Post-flight feast: Study suggests reindeer vision evolved to spot favorite food

By HOLLY RAMER
Associated Press

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — While reindeer are famous for pulling Santa’s sleigh, it’s their vision that really sets them apart. Finding food in a barren landscape is challenging, but researchers from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and the University of St. Andrews in Scotland report that reindeer eyes may have evolved to allow them to easily spot their preferred meal. Unlike other mammals, reindeer can see light in the ultraviolet spectrum, and the light-colored lichen they largely subsist on absorbs UV rays. That means while humans would have trouble seeing it against the snow, it stands out to reindeer.