Arctic Biodiversity Trends 2010: Indicator #18, Reindeer Herding

Reindeer, Rangifer tarandus L., is an animal with a circumpolar distribution that has been a key component of Eurasian high latitude ecosystems for at least two million years. Interactions with humans date from the late Pleistocene onward, and both wild and semi-domestic animals continue to be highly valued by aboriginal and non-native peoples for a diversity of purposes. The most productive semi-domestic herds occur in the Sápmi homeland of northern Fennoscandia and the Nenets regions of northwest Russia straddling the Ural Mountains.