A reindeer with a glowing horn in Finland.

Not beyond the expectations of  "Santa’s hometown" , Rovaniemi has a lot of reindeer - both wild and man-made. But the reindeer here have something very different from the rest of the world: Their horns can glow in the night.

Calm down, there’s really no magic here. These glowing horns are luminescent paint painted by humans themselves. And of course, there is a very good reason for this action, which is to save the lives of both reindeer and humans.

Conflict when people and things interfere

Located near the North Pole, Santa’s hometown is always covered with snow and surrounded by herds of reindeer. The problem is that people are also gradually increasing, so the fact that the two sides meet each other happens with increasing frequency.

And the reindeer jumping out in the middle of the road when the car is moving is also a common occurrence.

According to statistics from the Finnish Ministry of Transport, in Rovaniemi, on average, there are more than 11 accidents involving reindeer a day. As a result of each case, usually one of the parties is injured, even both, and in some cases, it leads to death.

Although the government subsidizes the cost, the farmer loses the reindeer, while the driver loses the repair fee. Such accidents still cause considerable damage.

The savior appeared and the idea of the "glow horn"

Anne Ollila, the director of the Finnish Reindeer Breeders as‌sociation, is the one to solve this problem. She devised a plan, wanting to make the reindeer here stand out in the dark, visible while moving.

Ollila and her colleagues used luminescent paint to cover the horns and part of the reindeer’s fur

Inspired by workwear, Ollila and her colleagues used luminescent paint to cover the horns and part of the reindeer’s fur. Thanks to that, under the light from the car, the reindeer seem to glow, making it easier for drivers to handle.

This idea also has to go through many tests. Initially, the reflected light was somewhat similar to that of cars moving in the opposite direction, causing drivers to subjectively fail to react in time and cause unnecessary consequences. But later Ollila switched to using fluorescent paints that gave off a different light, so the situation began to gradually improve.

This is a promising project to help control traffic accidents in Finland. According to Ollila, the as‌sociation wants to build an application on the phone that will respond to reflected light, and thus ensure the safety of people and objects here.