Reindeer or Caribou? Same Thing

I`ve been saving this one for the holiday season when the topic is more relevant. Somehow I didn`t know this, but reindeer and caribou are the same darn thing.

This is a reindeer:

And this is a caribou:

If you are thinking \"gee wiz, they look the same\", you get a cookie because... they are.

Reindeer (or caribou) like to live where it is really cold, like hockey players. That`s why Santa uses them. They can be found all over northern Russia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Canada, and Alaska. Not so much in Greenland or Iceland, but there are some.

Generally speaking, the animals are known as reindeer in the eastern hemisphere, and caribou in the west.

The word \"reindeer\" has been around longer, as it comes from Old Norse. \"Caribou\" comes from Canadian French, which in turn was adopted from a native word, and literally means \"snow-shoveller\". I think that`s rather amusing.

In modern North American English, sometimes the term \"reindeer\" is used for domesticated animals, while those in the wild are known as \"Caribou\".

\"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Caribou\" just doesn`t have the same ring to it.