Of Reindeer and Toadstools

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Ever wonder where the story really came from, about Rudolph and the flying reindeer that whisk Santa Claus through his delivery route around the world in a single day? Having the curiosity of a cat, I’ve wondered, and was thrilled to come across a bit of information that just might explain how it all started.

An article in Pharmaceutical Journal, by scientist Andrew Haynes, describes a phenomenon where reindeer, among some animals, appear to intentionally seek out, and eat – magical mushrooms. You read that right!  Reindeer, it seems, enjoy a bit of imbibing on toadstools that get them high. There is a particular mushroom, the Fly Agaric (or Amanita muscaria), that is known for its, uh, hallucinogenic properties. The herdsmen are even known to drink the reindeer urine, to get a good buzz themselves. Andrew Haynes theorizes that the reindeer look to get high off these mushrooms in order to alleviate the boredom of winter,  “to experience altered states of consciousness”.

Now, for the Santa part. Haynes says, “For humans a common side-effect of mushrooms is the feeling of flying, so it’s interesting the legend about Santa’s reindeer is they can fly.” Aha! I’m wondering, would that have something to do with Rudolph’s glowing nose, too?

In any event, cats have reindeer licked on this one – they’ve got their very own “source”, all to themselves.

The Sun, UK
Wikipedia

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