Rudolph the red nosed reindeer is a female

Rudolph the red nosed reindeer is actually female, scientists have said. Edinburgh University professors Gerald Lincoln and David Baird say Rudolph cannot be a male because female reindeer still have antlers at Christmas. Males shed theirs before mid-December.

Prof Lincoln said: "Rudolph classically is this red-nosed reindeer who is around at Christmas.

"We picture him in the snow with his antlers, but if you know anything about nature you discover that things are not quite so straightforward. Male reindeer actually cast their antlers before Christmas, so they don't have any antlers at Christmastime.



"They have their mating season in autumn when they use their antlers to fight, but once it finishes they cast them.

"So you can't picture Rudolph as a big red-nosed macho male because he has cast his antlers already and can't arrive on your doorstep with his antlers on, looking handsome. I just wanted to remind people that it is never quite so straightforward and even females develop weapons when it comes to the real world of seasonal breeding."

Of the forty different species of deer in the world, only in reindeer do females have antlers.