Main Street Nashville
NASHVILLE WEATHER
physicians-mutual-dental-insurance-banners

Santa’s reindeer arrive at Cheekwood





Cheekwood will feature two real reindeer this year, Twinkle and Tinsel, during regular hours and as part of its Holiday LIGHTS display.Larry McCormack / Main Street Nashville

Cheekwood will feature two real reindeer this year, Twinkle and Tinsel, during regular hours and as part of its Holiday LIGHTS display.Larry McCormack / Main Street Nashville

Tinsel and Twinkle, two of Santa’s reindeer, have arrived at Cheekwood to celebrate the holiday season.

Twinkle, a 6-year-old female, and Tinsel, a 6-month-old female, will stay at Cheekwood through the Holiday LIGHTS event, which runs Nov. 20 through Jan. 9.

Hall Whitaker, Cheekwood garden and husbandry supervisor, described Twinkle as sassy but a caring mother figure to Tinsel, whose two antler spikes have only begun to poke out of her head.

The reindeer arrived from the North Pole via Rocky Hill Reindeer Farm in Knoxville.

Cheekwood has hosted reindeer for the past seven years. One particularly memorable one for Whitaker is Jolly, who came until last year.

“She was what I always imagined a reindeer would be,” he said, adding that her sweet personality was a perfect fit for Santa.

Cheekwood hosted a male reindeer once, but Whitaker said they are harder to handle and about twice the size of the females. (Twinkle is 200 pounds.)

Although the day of their arrival was a balmy 70 degrees, Twinkle and Tinsel have become acclimated due to being raised at the farm.

Reindeer keeper Hall Whitaker explains facts about the reindeer to Cheekwood visitors on Wednesday. Cheekwood will feature two reindeer this year, Twinkle and Tinsel, during regular hours and as part of its Holiday LIGHTS display.Larry McCormack / Main Street Nashville

Reindeer keeper Hall Whitaker explains facts about the reindeer to Cheekwood visitors on Wednesday. Cheekwood will feature two reindeer this year, Twinkle and Tinsel, during regular hours and as part of its Holiday LIGHTS display.Larry McCormack / Main Street Nashville

Whitaker said their hair is light, hollow and quick-drying.

To host the reindeer, Cheekwood has to follow strict care guidelines and submit to inspections.

The reindeer eat grains and sleep on straw in their enclosure, which is of a size they are used to.

Whitaker and the other animal care professionals also provide them with items to keep them stimulated.

This cushy life is far different from the one wild reindeer, also known as caribou in North America, typically experience.

“It’s a hard-knock life being a reindeer,” Whitaker said, noting that they are plenteous in the wild.

They live in such cold areas that they are always on the move looking for food. They are opportunistic when searching for their diet, eating anything from bits of grass to moss and lichen.

Since reindeer are crepuscular, or most active at dawn and dusk, 5 p.m. would be the perfect time for families to visit Twinkle and Tinsel.

 

 

“I like to think this is one of the main reasons people come to Holiday LIGHTS,” Whitaker said. “There certainly are families that have kids that have grown up around these reindeer.”

Holiday LIGHTS is open 5-10 p.m. The event features holiday light displays, s’mores stations, a 20-foot orchid tree and a holiday marketplace.

Last year 90,000 people attended. This year 100,000 are expected, according to the marketing department.

“Up on the housetop, click click click.” Reindeers actually make a clicking noise when they walk due to a tendon that pops over a bone.

“Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose.” When reindeer live in the Arctic, their noses can actually appear red in the cold due to all the blood vessels expanding.

“Vixen and Blitzen and all his reindeer pulling on the reins.” Reindeer are actually strong enough to pull sleighs and are used as work animals in the Lapland region of Europe.

Source: Hall Whitaker, Cheekwood garden and husbandry supervisor

Leave a Reply