Editing Reindeer (section)

== Relationship with humans ==
{{See also|Reindeer in Siberian shamanism|Reindeer hunting in Greenland}}
[[File:Reindeer pulling sleigh, Russia.jpg|thumb|Pulling a sled in Russia|alt=A team pulling a sled in Russia]]

Arctic peoples have depended on caribou for food, clothing, and shelter. European prehistoric cave paintings represent both tundra and forest forms, the latter either the [[Finnish forest reindeer]] or the narrow-nosed reindeer, an eastern Siberia forest form.<ref name="Geist1998" /> Canadian examples include the [[Caribou Inuit]], the inland-dwelling [[Inuit]] of the [[Kivalliq Region]] in [[northern Canada]], the Caribou Clan in the Yukon, the [[Iñupiat]], the [[Inuvialuit]], the [[Hän]], the [[Northern Tutchone]], and the [[Gwichʼin]] (who followed the [[Porcupine caribou]] herd for millennia). Hunting wild reindeer and herding of semi-domesticated reindeer are important to several Arctic and sub-Arctic peoples such as the [[Dukha people|Duhalar]] for meat, {{Ill|Reindeer hide|lt=hides|de|Rentierfell}}, antlers, {{Ill|Reindeer milk|lt=milk|ru|Оленье молоко}}, and transportation.<ref name="Burch">"In North America and Eurasia the species has long been an important resource — in many areas ''the'' most important resource — for peoples inhabiting the northern boreal forest and tundra regions." (Banfield 1961:170; Kurtén 1968:170) {{cite journal |author=Ernest S. Burch Jr. |jstor=278435 |title=The Caribou/Wild Reindeer as a Human Resource |journal=American Antiquity |volume=37 |issue=3 |year=1972 |pages=339–368 |doi=10.2307/278435 |s2cid=161921691}}</ref>

Reindeer have been domesticated at least two and probably three times, in each case from wild Eurasian tundra reindeer after the [[Last Glacial Maximum|Last Glacial Maximum (LGM)]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Røed, K.H. |author2=Flagstad, O. |author3=Nieminen, M. |author4=Holand, O. |author5=Dwyer, M.J. |author6=Rov, N. |author7=Vila, C. |date=2008 |title=Genetic analyses reveal independent domestication origins of Eurasian reindeer |journal=[[Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences]] |volume=275 |issue=1645 |pages=1849–1855 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2008.0332|pmid=18460427 |pmc=2593925 }}</ref><ref name="Weldenegodguad-2020" /> Recognizably different domestic reindeer breeds include those of the Evenk, Even, and Chukotka-Khargin people of Yakutia and the Nenets breed from the Nenets Autonomous district and Murmansk region;<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Svishcheva, G. |author2=Babayan, O. |author3=Sipko, T. |author4=Kashtanov, S. |author5=Kholodova, M. |author6=Stolpovsky, Y. |date=2022 |title=Genetic differentiation between coexisting wild and domestic Reindeer (''Rangifer tarandus'' L. 1758) in Northern Eurasia |journal=[[Genetic Resources]] |volume=3 |issue=6 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.46265/genresj.UYML5006 |url=https://www.genresj.org/index.php/grj/article/view/genresj.UYML5006/125|access-date=2023-05-24|doi-access=free }}</ref> the Tuvans, Todzhans, Tofa (Tofalars in the Irkutsk Region), the Soyots (the Republic of Buryatia), and the Dukha (also known as Tsaatan, the Khubsugul) in the Province of Mongolia.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Kharzinova, V.R. |author2=Dotsev, A.V. |author3=Solovieva, A.D. |author4=Shimit, L.D. |author5=Kochkarev, A.P. |author6=Reyer, H. |author7=Zinovieva, N.A. |date=2022 |title=Genome-Wide SNP Analysis Reveals the Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of the Domestic Reindeer Population (''Rangifer tarandus'') Inhabiting the Indigenous Tofalar Lands of Southern Siberia |journal=[[Diversity (journal)|Diversity]] |volume=14 |issue=11 |page=900 |doi=10.3390/d14110900|doi-access=free |bibcode=2022Diver..14..900K }}</ref> The [[Sámi people|Sámi]] ([[Sápmi]]) have also depended on reindeer herding and fishing for centuries.<ref name="AtlasIV">{{citation |year=1971 |title=Atlas of Murmansk Oblast}}</ref>{{rp|IV}}<ref name="ATSBook16">{{citation |title=Administrative-Territorial Divisions of Murmansk Oblast}}</ref>{{rp|16}} In [[Sápmi]], reindeer are used to pull a [[pulk]], a Nordic sled.<ref name="Sami"/>

The reindeer has an important economic role for all [[circumpolar peoples]], including the Sámi, the Swedes, the Norwegians, the Finns and the Northwestern Russians in Europe, the [[Nenets people|Nenets]], the [[Khanty]], the [[Evenks]], the [[Yukaghir people|Yukaghirs]], the [[Chukchi people|Chukchi]] and the [[Koryaks]] in Asia and the [[Inuit]] in North America. It is believed that domestication started between the [[Bronze Age|Bronze]] and [[Iron Age]]s. Siberian reindeer owners also use the reindeer to ride on (Siberian reindeer are larger than their Scandinavian relatives). For breeders, a single owner may own hundreds or even thousands of animals. The numbers of Russian and Scandinavian reindeer herders have been drastically reduced since 1990. The sale of [[fur]] and meat is an important source of income. Reindeer were introduced into Alaska near the end of the 19th century; they interbred with the native caribou subspecies there. Reindeer herders on the [[Seward Peninsula]] have experienced significant losses to their herds from animals (such as wolves) following the wild caribou during their migrations.{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}}

Reindeer meat is popular in the Scandinavian countries. Reindeer [[meatball]]s are sold canned. [[Sautéed reindeer]] is the best-known dish in Sápmi. In Alaska and Finland, reindeer [[sausage]] is sold in supermarkets and [[grocery store]]s. Reindeer meat is very tender and lean. It can be prepared fresh, but also dried, [[Salt-cured meat|salted]] and hot- and cold-[[Smoked meat|smoked]]. In addition to meat, almost all of the internal organs of reindeer can be eaten, some being traditional dishes.<ref>[http://www.saunalahti.fi/~marian1/gourmet/reindeer.htm Reindeer] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104180414/http://www.saunalahti.fi/%7Emarian1/gourmet/reindeer.htm |date=4 November 2011}}. Saunalahti.fi. Retrieved on 16 September 2011.</ref> Furthermore, ''Lapin Poron liha'', fresh reindeer meat completely produced and packed in [[Finnish Lapland]], is protected in Europe with [[Geographical indications and traditional specialities in the European Union#Protected designation of origin (PDO)|PDO]] classification.<ref name="60N">[http://60north.mmm.fi/news?&article=13673753&section=05 Lapland Reindeer meat protected in the EU] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091207090514/http://60north.mmm.fi/news?&article=13673753&section=05 |date=7 December 2009}}. North Magazine (Accessed 19 July 2010)</ref><ref name="DOOR">[http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/quality/door/list.html European Commission PDO/PGI list] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819142342/http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/quality/door/list.html |date=19 August 2010}}. (Accessed 19 July 2010)</ref>

Reindeer antlers are powdered and sold as an [[aphrodisiac]], or as a nutritional or medicinal supplement, to Asian markets.

The blood of the caribou was supposedly mixed with alcohol as drink by hunters and loggers in colonial Quebec to counter the cold. This drink is now enjoyed without the blood as a wine and whiskey drink known as ''[[Caribou (drink)|Caribou]]''.<ref>{{cite web |first=Sébastien |last=Mieusset |title=Le "Temps des sucres" au Québec |url=http://www.cuisine.tv/cid6799/le-temps-des-sucres-au-quebec.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090501072919/http://www.cuisine.tv/cid6799/le-temps-des-sucres-au-quebec.html |archive-date=1 May 2009 }}</ref><ref name=ass>{{cite web|title=Quebec's Carnaval is worth freezing your a** off for |first=Julie |last=Ovenell-Carter |date=6 February 2009 |publisher=theseboots.travel |url=http://theseboots.travel/2009/02/06/worth-repeating-quebecs-carnaval-is-worth-freezing-your-a-off-for/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303133943/http://theseboots.travel/2009/02/06/worth-repeating-quebecs-carnaval-is-worth-freezing-your-a-off-for/ |archive-date=3 March 2012 }}</ref>

=== Indigenous North Americans ===
{{missing information|section|US government intervention to introduce herding in the form of [[Alaska Reindeer Service]]; Canadian purchase from Alaska|date=March 2023}} 
Caribou are still hunted in Greenland and in North America. In the traditional lifestyles of some of Canada's [[Inuit]] peoples and northern [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] peoples, [[Alaska Natives]], and the [[Kalaallit]] of Greenland, caribou is an important source of food, clothing, shelter and tools.

[[File:Early 20th Century Inuit parka (UBC).jpg|thumb|upright|An early 20th century Inuit [[parka]] made of caribou skin]]

The [[Caribou Inuit]] are inland-dwelling Inuit in present-day [[Nunavut]]'s [[Kivalliq Region]] (formerly the [[Keewatin Region, Northwest Territories]]), Canada. They subsisted on caribou year-round, eating dried caribou meat in the winter. The [[Ahiarmiut]] are Caribou Inuit that followed the Qamanirjuaq barren-ground caribou herd.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=History & Culture – Qamanirjuwhat? |url=http://www.polarbearalley.com/Assets/pages10-11.pdf |magazine=Hudson Bay Post |date=October 2007 |volume=3 |pages=10–11 |access-date=12 February 2008 |issue=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216073833/http://www.polarbearalley.com/Assets/pages10-11.pdf |archive-date=16 February 2008 }}</ref>

There is an Inuit saying in the [[Kivalliq Region]]:<ref name="McCloskey2011" />

{{blockquote|The caribou feeds the wolf, but it is the wolf who keeps the caribou strong.|Kivalliq region}}

Elder Chief of Koyukuk and chair for the Western Arctic Caribou Herd Working Group Benedict Jones, or Kʼughtoʼoodenoolʼoʼ, represents the Middle [[Yukon River]], Alaska. His grandmother was a member of the Caribou Clan, who travelled with the caribou as a means to survive. In 1939, they were living their traditional lifestyle at one of their hunting camps in Koyukuk near the location of what is now the [[Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge]]. His grandmother made a pair of new mukluks in one day. Kʼughtoʼoodenoolʼoʼ recounted a story told by an elder, who "worked on the steamboats during the [[gold rush]] days out on the Yukon." In late August, the caribou migrated from the Alaska Range up north to [[Huslia, Alaska|Huslia]], Koyukuk and the [[Tanana, Alaska|Tanana]] area. One year when the steamboat was unable to continue, they ran into a caribou herd estimated to number 1 million animals, migrating across the Yukon. "They tied up for seven days waiting for the caribou to cross. They ran out of wood for the steamboats, and had to go back down 40 miles to the wood pile to pick up some more wood. On the tenth day, they came back and they said there was still caribou going across the river night and day."<ref name="WACHWG2012">{{citation|title=Caribou Census Complete: 325,000 animals|date=August 2012 |url=http://westernarcticcaribou.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/CT2012_FINAL_0628_lowresolution.pdf |newspaper=Caribou Trails: News from the Western Arctic Caribou Herd Working Group|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120830105109/http://westernarcticcaribou.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/CT2012_FINAL_0628_lowresolution.pdf|location=Nome, Alaska|access-date=14 January 2014|archive-date=30 August 2012|institution=Western Arctic Caribou Herd Working Group|agency=Alaska Department of Fish and Game|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Gwichʼin]], an indigenous people of northwestern Canada and northeastern Alaska, have been dependent on the international migratory [[Porcupine caribou]] herd for millennia.<ref name="Chapinetal_2009">{{cite book |title=Principles of Ecosystem Stewardship: Resilience-Based Natural Resource |editor=F. Stuart Chapin III |editor2=Gary P. Kofinas |editor3=Carl Folke |year=2009 |doi=10.1007/978-0-387-73033-2 |publisher=Springer|isbn=978-0-387-73032-5 |s2cid=132900160 }}</ref>{{rp|142}} To them, caribou — ''vadzaih'' — is the cultural symbol and a keystone subsistence species of the Gwich'in, just as the [[American bison|American buffalo]] is to the Plains Native Americans.<ref name="Linguistics_2014">{{citation |title=Linguistic Team Studies Caribou Anatomy |first=Craig |last=Mishler |url=http://www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic/2014/3/article/22797= |work=Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCOS) |year=2014 |access-date=11 January 2015 |quote="A fundamental question for the research is to elicit not only what the Gwich'in know about caribou anatomy, but how they see caribou and what they say and believe about caribou that defines themselves, their dietary and nutritional needs, and their subsistence way of life." |url-status=live |archive-date=10 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160210131053/https://www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic/2014/3/article/22797=}}</ref> Innovative [[Language revitalization|language revitalisation]] projects are underway to document the language and to enhance the writing and translation skills of younger Gwich'in speakers. In one project, lead research associate and fluent speaker Gwich'in elder Kenneth Frank works with linguists who include young Gwich'in speakers affiliated with the [[Alaska Native Language Center]] at the [[University of Alaska Fairbanks|University of Alaska]] in [[Fairbanks, Alaska|Fairbanks]] to document traditional knowledge of caribou anatomy. The main goal of the research was to "elicit not only what the Gwich'in know about caribou anatomy, but how they see caribou and what they say and believe about caribou that defines themselves, their dietary and nutritional needs, and their subsistence way of life."<ref name="Linguistics_2014" /> Elders have identified at least 150 descriptive Gwich'in names for all of the bones, organs and tissues. Associated with the caribou's anatomy are not just descriptive Gwich'in names for all of the body parts, including bones, organs, and tissues, but also "an encyclopedia of stories, songs, games, toys, ceremonies, traditional tools, skin clothing, personal names and surnames, and a highly developed ethnic cuisine."<ref name="Linguistics_2014" /> In the 1980s, Gwich'in Traditional Management Practices were established to protect the Porcupine caribou, upon which the Gwich'in depend. They "codified traditional principles of caribou management into tribal law" which include "limits on the harvest of caribou and procedures to be followed in processing and transporting caribou meat" and limits on the number of caribou to be taken per hunting trip.<ref name="Caulfield_1983">{{citation |first=Richard |last=Caulfield |year=1983 |title=Gwich'in Traditional Management Practices |url=http://arcticcircle.uconn.edu/ANWR/anwrgwichin1.html |series=Report to the Division of subsistence of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game |access-date=30 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020081541/http://arcticcircle.uconn.edu/ANWR/anwrgwichin1.html |archive-date=20 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Indigenous Eurasians ===
Reindeer herding has been vital for the subsistence of several Eurasian nomadic indigenous peoples living in the circumpolar Arctic zone such as the [[Sámi people|Sámi]], [[Nenets people|Nenets]], and [[Komi peoples|Komi]].<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2016-09-01|title=Permafrost and indigenous land use in the northern Urals: Komi and Nenets reindeer husbandry|title-link=doi|journal=Polar Science|volume=10 |issue=3|pages=278–287 |doi=10.1016/j.polar.2016.07.002|issn=1873-9652|doi-access=free|last1=Istomin |first1=Kirill V.|last2=Habeck|first2=Joachim Otto|bibcode=2016PolSc..10..278I}}</ref> Reindeer are used to provide renewable sources and reliable transportation. In Mongolia, the [[Dukha people|Dukha]] are known as the reindeer people. They are credited as one of the world's earliest domesticators. The Dukha diet consists mainly of reindeer dairy products.<ref>Keay, Morgan G. "The Tsaatan Reindeer Herders of Mongolia: Forgotten lessons of ·human-animal systems" in ''Encyclopedia of Animals and Humans''.</ref>

Reindeer husbandry is common in northern [[Fennoscandia]] (northern [[Norway]], [[Sweden]] and [[Finland]]) and the [[Russian North]]. In some human groups such as the Eveny, wild reindeer and domestic reindeer are treated as different kinds of beings.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lavrillier|first=Alexandra|date=2020|title="Spirit-Charged" Humans in Siberia: Interrelations between the Notions of the Individual ("Spirit Charge" and "Active Imprint") and (Ritual) Action|journal=Arctic Anthropology|volume=57|issue=1|pages=72–99|doi=10.3368/aa.57.1.72 |s2cid=230507240|issn=0066-6939}}</ref>

=== Husbandry ===
{{Main|Reindeer herding}}
[[File:Archangel reindeer3.jpg|thumb|A team pulling a sled near [[Arkhangelsk Governorate|Arkhangelsk]], Russia, late 19th-century [[photochrom]]]]
[[File:Reindeer milking.jpg|thumb|Milking in [[Finnmark|Western Finnmark]], Norway, 19th century]]

The reindeer is the only successfully semi-domesticated deer on a large scale in the world. Reindeer in northern [[Fennoscandia]] (northern [[Norway]], [[Sweden]] and [[Finland]]) as well in the [[Kola Peninsula]] and [[Sakha Republic|Yakutia]] in Russia, are mostly semi-domesticated reindeer, ear-marked by their owners. Some reindeer in the area are truly domesticated, mostly used as draught animals (nowadays commonly for tourist entertainment and races, traditionally important for the nomadic Sámi). Domestic reindeer have also been used for milk, e.g., in Norway.

There are only two genetically pure populations of wild reindeer in Northern Europe: wild mountain reindeer (''R. t. tarandus'') that live in central Norway, with a population in 2007 of between 6,000 and 8,400 animals;<ref>{{cite web|title=Wild reindeer in Norway|first=Erik|last=Lund|url=http://www.sami.uit.no/srh/norge.pdf#page=14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611235100/http://www.sami.uit.no/srh/norge.pdf#page=14|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 June 2007}}</ref> and wild Finnish forest reindeer (''R. t. fennicus'') that live in central and eastern Finland and in Russian [[Karelia]], with a population of about 4,350, plus 1,500 in [[Arkhangelsk Oblast]] and 2,500 in [[Komi Republic|Komi]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Wild Forest Reindeer|publisher=State Forest Enterprise of Finland|url=http://www.suomenpeura.fi/en/home-page.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410033658/http://www.suomenpeura.fi/en/home-page.html|archive-date=10 April 2017}}</ref> East of Arkhangelsk, both wild Siberian tundra reindeer (''R. t. sibiricus'') (some herds are very large) and domestic reindeer (''R. t. domesticus'') occur with almost no interbreeding by wild reindeer into domestic clades and none the other way (Kharzinova et al. 2018;<ref>Kharzinova, V.R.; Dotsev, A.V.; Deniskova, T.E.; Solovieva, A.D.; Fedorov, V.I.; Layshev, K.A.; Romanenko, T.M.; Okhlopkov, I.M.; Wimmers, K.; Reyer, H. (2018) Genetic diversity and population structure of domestic and wild reindeer (''Rangifer tarandus'' L. 1758): A novel approach using BovineHD BeadChip. PloS one 13: e0207944. {{doi|10.1371/journal.pone.0207944}}</ref> Rozhkov et al. 2020<ref name="Rozhkov-2020" />).

DNA analysis indicates that reindeer were independently domesticated at least twice: in [[Fennoscandia]] and Western [[Russia]] (and possibly also Eastern Russia).<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1098/rspb.2008.0332 |title=Genetic analyses reveal independent domestication origins of Eurasian reindeer |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=275 |issue=1645 |pages=1849–55|year=2008 |last1=Roed |first1=K. H |last2=Flagstad |first2=O. |last3=Nieminen |first3=M. |last4=Holand |first4=O. |last5=Dwyer |first5=M. J. |last6=Rov |first6=N. |last7=Vila |first7=C. |pmid=18460427 |pmc=2593925}}</ref> Reindeer have been [[Herding|herded]] for centuries by several Arctic and sub-Arctic peoples, including the [[Sámi people|Sámi]], the [[Nenets people|Nenets]] and the [[Yakuts]]. They are raised for their meat, hides and antlers and, to a lesser extent, for milk and transportation. Reindeer are not considered fully domesticated, as they generally roam free on pasture grounds. In traditional nomadic herding, reindeer herders migrate with their herds between coastal and inland areas according to an annual migration route and herds are keenly tended. However, reindeer were not bred in captivity, though they were tamed for milking as well as for use as draught animals or [[Working animal|beasts of burden]]. Millais (1915),<ref name="Millais-1915" /> for example, shows a photograph (Plate LXXX) of an "Okhotsk Reindeer" saddled for riding (the rider standing behind it) beside an officer astride a steppe pony that is only slightly larger. [[List of domesticated animals#Tame, partially domesticated, and widely captive-bred animals|Domestic reindeer]] are shorter-legged and heavier than their wild counterparts.{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}} In Scandinavia, management of reindeer herds is primarily conducted through ''[[siida]]'', a traditional Sámi form of cooperative association.<ref name="Korpijaakko-Mikkel March 22, 2009">{{Cite journal|title=Siida and traditional Sami reindeer herding knowledge |last=Korpijaakko-Mikkel|first=Sara |date=March 22, 2009 |journal=Northern Review |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-202252650.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501035825/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-202252650.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 1, 2011}}</ref>

The use of reindeer for transportation is common among the nomadic peoples of the [[Russian North]] (but not anymore in Scandinavia). Although a sled drawn by 20 reindeer will cover no more than {{cvt|20|–|25|km}} a day (compared to {{cvt|7|–|10|km}} on foot, {{cvt|70|–|80|km}} by a dog sled loaded with cargo and {{cvt|150|–|180|km}} by a dog sled without cargo), it has the advantage that the reindeer will discover their own food, while a pack of 5–7 sled dogs requires {{cvt|10|–|14|kg}} of fresh fish a day.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kerblay|first=Basile|title=Русская культура. Этнографические очерки|trans-title=Russian Culture. Ethnographic notes|translator-first=Yaroslav|translator-last=Bogdanov|location=Saint Petersburg, Russia|publisher=Европейский дом |date=2008|page=149|language=ru}} (Referencing: {{cite book|editor1-last=Dolgikh|editor1-first=B.O.|editor2-last=Gurvich|editor2-first=I.S.|title=Преобразования в хозяйстве и культуре и этнические процессы у народов севера|trans-title=Transformations of Economy and Culture and Ethnic Processes of the Peoples of the North|location=Moscow|publisher=Nauka|date=1970|page=139 |language=ru}})</ref>

[[File:Reindeer hides for sale.jpg|thumb|Reindeer hides for sale in [[Sitka, Alaska]]]]

The use of reindeer as semi-domesticated livestock in Alaska was introduced in the late 19th century by the [[United States Revenue Cutter Service]], with assistance from [[Sheldon Jackson]], as a means of providing a livelihood for [[Alaska Natives]].<ref>King, Irving H. (1996). ''The Coast Guard Expands'', pp. 86–91. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. {{ISBN|1-55750-458-X}}.</ref> Reindeer were imported first from Siberia and later also from Norway. A regular mail run in [[Wales, Alaska]], used a sleigh drawn by reindeer.<ref name="Govt. Print. Off">{{cite book |author1=United States. Bureau of Education |author2=United States. Bureau of Education. Alaska Division |title=Annual report on introduction of domestic reindeer into Alaska |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6RcWb-PNMiMC&pg=PA18 |access-date=16 September 2011 |year=1905 |publisher=Govt. Print. Off. |pages=18–|volume=14 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101074445/http://books.google.com/books?id=6RcWb-PNMiMC&pg=PA18 |archive-date=1 January 2014 }}</ref> In Alaska, reindeer herders use [[satellite]] telemetry to track their herds, using online maps and databases to chart the herd's progress.{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}}

[[Domestication|Domestic]] reindeer are mostly found in northern [[Fennoscandia]] and the [[Russian North]], with a herd of approximately 150–170 reindeer living around the [[Cairngorms]] region in [[Scotland]]. The last remaining wild tundra reindeer in Europe are found in portions of southern Norway.<ref name="newscientist.com">[https://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4491 Europe's last wild reindeer herds in peril] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080205174121/http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4491 |date=5 February 2008}}. Newscientist. 19 December 2003. Retrieved on 16 September 2011.</ref> The International Centre for Reindeer Husbandry (ICR), a circumpolar organisation, was established in 2005 by the Norwegian government. ICR represents over 20 indigenous reindeer peoples and about 100,000 reindeer herders in nine different national states.<ref name="ICR2005">{{cite web |url=http://reindeerherding.org/ |title=Reindeer Herding: a virtual guide to reindeer and those who herd them |institution=International Centre for Reindeer Husbandry (ICR), Government of Norway|location=Kautokeino|access-date=15 January 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229154038/http://reindeerherding.org/|archive-date=29 December 2013}}</ref> In Finland, there are about 6,000 reindeer herders, most of whom keep small herds of less than 50 reindeer to raise additional income. With 185,000 reindeer ({{as of|2001|lc=yes}}), the industry produces {{convert|2,000|MT|ST}} of reindeer meat and generates 35 million euros annually. 70% of the meat is sold to slaughterhouses. Reindeer herders are eligible for national and EU [[Agricultural subsidy|agricultural subsidies]], which constituted 15% of their income. Reindeer herding is of central importance for the local economies of small communities in sparsely populated rural Sápmi.<ref>[http://www.paliskunnat.fi/kestava_porotalous/08_Suomen_porotalous.pdf Suomen porotalous] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019231911/http://www.paliskunnat.fi/kestava_porotalous/08_Suomen_porotalous.pdf |date=19 October 2013}}. paliskunnat.fi (in Finnish)</ref>
 	
Currently, many reindeer herders are heavily dependent on [[diesel fuel]] to provide for [[electric generator]]s and [[snowmobile]] transportation, although solar [[Photovoltaics|photovoltaic]] systems can be used to reduce diesel dependency.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Technical viability of mobile solar photovoltaic systems for indigenous nomadic communities in northern latitudes |journal=Renewable Energy |volume=89 |pages=253–267 |year=2016 |last1=Obydenkova |first1=Svetlana V. |last2=Pearce |first2=Joshua M. |s2cid=110090767 |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02113570/file/Technical_viability_of_mobile_solar_phot.pdf |doi=10.1016/j.renene.2015.12.036|bibcode=2016REne...89..253O }}</ref>
<gallery mode="packed" heights="130" caption="[[Miniature (illuminated manuscript)|Miniatures]] of reindeer from [[Olaus Magnus]]'s 1539 ''[[Carta marina]]''">
File:Carta Marina - milking reindeer.jpg|Milking
File:Carta Marina - reindeer crossing a frozen lake.jpg|Crossing frozen water
File:Carta Marina - reindeer-drawn waggon with bowman.jpg|Drawing a wagon
File:Carta Marina - reindeer-drawn sled.jpg|Drawing a one-man sled
File:Carta Marina - reindeer-mounted warriors.jpg|Reindeer-mounted cavalry
</gallery>

=== History ===
Reindeer hunting by humans has a very long history.

{{blockquote| Wild reindeer "may well be the species of single greatest importance in the entire anthropological literature on hunting."<ref name="Burch" />}}

Both [[Aristotle]] and [[Theophrastus]] have short accounts – probably based on the same source – of an ox-sized deer species, named ''[[Tarand (animal)|tarandos]]'', living in the land of the [[Budini|Bodines]] in [[Scythia]], which was able to change the colour of its fur to obtain camouflage. The latter is probably a misunderstanding of the seasonal change in reindeer fur colour. The descriptions have been interpreted as being of reindeer living in the southern [[Ural Mountains]] in c. 350 BC.<ref name=Sarauw>{{Cite book|last1= Sarauw |first1= Georg | author-link1= Georg F.L. Sarauw |editor1-first= H. F. E. |editor1-last= Jungersen |editor2-first= E. |editor2-last= Warming |editor2-link= Eugenius Warming | title= Mindeskrift i Anledning af Hundredeaaret for Japetus Steenstrups Fødsel |chapter= Das Rentier in Europa zu den Zeiten Alexanders und Cæsars |trans-chapter= The reindeer in Europe to the times of Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar|year= 1914 |location= Copenhagen |language= de |pages= 1–33 |title-link= Japetus Steenstrup |publisher=Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters}}</ref>
[[File:ReindeerTOP.jpg|thumb|upright|The tragelaphus or deer-goat]]
A deer-like animal described by [[Julius Caesar]] in his ''[[Commentarii de Bello Gallico]]'' (chapter 6.26) from the [[Hercynian Forest]] in the year 53 BC is most certainly to be interpreted as a reindeer:<ref name=Sarauw/><ref>{{cite book |quote=Est bos cervi figura, cuius a media fronte inter aures unum cornu* exsistit excelsius magisque directum his, quae nobis nota sunt, cornibus: ab eius summo sicut palmae ramique* late diffunduntur. Eadem est feminae marisque natura, eadem forma magnitudoque cornuum. |year=1898 |last1=Greenough |first1=J. B. |last2=D'Ooge |first2=Benjamin L. |last3=Daniell |first3=M. Grant |title=Commentary on Caesar, Gallic War |chapter=book 6, chapter 26 |publisher=Ginn and Company |location=Boston |chapter-url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0017&redirect=true |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120426165859/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0017&redirect=true |url-status=live |archive-date=26 April 2012}}</ref>
{{blockquote|There is an [[ox]] shaped like a [[Deer|stag]]. In the middle of its forehead a single horn grows between its ears, taller and straighter than the animal horns with which we are familiar. At the top this horn spreads out like the palm of a hand or the branches of a tree. The females are of the same form as the males, and their horns are the same shape and size.}}

According to [[Olaus Magnus]]'s ''[[A Description of the Northern Peoples|Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus]]'' – printed in [[Rome]] in the year 1555 – [[Gustav I of Sweden]] sent 10 reindeer to [[Albert, Duke of Prussia]], in the year 1533. It may be these animals that [[Conrad Gessner]] had seen or heard of.

During [[World War II]], the [[Soviet Army]] used reindeer as [[pack animal]]s to transport food, ammunition and post from [[Murmansk]] to the [[Karelian Front|Karelian front]] and bring wounded soldiers, pilots and equipment back to the base. About 6,000 reindeer and more than 1,000 reindeer herders were part of the operation. Most herders were [[Nenets people|Nenets]], who were mobilised from the [[Nenets Autonomous Okrug]], but reindeer herders from the Murmansk, [[Arkhangelsk Oblast|Arkhangelsk]] and [[Komi Republic|Komi]] regions also participated.<ref>Trude Pettersen: [http://barentsobserver.com/en/topics/war-memorial-honor-wwii-reindeer-battalions War memorial to honor WWII reindeer battalions] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620161807/http://barentsobserver.com/en/topics/war-memorial-honor-wwii-reindeer-battalions |date=20 June 2013}}. Barents Observer, 27 February 2012</ref><ref>[https://www.npr.org/2011/08/14/139619834/when-reindeer-helped-win-wwii In WWII, Reindeer Were Our Animal Allies] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029204028/http://www.npr.org/2011/08/14/139619834/when-reindeer-helped-win-wwii |date=29 October 2013}}. [[National Public Radio]], 14 August 2011</ref>

In the [[FIS Alpine Ski World Cup]] event held in Levi, Finland each year, the winner of the women's slalom event is awarded a reindeer. The prize is largely symbolic, as all the reindeer awarded continue living in on a farm in Finland.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-17 |title=Money, Trophies, Reindeer? The FIS' World Cup Stop In Finland Gives Skiers A Chance To Win A Unique Prize |url=https://www.teamusa.com/news/2022/november/17/the-fis-world-cup-stop-in-finland-gives-skiers-a-chance-to-win-a-reindeer |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=www.teamusa.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Santa Claus ===
[[File:reindeer.yate.arp.750pix.jpg|thumb|Relaxing after pulling Santa's sleigh at the switching on of Christmas lights in Scotland]]
{{Main|Santa Claus's reindeer}}

Around the world, public interest in reindeer peaks during the Christmas season.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://icr.arcticportal.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=142:flying-reindeer-and-santa-claus-&catid=2:feature-archive&Itemid=7|title=Flying Reindeer and Santa Claus: Fact, Fiction and Myth|first=Philip|last=Burgess|date=15 December 2008|website=International Centre of Husbandry, Norway|access-date=15 January 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029201212/http://icr.arcticportal.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=142:flying-reindeer-and-santa-claus-&catid=2:feature-archive&Itemid=7|archive-date=29 October 2013}}</ref> According to Western [[folklore]], [[Santa Claus]]'s sleigh is pulled by [[Santa Claus's reindeer|flying reindeer]]. These reindeer were first named in the 1823 poem "[[A Visit from St. Nicholas]]", though the story originates earlier.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bowler |first=Gerry |title=The World Encyclopedia of Christmas |publisher=McClelland & Stewart Ltd. |year=2000 |isbn=0-7710-1531-3 |location=Toronto |pages=199}}</ref>

=== Mythology and art ===
Among the Inuit, there is a story of the origin of the caribou:<ref name="CanadasArctic2002a">{{citation|year=2002|url=http://www.arctic.uoguelph.ca/cpl/Traditional/traditional/animals/caribou.htm|title=Tuktu — Caribou|location=Guelph, Ontario|work=Canada's Arctic|access-date=17 January 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923173415/http://www.arctic.uoguelph.ca/cpl/Traditional/traditional/animals/caribou.htm|archive-date=23 September 2015}}</ref>
{{blockquote|Once upon a time there were no caribou on the earth. But there was a man who wished for caribou, and he cut a hole deep in the ground, and up this hole came caribou, many caribou. The caribou came pouring out, until the earth was almost covered with them. And when the man thought there were caribou enough for mankind, he closed up the hole again. Thus the caribou came up on earth.|<ref name="CanadasArctic2002a" />}}

Inuit artists from the Barrenlands<!-- -which include the Ahiarmiut/Ihalmiut—originally from the north of the Back River area and from Ennadai Lake; the Akilinirmiut, originally from the Akiliniq Hills, the Thelon River area of Beverly Lake, Dubawnt Lake and Aberdeen Lake; the Hanningajurmiut, originally from Garry Lake; the Harvaqtuurmiut, originally from the Kazan River area; the Hauniqturmiut, originally from Whale Cove's southern region, between Sandy Point and Arviat; the Iluilirmiut/Illuilirmiut, originally from Adelaide Peninsula (Iluilik) and the Chantrey Inlet area; the Kihlirnirmiut, originally from the Garry Lake area between Bathurst Inlet, Cambridge Bay; the Natsilingmiut, originally from the Baker Lake area between Gjoa Haven, Taloyoak, Kugaaruk and Repulse Bay; the Padlermiut, originally from the Baker Lake to Arviat area; the Qaernermiut, originally from the lower Thelon River, Baker Lake, Chesterfield Inlet and Corbett Inlet areas, between Rankin Inlet and Whale Cove and the Utkuhiksalingmiut, originally from the Back River and Gjoa Haven/Wager Bay area- --> incorporate depictions of caribou — and items made from caribou antlers and skin — in carvings, drawings, prints and sculpture.

Contemporary Canadian artist [[Brian Jungen]], of [[Dane-zaa]] First Nations ancestry, commissioned an installation entitled "The ghosts on top of my head" (2010–11) in [[Banff, Alberta]], which depicts the antlers of caribou, elk and moose.<ref name="Hornsby2011">{{cite web|title=The ghosts on top of my head: Iconic sculpture creates campus focal point|last=Hornsby|first=Debra|date=25 August 2011|location=Banff, Alberta|access-date=31 January 2014|url=http://www.banffcentre.org/blog/2011/08/25/the-ghosts-on-top-of-my-head-iconic-sculpture-creates-campus-focal-point/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202204906/http://www.banffcentre.org/blog/2011/08/25/the-ghosts-on-top-of-my-head-iconic-sculpture-creates-campus-focal-point/|archive-date=2 February 2014}}</ref>
{{blockquote|I remember a story my Uncle Jack told me – a Dunne-Za creation story about how animals once ruled the earth and were ten times their size and that got me thinking about scale and using the idea of the antler, which is a thing that everyone is scared of, and making it into something more approachable and abstract.|Brian Jungen, 2011<ref name="Hornsby2011" />}}

[[Tomson Highway]], [[Order of Canada|CM]]<ref name=canenc>[http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0010891 Tomson Highway] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607115857/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0010891 |date=7 June 2011}}. [[The Canadian Encyclopedia]].</ref> is a [[Canadians|Canadian]] and [[Cree]] [[playwright]], [[novelist]], and [[Children's literature|children's author]], who was born in a remote area north of [[Brochet, Manitoba|Brochet]], [[Manitoba]].<ref name=canenc /> His father, Joe Highway, was a caribou hunter. His 2001 children's book entitled ''Caribou Song''/''atíhko níkamon'' was selected as one of the "Top 10 Children's Books" by the Canadian newspaper ''[[The Globe and Mail]]''. The young protagonists of ''Caribou Song'', like Tomson himself, followed the caribou herd with their families.

=== Heraldry and symbols ===
[[File:Kuusamo.vaakuna.svg|thumb|upright|[[Coat of arms]] of [[Kuusamo]]|alt=[[Coat of arms]] of [[Kuusamo]] features a male]]
[[File:Inari.vaakuna.svg|thumb|upright|Coat of arms of [[Inari, Finland|Inari]]|alt=Coat of arms of [[Inari, Finland|Inari]], a fish with antlers]]
Several Norwegian municipalities have one or more reindeer depicted in their coats-of-arms: [[Eidfjord Municipality]], [[Porsanger Municipality]], [[Rendalen Municipality]], [[Tromsø Municipality]], [[Vadsø Municipality]], and [[Vågå Municipality]]. The historic province of [[Västerbotten]] in [[Sweden]] has a reindeer in its coat of arms. The present [[Västerbotten County]] has very different borders and uses the reindeer combined with other symbols in its coat-of-arms. The city of [[Piteå]] also has a reindeer. The logo for [[Umeå University]] features three reindeer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.infoenheten.umu.se/grafisk-profil/logotyp/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130418134454/http://www.infoenheten.umu.se/grafisk-profil/logotyp/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 April 2013 |title=Logotyp |language=Swedish |publisher=[[Umeå University]] |access-date=7 March 2012 }}</ref>

The Canadian 25-cent coin or "[[Quarter (Canadian coin)|quarter]]" features a depiction of a caribou on one face. The caribou is the official provincial animal of [[Newfoundland and Labrador]], Canada, and appears on the [[coat of arms of Nunavut]]. A caribou statue was erected at the centre of the [[Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial]], marking the spot in France where hundreds of soldiers from Newfoundland were killed and wounded in [[World War I]]. There is a replica in [[Bowring Park (St. John's)|Bowring Park]] in St. John's, Newfoundland's capital city.<ref>{{cite web|title=Beaumont Hamel Newfoundland Memorial |website=Canada and the First World War |publisher=Canadian War Museum |url=https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/after-the-war/remembrance/beaumont-hamel-newfoundland-memorial/ |access-date=2021-02-16}}</ref>

Two municipalities in Finland have reindeer motifs in their coats-of-arms: [[Kuusamo]] has a running reindeer;<ref>[http://www.kuusamo.fi/Resource.phx/sivut/sivut-kuusamo/yleistietoa/tunnukset.htx Coat of arms for Kuusamo] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724061159/http://www.kuusamo.fi/Resource.phx/sivut/sivut-kuusamo/yleistietoa/tunnukset.htx |date=24 July 2012}}. Kuusamo.fi. Retrieved on 19 April 2014.</ref> and [[Inari, Finland|Inari]] has a fish with reindeer antlers.<ref>[http://www.inari.fi/fi/inari-info/viestintamateriaalia/inarin-vaakuna.html Coat of arms for Inari] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130619014605/http://www.inari.fi/fi/inari-info/viestintamateriaalia/inarin-vaakuna.html |date=19 June 2013}}. Inari.fi.</ref>