The Future of Arctic Reindeer and Caribou
Rangifer tarandus
Known as reindeer in Northern Europe and caribou in North America (reindeer if domesticated), Rangifer tarandus is the most abundant large terrestrial herbivore in the Arctic. Rangifer is vital in controlling plant and predator populations, but the species is declining in many parts of the world (Mallory & Boyce, 2017). Currently, the species is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Gunn, 2016).
Many indigenous peoples throughout the Arctic have been dependent on healthy Rangifer populations for thousands of years. Migratory caribou herds are hunted by indigenous groups such as the Inuit in Alaska, Canada, and Greenland and serve as a vital source of food and material for shelter, tools, and clothing. Reindeer in Greenland and Northern Europe are also important food sources for peoples such as the Yupik in Siberia (Kuhnlein, et al., 2017). The Sami people in Sweden, Norway, and Finland are reliant on reindeer herding and husbandry for transportation, milk, and meat production as a way of life (International Centre for Reindeer Husbandry).
Climate Change and Habitat Destruction
In 2018, the Arctic Report Card noted that the abundance of migratory caribou herds in North America and Greenland and wild reindeer in Russia and Norway had declined by 56% over the previous twenty years. Overall numbers fell from 4.7 million to 2.1 million individuals. Some wild caribou herds in Alaska and Canada declined by over 90% (Gill, 2018; Russel, et al., 2018). These declines are likely to worsen in the coming years, as global climate change disrupts weather patterns, vegetation quality, migration routes, and parasite activity. Furthermore, increasing human activity in the Arctic is likely to exacerbate these problems by destroying Rangifer habitat further.
JUERGEN RITTERBACH/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO