Reindeer herds grow on Russian tundra
The number of reindeer on Nenets tundra is up by more than 270,000 in 15 years
The territories are huge. But so are the number of reindeer. According to the authorities in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, there are now more than 700,000 reindeer on the regional tundra.
That is an increase of about 200,000 animals in 15 years. According to figures from the Russian Statistical Service, there were 504,000 reindeer in the region in 2000.
In addition, there has also been an increase in the neighbouring Nenets Autonomous Okrug, where the total number of animals now is estimated to 192,000, regional authorities say. In 2000, the number of reindeer in the Nenets AO totaled about 122,000.
In the Yamal-Nenets region, as many as 110,000 calves were born this year. At the same time, about 70,000 animals are up for slaughter. That will give regional reindeer herders and their local industries about 2,500 tons of environmentally friendly and clean meat, the regional government informs.
The Yamal-Nenets AO is believed to house 50 percent of the Russian reindeer population and about 35 of the world’s total.
In Norway, the number of reindeer move in the opposite direction. According to the country’s Agricultural Agency, there is now a total reindeer population of 211,600. Of them, 145,795 live in the northernmost county of Finnmark.
That is the lowest number in more than ten years.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Caribou numbers plummet in eastern Canada, Radio Canada International
Finland: Better times for reindeer herding, YLE News
Norway: Norway’s radioactive reindeer, Barents Observer
Russia: A reindeer tragedy in Russian Arctic, Barents Observer
Sweden: Bear hunt quota worries reindeer herders in Sweden’s Arctic, Radio Sweden
United States: Wildfires could threaten Arctic caribou herd’s winter habitat: study, Alaska Dispatch
