【明報專訊】Against their formidable public image around the world, reindeer are fatal encounters for many Nordic drivers. Every year, in Finland alone, over 4,000 traffic accidents result from drivers attempting to swerve and avoid the animal, which has the habit of wandering into the road without giving much prior notice. Facing such an unusual opponent, any self-defence training is rendered useless. In 2019, 12 Finnish soldiers were injured from a reindeer crash. Understandably, reindeer do not enjoy the popularity of Rudolph-the-red-nose in their hometowns. Many would regard them as a clumsy pest, akin to the kangaroo in the polar opposite part of the world. Alarm systems like Porokello ("reindeer bell" in Finnish) have been developed to flag the approaching of the beast to drivers.