Windsong and Yukon, a beautiful pair of mountain reindeer, have made themselves at home in the Academy’s east garden, where they will munch on foliage and greet visitors for the next six weeks, as part of our ‘Tis the Season for Science festivities.

To get here, they traveled up the freeway in a trailer from Tehachapi, California, a journey which takes about 6 hours by car. Had they hoofed it, it would have taken a mere ten days. A mere ten days? It may sound like a long trip when compared to car travel times, but reindeer actually migrate farther each year than any other land mammal, up to 33 miles each day and 3,000 miles per year. Their “airspeed,” of course, is still undocumented, but remains open to speculation and the imagination.

Drop in between now and January 2 to say hello and find out more about how these antlered herbivores have adapted to the cold climes of the Arctic tundra.