A Year in the Life of a Reindeer Herder

The annual cycle of the reindeer sets the rhythm for the herder's life and work. Marking the calves in June and July and the round-ups from the end of September to January are by far the busiest times.

The reindeer herding year starts from the beginning of June. Females generally bear one calf weighing on average 5-7 kilos in May to June. The saying "a calf on the snow on May Day" refers to the start of the calving season. Some 85 % of females calve annually and about 120,000-130,000 newly born calves see the light of day. Their rate of growth is fast and their birth weight doubles during the first month. A newborn calf is completely dependent on its mother's milk and even later on, her milk production greatly affects the calf's growth and development.

Around Midsummer, the plague of blood-sucking insects drives the reindeer to the fells and marshes in large herds. In forest areas, rounding up the herds in summer takes place on foot whereas on the fells, ATV's, motorbikes and even a small helicopter and airplane are used to search for animals. The work is often done at night when it is cooler because reindeer, small calves in particular, easily become exhausted in the summer heat. In the corral, the calves are caught by hand or with a lasso or noose. There are several ways to identify calves with their mothers. A numbering system is considered an efficient and neutral method of marking calves, and it is widely used. The calves are caught and a number is placed around their necks. When the calves are released, they seek their mothers. The reindeer herders watch which female each calf follows. Then, each calf is caught again and a sharp hunting knife is used to mark it with the same marking as its mother. According to the law, each reindeer must be notched with an earmark approved by the Reindeer Herders' Association. There are 24 different "words" and over 13 000 earmarks currently in use. Any calf not marked in the summer is marked later in the autumn and winter round-ups.

In the summer and early autumn, the reindeer grow, gain strength and forage for reserve nutrition ready for the long winter ahead. Summer nutrition is plentiful, varied and the nutritional value of plants is high. They eat grasses, sedge and hay - always choosing the best sources of nutrition that are in the most vigorous stage of growth. The reindeer graze in the marshes, on riverside meadows, and in the open fells in the north and the clear-felled areas further south. In late summer and autumn, they love to eat mushrooms, which are full of protein, sugar, fat, and vitamins.

Autumn is the rutting season and the reindeer form mating parties. Big males, older than three years, compete in the autumn battles for the females, each forming a harem for himself and jealously guarding it by keeping the females together. This helps when gathering the reindeer ready for the round-up. In forest areas, reindeer are gathered mostly on foot for the round-up. In fell areas, snowmobiles, ATVs and small helicopters are used to gather the animals for the round-up, and this can take weeks. In small herding cooperatives, where distances are shorter, reindeer can be gathered and rounded-up in each corral on the same day.

The corrals used for the round-up are either fixed or movable. The corral is divided into the feeder, curve, churn, and offices. The reindeer are driven into the churn (the round part) along chutes. Males over three years and castrated males not for slaughter are caught and driven outside the corral. Calves and females over three years are driven in small batches into the churn where the reindeer for slaughter are separated from the rest, i.e. from the breeding reindeer to be kept alive, into separate offices. The reindeer for slaughter are listed and tagged. The reindeer are "read" during the round-up and in most herding cooperatives, they are treated for parasites. Reading means counting the reindeer and entering them in the books. A reindeer to be counted is caught, and its earmark is identified and reported to the counter who records it and its owner in the reindeer register. Finally, the counters make a visible slit in the fur over the reindeer's ribs, which shows it has already been through the round-up.

A reindeer changes its fur and grows new antlers every year. After the rutting season, the males shed their antlers and the reindeer gradually move to the winter grazing grounds. Summer nutrition decreases as the green grasses wither and lichen, dwarf shrubs and other fibrous plants become more predominant in the reindeers' diet. In winter, the reindeer dig out lichen from under the snow and in spring, they eat beard moss off the trees. The reindeer is the only large-sized herbivore that can effectively utilize lichen in its diet. Reindeer need energy to survive the cold winter and due to its high carbohydrate content, lichen is one of their staple foods.

Nowadays reindeer need supplementary feeding out in the wilderness or on a farm. This makes life easier for the reindeer, but supplementary feeding means added work and expenses for reindeer herders. Hay and silage are the easiest to transport to the reindeer out in the grazing grounds. They are also cheap and easily available. Reindeer receiving supplementary feeding on a farm are also fed hay and silage, plus industrial concentrated feed. In the northernmost areas, the reindeer are also herded for grazing throughout the winter.

     
Source courtesy of: http://www.paliskunnat.fi/default.aspx?kieli=en-US, http://reindeers.info/reindeer_articles/reindeers_calendar_routine/