixed. They will change their routes at any time when they encounter predators, terrain, human obstacles, food, weather, etc., but their destination will not change during this process.
The massive herd of reindeer began to run in unison, their hoofbeats and calls blending together like a song of heaven and earth, displaying the full power of life.
The main reason for reindeer migration is food shortage. They spend a lot of time every day searching for low-calorie foods like lichens and mosses to fill their stomachs, so they have to travel long distances every day to find them.
Stone cores are a favorite food of reindeer, and mushrooms and tender branches and leaves of woody plants are also on their diet.
Reindeer have a strong ability to digest lichens. In winter, when everything else is barren, lichens and mosses become the main food source for reindeer.
Lichens are rich in unsaturated fatty acids, which are what give reindeer their ability to withstand the cold, so they don't have to worry about getting cold in winter.
However, lichens themselves are very low in nutrients, so reindeer usually lose a lot of weight after winter.
It can be said that a reindeer's entire life is a constant journey in search of food to survive.
The reindeer herd on the grassland grew larger and larger, with countless hooves gathering together, their resounding hoofbeats echoing between heaven and earth, announcing to the entire forest that they were about to set off.
"Howl————"
A loud roar, unique to the lead reindeer, rang out, and then the reindeer hooves lifted, and the huge reindeer caravan began to move slowly forward.
The phrase "a single hair can affect the whole body" is the most vivid description of this moment, as the massive herd of deer moved slowly and steadily forward like a tide.
The reindeer herd doesn't move very fast; they've already mastered their rhythm. Unless they encounter danger, they won't waste too much energy. They still have a long way to go, so endurance and stamina are the key factors.
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