Once a year, readers’ c
oncern for reindeer fitness appears to skyrocket, so to speak, so we are pleased to report on the latest study of the animal’s remarkable cooling system, often used in endurance flights. HealthDay reports that when researchers at the University of Tromso put reindeer through their terrestrial paces, trotting at speeds of 6 miles per hour on a treadmill in temperatures from 50 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit, they found that reindeer pant with their mouths either closed or open, allowing them to evaporate water from either the nose or the tongue. The evaporation apparently helps the reindeer cool blood in their nasal sinuses; the cooled blood then goes back to the rest of their bodies. Wait, there’s more: the researchers discovered that when reindeer get too hot, the keep their brains from overheating with a heat-exchange system, diverting the blood that had been cooled by going through the nose to the brain and away from the body.
Next year: How they fly.