Since it's the holiday season, I gave myself the gift of the author's prerogative to ask Weird Animal Question of the Week: If Krampus, St. Nicholas's demonic counterpart, had reindeer, what would they look like? (Related: "Krampus the Christmas Devil Is Coming to More Towns. So Where's He From?")

My first thought was that "fanged" or "vampire" deer would do nicely as Krampus sidekicks. As it turns out, these shy, small deer probably wouldn't suit the nasty monster at all—but they're fascinating in their own right.

"Fanged deer" is a loose term that refers to male deer with visible canines, including water deer, musk deer, muntjac, and tufted deer.

"The ancestors of all deer were small and had