Yes, you may, under the direction of our elf handler. The best place to pet the reindeer is on the sides. They don't like their heads, noses, or antlers to be touched. Touching them in those places tend to make the reindeer shake their heads. And with those big pointy antlers, that can be dangerous.

Both males and females lose their antlers every year and grow new ones. Antlers grow very quickly to full size within about 3-4 months. Every year until maturity the antlers get bigger. Full maturity is reached in 4-5 years. Males generally (not always) lose their antlers in November or December. 

The fuzzy stuff is called velvet. The velvet contains living tissue full of blood vessels and nerves. It is the blood vessels which provide the nourishment for the growth of the antlers. Kind of like a bone inside out. The antlers grow from the tip, not the base, like a tree. 

They are more similar to cows. Reindeer are very docile and will allow you to stand right next to them. Reindeer do not jump like whitetail deer. Reindeer can be easily trained to walk on a leash. Whitetail deer are wild, reindeer are semi-domesticated.

Reindeer do not. When little kids approach the reindeer for safety purposes we tell them to approach from the sides or back. If you approach from the front the reindeer tend to lower their heads and consequently those big antlers come down as well.

Reindeer graze on broadleaf grasses (not grasses with woody stems), leaves, and some small twigs. They love willow which provides a source of protein for them.  We also feed our Santa's reindeer a special deer food made just fro them!

Reindeer are excellent swimmers. Their very thick coats (they have two, a soft downy undercoat and longer stiffer guard hairs) have hollow hairs that make them very buoyant. And their feet (hooves) are very large enabling them to run more easily in the deep snow and to swim very fast. 

Reindeer have been known to run up to 40-50 miles per hour.

In captivity they tend to live longer than in the wild. Bulls generally from 10-12 years, cows about 15 years, and steers a few years longer. Some reindeer have lived into their 20s.

The first reindeer in the United States were imported from Scandinavia to Alaska in the 1800s to be raised as a source of food. The Sami people of Lapland (parts of Scandinavia and Russia) still maintain large herds of reindeer. The Sami were traditionally nomads who moved with the herds as the reindeer migrated to find food.

Reindeer farms exist throughout the United States as far south as Texas. However, they don't like the warm weather as much so some southern farmers have air-conditioned barns. Most farmers have large fans in their barns to keep the reindeer cool on hot days and to keep the flies off them..