Were Santa’s Reindeer Female? (Does)

We’ve seen the pictures and we know that Santa’s reindeer — Dasher and Dancer and Blitzen and the rest — sport antlers. Does this mean that all of them (even Vixen?) are males? Not exactly — in fact, it almost means the opposite. Reindeer and caribou are unique among deer in that the females grow antlers, too. And even more interesting is the fact that the females retain their antlers from one spring till the next, while mature males shed their antlers in the fall — and are unadorned on Christmas Eve. So the creatures that pull Santa’s sleigh must be females or youngsters. Of course, it’s entirely possible that a male reindeer with the power to fly also has the power to keep his antlers through the holidays.