Nature, the wildlife & natural history series on PBS, has been tracking the decline of caribou and reindeer populations around the world.  Scientists use collars to follow the whereabouts of these grand creatures and, when the signal of one caribou went silent in the fall of 2017 and returned on December 25, 2017 at 11:00pm, researchers began to wonder.

“’The timing is a little suspicious,'”says Laura Finnegan. ‘We think the caribou may have been recruited to pull Santa’s sleigh. That’s enough time for some training, to get all the presents delivered, and to get back out on the mountainside late Christmas day.’”

For children of all ages, you can read the full story, Did A Caribou Help Fly Santa’s Slay? at the Nature blog.  You can also explore the collection of science videos and media-enhanced lesson plans that draws upon the powerful documentaries of public television’s award-winning natural history series, Nature at PBS LearningMedia.