It's not Rudolph, but dang is he cute

[April 20, 2010]  FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) -- With wobbly legs but no red nose, the first of 19 expected reindeer calves has been born at an Alaska farm that's the only reindeer research facility in North America.

Workers discovered the 17-pound newborn calf Thursday at the University of Alaska Fairbanks research farm. The other 18 pregnant does are expected to give birth within a week or so.

The newcomers don't have names yet, but that'll soon change. The research program hosts an annual contest to name its new calves, with the winners receiving birth certificates for the reindeer they've named.

The facility experiments with feeding techniques to aid reindeer ranchers.

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On the Net:

To submit a reindeer name: http://reindeer.salrm.uaf.edu/sidebar/calfwatch.php

[Associated Press]

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