Reindeer populations are disappearing worldwide

[webfact]

Reindeer Populations Are Disappearing Worldwide
by Kelly Dickerson, Staff Writer

CHINA: -- Reindeer populations are in trouble around the world, and in China, the iconic animals are on the decline largely because of inbreeding, according to new research.

Some folklorists say Christmas tales of flying reindeer may have originated as a hallucination, with one theory claiming the inspiration for Santa Claus came from shamans who would give out bags of hallucinatory mushrooms in late December in the Siberian and Arctic regions. But, nonflying reindeer are very real and an important part of northern ecosystems.

Reindeer populations currently live in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Canada, Alaska, Russia, Mongolia and China, and populations across the board are declining. In the new study, researchers from Renmin University in Beijing focused on the reindeer population in China, which has declined about 28 percent since the 1970s. [6 Surprising Facts About Reindeer]

Reindeer first migrated to China from Siberia about 2,000 years ago along with the Ewenki tribe, according to the researchers. The Ewenki people are reindeer herders, and they have a similar relationship with reindeer as Native Americans had with buffalo. The Ewenki do not fully domesticate the reindeer, but provide the herd with basics like salt, and use the animals for their meat, hides and milk.

The researchers determined how many reindeer were left in China (about 770) by interviewing the Ewenki herders and looking through old population records. The Ewenki often tie colored ribbons around the reindeer's necks to help differentiate the animals.

Full story: http://www.livescience.com/49153-reindeer-populations-disappearing.html

-- Livescience 2014-12-18

[Torrens54]

Oh Dear!

"Rudolf, won't you guide my Sleigh Tonight?"

Ho, ho, ho.....or is that, 555?

[khunPer]

»Reindeer Populations Are Disappearing Worldwide«

Must be a very local Chinese problem – with only 770 reindeer left – the largest herd of four main reindeer populations on Santa’s Greenland was 98,000 in 2013. Southern Norway has the last remaining wild tundra reindeer in Europe, about 30,000 to 35,000 in 23 different populations, whilst Finland has about 200,000 (however been up to 250,000 in 1970’ies and 80’ies). It’s true that there seem to be a declining number in some herds, from Canada it’s mentioned that several herds has declined 50 percent or more, but still leave the herds to be numbered from 20,000-30,000 to several hundred thousands, whilst for example the Leaf River caribou herd has increased from around 200,000 to more than 600,000 (data from Wikipedia and International Center for Reindeer Husbandry).

From what I quickly can look up it don’t seem like reindeers outside China are endangered species at present...

[Chicog]

[Ianatlarge]

I don't take signs of environmental breakdown with jocularity, nor should anyone who thinks towards the future.

[Inepto Cracy]

Chicog, your picture does not tell the full story. It is a fact, that Rudolf the Brown - Nosed Reindeer was Rudolf the Red - Nosed Reindeer's younger brother. As such, Santa let him fly directly behind Rudolf the Red - Nosed Reindeer, in order to learn the way to fly in formation with the other reindeer. However, he was just as fast, sometimes faster than Rudolf the Red - Nosed Reindeer, but Santa told me, he could not stop as fast as Rudolf the Red - Nosed Reindeer and that is where he got his name of Rudolf the Brown - Nosed Reindeer.

[Benmart]

I don't take signs of environmental breakdown with jocularity, nor should anyone who thinks towards the future.

Not to mention the jokes and other rude comments that are made when people are injured, killed or are otherwise victims of misfortune.

Save the reindeers, yes. But I am more concerned with other human beings.

[phantomfiddler]

What do you expect ? They have all been hired by the "Christmas Sleigh Rides R Us" Company, and should be back with the missus ,n chilluns end of the month latest

[Scott]

Off-topic posts and replies removed.

[White Christmas13]

Maybe we all should stop celebrating Christmas we would save a lot of reindeer