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| | Northern reindeer (from Latin: Rangifer tarandus) — only the representative of kind of Northern reindeer (Rangifer), even-toed mammals of cervids family. It lives in northern part of Eurasia and northern America. It eats only grass and lichen, but also small mammals and birds. In Eurasia, reindeer domesticated and it is the main source of lively hood and materials for many polar nations. Northern people call wild northern reindeer as sokzha.
Classification
There are several sub types northern reindeer:
North American sub types
* Forest caribou (R. tarandus caribou) — initially spread in taiga regions of North America from Alaska to Newfoundland and Labrador. At present natural habitat significantly reduced, sub type is considered as in status of close threatened (NT as per classification of IUCN).
* Caribou Grant (R. tarandus granti) — north American sub type, which is spread in Alaska, Yukon and North-west territories of Canada.
* Tundra caribou (R. tarandus groenlandicus) — spread in north-west territories of Canada and in Nunavut, and also in Western Greenland.
* Caribou Pearyi (R. tarandus pearyi) — spread in North islands of Nunavut and North-West territories of Canada.
* Caribou of Queen Charlotte Islands, or Dawson Caribou (R. tarandus dawsoni) — extinct sub type inhabited in Graham islands, one of the biggest islands of archipelago of Charlotte islands at Pacific ocean coast of Canada (Britain Columbia).
Eurasia sub types
* Wild Northern reindeer (R. tarandus tarandus) — inhabitant of Arctic tundra of Eurasia including Scandinavian Peninsula of Northern Europe. In Russia, their population exceeds 1.2 million individuals (1999).
* Wild Northern reindeer or Finnish Northern reindeer (R. tarandus fennicus) — found in wild form only in two regions of Scandinavian Peninsula, and also in Karelia. Small population inhabits in center of South Finland. Karelian population goes sufficiently deep in to Russia, question about relation of eastern representatives of this population to this sub type is still open. This type is introduced in to Red book of Russia.
* Shitsebergen Northern reindeer (R. tarandus platyrhynchus) — Inhabitant of islands of Shpitsebergen archipelago, at present is the small populated sub type of Northern reindeers.
* Novaya Zemlya reindeer (Rangifer tarandus pearsoni) — isolated population, which is inhabitant in Islands of Archipelago of New Zemlya. Number of reindeers in 1981 in Yuzhnom Island was about 6 thousand individuals. This sub type is added in to Red book of Russia.
* Arctic Northern reindeer (R. tarandus eogroenlandicus) — fully extinct animals, which were inhabitant of Eastern Greenland up to beginning of XX century.
Reindeer farming is an animal husbandry, which is engaged in breeding and usage of Northern reindeers.
It is not known for certain, where and who domesticated northern reindeers first time. Breeding practice of northern reindeers become famous around 1000 BC from Siberia through Northern European part of Russia to Scandinavia. At present, many small nations of North, Siberia and Far east of Russia including nentsi, komi-izhemtsi, hanti, dolgani, evenki, chukchi and koryaki are involved in breeding of reindeers. Saams are involved in breeding of reindeers in Norway, Sweden and Finland. High mobility of flock due to the status of pasture and accessibility of fodder is peculiar for breeding of reindeers. Reindeers may reside in Northern taiga, forest tundra, and tundra based on the pasture. Respectively breeding of reindeers may be forest, tundra and inter zonal. In last case, during summer season, flock resides in tundra, and during winter season it moves in to forest tundra and Northern taiga. Each flock is watched by a group of family of reindeer breeders having mobile residence: tent, canvas, yaranga. Basic task of reindeer breeders is protection of animals from many carnivores and in time shifting of pasture areas. Wander of flocks of reindeers is carried out as per preplanned routes as a rule constantly for long period of time. During summer-autumn period in forest zone, reindeers may go around freely. During autumn, all animals are driven in special yards – square for counting, marking of young ones, veterinary treatment and rejection of individual ones. Northern reindeers may be beaten directly inside the flock, as their congeners will not be scared. Modern times, snow mobiles are used for bringing the reindeers, but nentsi and evenki traditionally use reindeers as transportation animals. As northern reindeers survive natural climatic conditions, during which other domestic animals as a rule do not survive, in XX century, domesticated animals are brought to Greenland, Canada and Alaska. Though the local native people were hunting on them but never handled them. Small flocks of Northern reindeers were brought to even sub Antarctic Islands like South Georgia and Kergelin, where basically research people hold them.
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