Santa’s head elf over Reindeer Operations, Elf Victor, came to Santa Tracker Chat to talk all about Santa’s reindeer and to answer questions elves might have. It was an interesting conversation! Here is the transcript:
| Elf Sugar Cookie | Good morning! I apologize for missing the last chat; I just got out of church. How are you? |
| Elf Ulan | Hi Elf Sugar Cookie! |
| Elf Max | Hi all! Elf Victor will be here in a minute. He’s got an assistant today, I’m told. |
| Elf Sugar Cookie | Hi Elf Ulan! How are you? |
| Elf Max | Elf Victor, as you know, heads up Reindeer Operations at the North Pole. It is a rare treat to get him here! |
| Elf Ulan | It’ll be the fourth chat today, lol |
| Elf Max | The 4th? |
| Elf Victor | Hello |
| Elf Ulan | Thank you, Elf Sugar Cookie. I’m so good! |
| Elf Max | Ah, Elf Victor! |
| Elf Victor | Hi there. |
| Elf Sugar Cookie | I’m so glad to hear it! |
| Elf Max | Thank you for being with us today. We’re thrilled to have you with us. How are you? |
| Elf Sugar Cookie | Hi, Elf Victor! |
| Elf Victor | I’m doing pretty good for an old guy. |
| Elf Victor | Hi Elf Sugar Cookie |
| Elf Victor | Hello Elf Ulan |
| Elf Victor | Great to be with you today. |
| Elf Victor | Elf Melanie is typing for me today. She’s much faster than I am! |
| Elf Ulan | (Yes, Elf Max 6am, 7am, 11pm, and this! It’s midnightnew here!) |
| Elf Max | Wow, Elf Ulan! You’re one dedicated elf! |
| Elf Victor | Elf Ulan, I don’t know where you are but I admire your work ethic! |
| Elf Ulan | Hello, Elf Victor! It’s been a lot time! |
| Elf Max | Elf Ulan is in Japan. |
| Elf Victor | Oh my! That’s outstanding! |
| Elf Max | What’s the nearest reindeer ranch to Japan? |
| Elf Sugar Cookie | She is one amazing elf! |
| Elf Ulan | Yes, I’m in Japan, and 13 hours earlier different lol |
| Elf Max | Santa has a reindeer ranch in Japan?!!! |
| Elf Victor | Yes, a small one |
| Elf Max | Um…where? |
| Elf Ulan | Thank you, Elf Sugar Cookie. You’re awesome too! |
| Elf Victor | I can’t disclose the exact locations. But it is in the mountains in Shizuoka |
| Elf Sugar Cookie | Thank you so much! |
| Elf Max | Have you been there before? |
| Elf Ulan | Where???? |
| Elf Victor | Yes, many times. Good reindeer there. |
| Elf Max | How many reindeer ranches are there? |
| Elf Ulan | Shizuoka! Around Mt. Fuji? Elf Victor? |
| Elf Victor | Well, there are ranches large and small. Our total network has 26 full time operating ranches in 17 countries, not including our main ranch at the North Pole |
| Elf Victor | I cannot share precise locations, Elf Ulan. Security reasons. The ranch in Japan is quite small |
| Elf Max | I had no idea. So….that brings up a question. Do the reindeer in Japan understand Japanese? |
| Elf Victor | Yes, they do. The trainers and vets there are all Japanese |
| Elf Max | So…they’re elves then? |
| Elf Victor | Yes, of course. |
| Elf Ulan | Wow, I didn’t know that! Whats the big news for me! |
| Elf Max | Do you speak Japanese? |
| Elf Victor | No, I don’t. I have to take a translator with me when I go. I try to go with Santa some times because he’s fluent in Japanese |
| Elf Max | I don’t think that is surprising. |
| Elf Victor | Yes, Santa speaks many languages. He’s always learning something new. He loves to speak with people in their native tongue. |
| Elf Ulan | I can be your translator, Elf Victor! XD |
| Elf Victor | Elf Ulan, I might take you up on that! |
| Elf Max | This is really interesting. How often do you travel to the different ranches? |
| Elf Victor | I don’t travel as much as I used to. We do a lot of work by Zoom and stuff now. The world has gotten smaller with technology. |
| Elf Max | Were you there last week when Santa went to Bolivia? |
| Elf Ulan | Please take me up there! I’m so delighted it! |
| Elf Victor | No, but I was part of the arrangements for that trip for Santa. I knew all about it in advance. |
| Elf Victor | I’d have to clear that with Santa, Elf Ulan. |
| Elf Max | How many elves besides you and Santa get to visit these ranches? |
| Elf Victor | No many. You have to be certified to go to the ranches. We keep them closed to the publc. |
| Elf Max | Why keep them closed? I think a lot of people would want to visit Santa’s reindeer. |
| Elf Victor | Yes, they would. But that’s why we keep them closed. They would be so popular they would never get rest. |
| Elf Max | A lot of people just want to see reindeer fly. You know, to see Santa in his sleigh in the skies. |
| Elf Ulan | Of course. Please let me know anytime! |
| Elf Victor | Yes, they would. And many do see Santa when he flies on Christmas. |
| Elf Victor | You’re an elf, Ulan. And I’m told you’re an excellent elf. We’d just need to get you certified. |
| Elf Max | So why can’t people see reindeer fly at other times of the year? |
| Elf Victor | Well, they could. For example, the test flights of Santa’s sleigh are happening now. I suppose people could see that if they are in the right place. |
| Elf Ulan | How’s Andray going in Bolivia? Elf Victor? |
| Elf Max | Why don’t we do that? Why can’t we tell people where the sleigh is flying and just let them go see? |
| Elf Victor | There are a lot of reasons we don’t do that, Max. These are Santa’s reindeer, not circus animals. They do a serious job. Besides, they don’t like that kind of attention. |
| Elf Victor | Andre is doing really well. He is very excited. I get a call nearly every day about him right now. He really wants to come to the North Pole. Very badly. |
| Elf Max | I understand that sometimes when Santa travels, especially in November and December when he sees so many children, he sometimes shows his reindeer |
| Elf Victor | Yes, he does that now and then. But not often. He would only do that with select reindeer. Ones that have been trained to handle public attention. |
| Elf Max | So…which reindeer would that be? |
| Elf Victor | Sally is Santa’s favorite for facing a crowd. |
| Elf Max | Sally? I’ve never heard of Sally. |
| Elf Victor | Sally is an old, gentle soul. For years she served on Mrs. Claus’ team. She is kind of like a grandma reindeer. |
| Elf Max | A grandma reindeer? What’s that? |
| Elf Ulan | That’s good! I hope Andre will come back to the North Pole soon! |
| Elf Victor | You know. Kind. Gentle. Sweet. Nice. |
| Elf Victor | She never gets nervous around a lot of people. She will let the children actually pet her. That’s very unusual for a reindeer. |
| Elf Max | It is? You can’t pet a reindeer? |
| Elf Victor | Well, you SHOULD NOT pet a reindeer without permission. No. |
| Elf Ulan | Elf Victor, how do I get it? |
| Elf Max | I didn’t know that. They don’t like to be petted? |
| Elf Victor | How do you get what, Elf Ulan? |
| Elf Sugar Cookie | I’ve tried before and it is not easy. (We were lucky enough to see reindeer on a family vacation one time!) They do like apples though! |
| Elf Victor | Reindeer do not like to be touched much, Max. They are very private. Space is important to them. |
| Elf Max | Wow. I never knew |
| Elf Victor | Yes, Elf Sugar Cookie. Food is a good way to get close to a reindeer and to build trust. They LOVE apples. |
| Elf Victor | I don’t think the world realizes how much work Santa had to do to get reindeer to do what they do for him and for all of us. |
| Elf Max | Does Santa pet the reindeer ever? |
| Elf Victor | He does, but not as much as you might think. Santa understands reindeer like no other person in the world. He respects their space. That’s one reason why we never know for sure when they will show up before Christmas. Santa doesn’t command. He invites. |
| Elf Ulan | I mean do you need my certified.? |
| Elf Victor | We would have to work with you to get you certified. But I’m certain you could do it right there at the ranch. |
| Elf Max | Are many elves certified? |
| Elf Victor | Yes, we have a large department. To work with the reindeer you have to be certified. |
| Elf Max | How long does it take to get certified? |
| Elf Victor | Oh not long. About six years on average. |
| Elf Max | Wait…six years before an elf can work with reindeer? |
| Elf Ulan | Which ranch should I go to? |
| Elf Victor | Six years to WORK with reindeer, not to see them or be around them. You have to learn around the reindeer to get certified. |
| Elf Victor | Any reindeer ranch could accommodate you, Elf Ulan. I can talk to Santa about it. |
| Elf Max | So, say Elf Ulan wants to work with the reindeer in some way. It would take her six years to do that? |
| Elf Victor | Yes, if she is intent on a job as it relates to reindeer in some way – it’s going to take at least six years to get certified to get that job. It’s a lot of work. |
| Elf Max | Wow. That blows my mind. |
| Elf Victor | All sleigh pilots have to be reindeer certified. So that’s part of the reason why it takes so long to become a sleigh pilot too. |
| Elf Max | Holy smokes. I never even thought of that. |
| Elf Sugar Cookie | That makes sense! |
| Elf Ulan | Okay, I’d like to try it! 😆 |
| Elf Victor | Yeah, those sleigh pilots have it hard. They have to learn advance mathmatics, lots of science, and also the science of reindeer. Hard than becoming an Astronaut! |
| Elf Sugar Cookie | Wow!! |
| Elf Victor | Ok, Elf Ulan. If you’re serious, I’ll talk to Santa about it. |
| Elf Victor | Yes, I have nothing but respect for the Corps of Sleigh Pilots at the North Pole |
| Elf Ulan | Yes, please tell Santa. Thank you so much |
| Elf Max | How many sleigh pilots are there? |
| Elf Victor | There are close to 20,000 certified sleigh pilots in the world. Not many at all. |
| Elf Max | Goodness! That’s more than I would have thought. |
| Elf Victor | It took many years for Santa to build up to that level. There’s now only about four or five per year who get certified. It’s very rare. |
| Elf Ulan | I heard thousands of reindeer are there |
| Elf Max | Well, how many elves get certified for reindeer? |
| Elf Sugar Cookie | Did Santa have to get certified too? |
| Elf Victor | Yes, elf Ulan. The reindeer number about 65,000 now. All over the world. |
| Elf Victor | Elf Sugar Cookie. Santa does get certified every few years. Of course, he sets the certification requirements, which include book learning, ranch time and other things. He does all that. |
| Elf Victor | We have about 40,000 certified elves who work with reindeer in their various jobs. |
| Elf Ulan | 65000 reindeer! And you manage them all! |
| Elf Max | I had no idea the scope of this was that big. |
| Elf Sugar Cookie | Wow, that’s incredible. He holds himself to a high standard for sure! |
| Elf Max | Folks, the time has flown by on this chat and we have learned a lot. Are there any last questions for Elf Victor? |
| Elf Victor | Santa considers reindeer some of his most important elves. He cannot be Santa without them. |
| Elf Sugar Cookie | Where does Rudolph usually stay in the off-season (as much as you are allowed to disclose)? |
| Elf Max | Elf Victor, can we get you back for another chat soon? This has been the best chat for me. I have really learned a great deal. |
| Elf Ulan | It’s so fast. Elf Victor, are Trixie and Mighty Mick friends? XD |
| Elf Victor | Rudolph? He’s from North America. He spends a lot of time with family in the Rockies. |
| Elf Victor | Mighty Mick is friends with everyone he meets. He’s really an exceptional reindeer. |
| Elf Victor | Yes, he loves Trixie. |
| Elf Max | Elf Victor THANK YOU so much for being here. |
| Elf Sugar Cookie | Wow, that’s cool! I had no idea he’s from Sector 5; thanks for letting me know! |
| Elf Victor | It has been a pleasure. I’d love to come back some time. |
| Elf Victor | Goodbye everyone! Save up your apples for the reindeer! |
| Elf Sugar Cookie | Thank you so much; this has been one of the best chats! |
| Elf Max | Hahaha – will do. Thanks Elf Victor. |
| Elf Ulan | Aww, thank you. I hope I want to be their friend someday! |
| Elf Max | wow, what a chat! Thanks for being here you guys! |
| Elf Sugar Cookie | Thank you Elf Max and Elf Victor (and it was great to talk to you again, Elf Ulan)! |
| Elf Ulan | Thank you, Elf Victor, Elf Max, and Elf Sugar Cookie! |
Very Interesting. I am so disappointed I couldn’t attend this chat.
Thank you, Elf Winslow. Thank you so much, elves Victor, Max, and Elf Sugar Cookie! It was amazing. I read the recap, and I have a lot of missed the stories. I respect the pilots and Santa and Mrs. Claus! It’ll take six years to get certified. I can heal the reindeer without petting using energy healing too. Elf Victor, please ask Santa about me! I’ll do my best for it if Santa permits me! I’ll learn about reindeer more with respect. And we’ll see you soon in the next chat!