A Very “Claus-sy” Question: Are Santa’s Reindeers All Females?

It’s already winter and Christmas is coming! Santa will be on his way to town to drop off the gifts to girls and boys who have been nice all year, with his sleigh dragged by his faithful reindeers led by not other than Rudolf’s red shiny nose. I guess Rudolf’s got a great sense of direction, with all the towns Santa has got to visit.
Of all Santa’s reindeer, Rudolf has been the most popular—the favorite and the one with a song that’s all about him. Not that Santa’s reindeers are not very interesting, actually they are. From the poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, we were introduced to Dancer, Dasher, Blitzen, Vixen, Prancer, Comet, Cupid, and Donner. Rudolf was not actually on the list at first, maybe because he missed that night’s adventure being busy shining that red nose.
There might be stories about each reindeer, but what arouses a lot of curiosity is the question of their gender. It is a popular belief that they are all bulls, with masculine names such as Rudolf, or Donner, plus normally only male deer can grow antlers. After all Santa is not so light, not to mention the huge bag of gifts in the sleigh. So, imagine the paradox when there’s a big possibility based on physiological evidence that the sturdy reindeers who carry all the weight of the Jolly Ol’ Santa and all the gifts might be females. There is a joke spreading on based on this irony.
Reindeers are the only deer with both male, female, and calves are able to grow antlers. They shed their antlers annually, and only females can retain theirs past the winter season. It’s not ordinary for males to retain their antler until the night that Santa would rove the town. With the popular image of the reindeers having their majestic antlers still on them while Santa’s driving the sleigh, the reindeers must be females—even Rudolf.
Yes, that is the case if we are taking only the ordinary circumstances. But if we take into consideration the possibilities that are beyond ordinary, there’s no need to insist that Rudolf is not a “guy” reindeer. The site of Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game could be right to note that Santa Claus’ reindeers might not belong to the ordinary species. It is possible that they belong to the some other kinds of reindeers that do not shed their antlers—different or even magical. We know they can fly, which already transcends reality; being able to keep their antlers on might not be too hard to believe.