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CA_SanDiego-Zoo - 203

San Diego Zoo-San Diego, CA. These are Siberian Reindeer, which inhabit open tundra and forested areas bordering the Arctic habitat where they feed on a variety of lichens, mosses, and other plants. Reindeer are more commonly called caribou in North America, and are the only deer in which both males and females have antlers. During the Ice Age, reindeer were such an important prey species for early humans that the period is called "The Reindeer Time." Reindeer were probably first domesticated prior to 700 B.C. by peoples living in northern Eurasia, and are the only deer that have been domesticated. Even today, the livelihood and even survival of certain cultures rely upon the domesticated herds of reindeer. Reindeer were imported from Siberia into Alaska in 1891 as a food source for the indigenous peoples after much of the native wildlife was hunted by European explorers and settlers.