Reindeer / Caribou
Rangifer tarandus
brought to you by your friendly neighborhood science teacher
Description
Range
Life History, Status
Reindeer Ecological Concerns Genetic manipulation
Reindeer/caribou are rather large members of the deer family. Their broad hoofs spread to aid walking on soft ground and their concave shape is ideal for digging in snow. Both sexes grow antlers, but for males they serve as sexual ornaments and weapons for fighting rivals during the breeding season. Alaskan caribou are clove-brown with a white neck and rump. Chukotkan reindeer, as a result of domestication, have varied pelt combinations of brown, grey, black and white in the same herd. Because some domesticated reindeer look very different than the wild caribou, some folks are mislead in thinking they are different species, but they are the same. The differences in appearance are the result of selective breeding. For the same reason, different breeds of dogs do not look the same.
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Range
Wild caribou live in tundra and boreal forest regions of both Eurasia
and North America, on Greenland
and on large northern islands. Within Beringia, their habitat includes
eastern Yakutia, the Anadyr
highlands and much of western Alaska, but are absent on most of
the Chukotka and Seward
peninsulas, where they have been supplanted by domesticated reindeer.
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Life History, Status
Caribou are social animals living in herds; herds are defined by
their use of the same general area
as calving grounds. In spring pregnant cows lead the migration
to the calving grounds, where
each will give birth to a single calf. Newborns can walk within
an hour and in a few days they can
outrun a person. The herd feeds on new spring
vegetation; grasses, sedges,
flowering plants, horsetails and the leaves of willows. In
mid-summer the animals are harassed by millions of
mosquitoes and flies which can drive the animals to windy coastal areas
or old snow patches for a respite.
In late August or early September the herd begins to drift toward
its winter range. Mating occurs
enroute, usually during late September or October.
Rangifer tarandus are well adapted to winter conditions. To cope with the scarcity of food, they reduce food intake and lower their metabolic rate. Lichens (a colony of fungus and blue-green algae) are their most important winter food. Caribou shift winter ranges from year to year, which helps to prevent overgrazing. Since heavy snow or ice conditions can make it difficult to dig down to food, they often winter in forested areas where snow cover may be less and where they can feed on the lichens which grow on the bark of trees.
The great migrations of wild herds may reach into the thousands of animals. Though I have been to alaska, I have never seen such a migration, but I would assume it to be an awesome sight. Because caribou often shift their migration routes, they are difficult to hunt, causing privation for hunting peoples who depended on their presence.
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Reindeer
In Eurasia people long ago began to tame wild caribou. There
is evidence that this occurred in the southern Altai mountain region about
5,000 years ago. All domesticated
reindeer may have derived from those ancient stocks, for modern attempts
to domesticate animals from
wild caribou populations have not succeeded. It is speculated
that initially hunters learned that
tamed deer on a leash could help them sneak closer to wild herds.
Later tame animals were used
to pull sleds. In some cultures they were saddled and ridden.
Later people raised reindeer for their meat and hides.
Today, from the Sami (or "Lapps") in Scandinavia, all across northern Eurasia to the Bering Strait, there are Native peoples who base their economies upon raising reindeer. Modern uses include the former ones, plus commercial sales of meat and some hides. Many chinese buy the antlers for medicinal useage. The greatest domestication of reindeer is in Russia where reindeer number about 2,250,000.
Different reindeer varieties have been developed in Asia to suit local conditions and human needs, including transportation. Chukchis have a breed that appears to be the product of longer domestication than most. It is good eating but lousy at pulling sleds.
Life in a reindeer camp remains traditional in many ways, based on the mutual dependence of reindeer and people. Reindeer hides supply handsome, light and warm clothes enabling people to work in the severe cold. Tents and bedding are made from the winter hides which are one of the best available natural insulators. When the hides are sewn together with sinew, they become the winter coverings of the large round tents called yarangas.
Despite the long history of cultural contacts and movements across Beringia, reindeer husbandry was not seen in North America until Chukchi and Sami herders brought Chutotkan reindeer to Alaska in the late 19th century to teach herding to Eskimos. The Seward Peninsula is home to most of Alaska's reindeer, about 17,000 in herds owned by local Eskimos and Native corporations. Herds range throughout the Seward Peninsula, including within the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, where the continuance of herding is allowed by law.
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Ecological Concerns
Because of their great numbers, caribou and reindeer can have
considerable effects on their
habitat. For instance, during the 1960's the number of reindeer
on the Chukotsk Peninsula rose to
100,000, exceeding the capacity of the winter range. The
essential lichens were seriously
overgrazed and still have not fully recovered. The present population of
reindeer is about 45,000.
Domesticated herds have displaced Chukotkan caribou. The wild animals have difficulty finding food in areas already grazed by reindeer. In addition, herders tend to shoot caribou when they come near their herds, since caribou compete with reindeer for forage.
There are detrimental effects of reindeer herding to the environment. Herds can threaten ground-nesting birds by trampling nests and eggs. They sometimes eat the eggs. Potential predators like wolves are often killed to protect the herds. But people have to eat and Santa needs several thousand reindeer to pull the load of toys he has to deliver each year!
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Genetic Manipulation
Reindeer are to Caribou as domestic dogs are to wolves, as pigs are to the wild boar, as friesian-holstein cattle are to the ancient wild cattle of the old world. That is, they have been selectively bread for many generations by man. Some genetically-manipulated breeds have escaped domestication and formed semi-wild herds in places like Finland. Just as varying breeds of dogs were bred for different purposes, reindeer were bred for different purposes.
Those that were bred for pulling sleds and carts are not as suitable for food as those bred for that purpose. Despite a 5000 year history of breeding, no documentation shows a breed of reindeer that can fly. It is doubtful then, that reindeer actually fly from roof top to roof top during Christmas eve! Sorry about that!
A little reindeer humor sent to us via email from Miles Lowe:
A Russian couple was walking down the street in Moscow one night, when the man felt a drop hit his nose. "I think it's raining", he said to his wife. "No, that felt more like snow to me", she replied. "No, I'm sure it was just rain, he said". Well, as these things go, they were about to have a major argument about whether it was raining or snowing. Just then they saw a minor communist party official walking toward them. "Let's not fight about it", the man said, "Let's ask Comrade Rudolph whether it's officially raining or snowing". As the official approached, the man said, "Tell us, Comrade Rudolph, is it officially raining or snowing?". "It's raining, of course", he replied, and walked on. But the woman insisted: "I know that felt like snow!", to which the man quietly replied: "Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear"!
started 12/5/96 updated on Dec 15, 1998 by Bill Drennon, webmaster
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