Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is actually a GIRL… and here’s how we know

HE'S normally the centre of attention because of the shiny facial feature... but could there be even more to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer than meets the eye?

Well, it turns out that we've all be adding to poor Rudolph's misery by getting the famous reindeer's gender wrong all along - despite the popular song's lyrics, he is actually a she.

We can all picture the Christmassy critter standing there with the glowing snout and majestic antlers at the front of Santa's sleigh.

But it's this common depiction of Rudolph proudly posing with her antlers aloft which gives the game away and proves that the reindeer is a girl.

Edinburgh University professors Gerald Lincoln and David Baird told the there's no way that Rudolph can be a fella because male reindeer shed their antlers before mid-December.

Professor Lincoln said: "Male reindeer actually cast their antlers before Christmas, so they don't have any antlers at Christmas time.

"They have their mating season in autumn when they use their antlers to fight, but once it finishes they cast them."

There's one other explanation for Rudolph's mystery antlers, but it's probably best not to tell the kids about it.

Other than females, castrated males are the only reindeer who keep their antlers into late December.

The Professor added: "Rudolph could be a castrated male, or a female. I think it's nicest to think that Rudolph was a female!"

Among lady reindeer, antlers are most commonly ditched in spring, growing them back in time for winter when they need them to compete with other females for food.

Perhaps it's time to give the famous song lyrics a bit of a tweak.

Previously, we revealed the truth about Santa Claus: the Christmas icon was very real - although he's been dead for centuries.

We also revealed the real reason why red and green are considered to be traditional Christmas colours.