Why reindeer are more amazing than you might think
- Published
Reindeer are even more amazing than we thought.
Scientists have just discovered that reindeer could actually be helping to protect the North Pole from climate change.
In this photo, you can see wild reindeer looking for food on an island in the Arctic circle
They can do this by eating plants in the Arctic, according to a science publication called Environmental Research Letters.
Munching on shrubs like this allows the surface of the Earth to be more reflective, bouncing more of the sun's radiation back out into space.
This means that, when the reindeer eat the plants, this could potentially cool the temperature in the Arctic during the summer.
Dr Mariska te Beest, the lead researcher from Umea University in Sweden, said that it might even be possible to manage other animals in a similar way to help climate change even more.
Cupid the reindeer visits the elderly in Wiltshire
However, more research needs to be done as the scientists believe you need a lot of animals for it to make a real difference.
- Published30 November 2015
- Published19 February 2014
- Published6 December 2022
