A scientist claims reindeer deliberately eat magic mushrooms to escape the monotony of dreary long winters.
Andrew Haynes believes the animals seek out the mind-bending fly agaric fungi in the wild, reports The Sun.
Writing in the respected Pharmaceutical Journal, Mr Haynes said: "They have a desire to experience altered states of consciousness.
"For humans a common side-effect of mushrooms is the feeling of flying, so it's interesting the legend about Santa's reindeer is they can fly."
He also said herdsmen drink the reindeer's urine to get high themselves