If you blink, you might miss it. Quiet, shy and peaceful creatures roam the forests of Finland. The LIFE program’s conservation efforts have made sightings of the Finnish forest reindeer (Rangifer tarandus fenicus) possible.
Before the 1900s, these reindeer roamed the coniferous forests of Finland and northwestern Russia, but were later hunted to extinction in Finland. Some migrated from Russia to Finland in the 1950s, and since then the populations of the two subspecies, Kainuu and Suomenserka, have been slowly increasing.
From 2001 to 2009, the kainu population suffered a severe decline due to hunting by an increasing number of large carnivores, which is related to human-induced habitat changes. Road traffic is the most important human factor influencing wild reindeer populations. In 2010 and 2019, this species was listed as “Near Threatened” on the Finnish Red List of Species.
WildForestReindeerLIFE aimed to raise the conservation status of these animals from “unfavorable – unsuitable” to “favorable” by 2023, following the last assessment of the species carried out within the scope of the EU Habitat Directive . The objectives of the project include improving forest landscapes for better habitat, expanding the range of reindeer species, reducing species mortality and increasing the genetic diversity of isolated wild subpopulations. These include improving and preventing interbreeding with domestic reindeer and educating local communities about conservation.
The project improved habitat and genetic diversity and increased protection. This species breeds slowly compared to deer in other regions. Female forest reindeer in the wild give birth to only one calf per year. The deer’s environment changes throughout the year, from quiet swamps and swamps in the summer to dry heather woodland in the fall and areas thick with lichens and pine trees in the winter. Winter herds grow as the season progresses, often numbering in the hundreds.
To strengthen the wild population, a captive breeding program was conducted and captive-born individuals were released into several Natura 2000 sites and other protected areas. The progenitor deer for this breeding process came from Korkeasaari Zoo, Atari Zoo and Ranua Zoo. Many of them were released into the wild after breeding new calves.
The species was reintroduced in three areas: Zaitseminen, Rauhanvuori and Atari Soini Karstula Natura 2000 sites. More than 130 Finnish forest reindeer have been fitted with GPS collars to track existing and new herds. This tracking has helped determine a variety of causes of death, from predators to illegal hunting, road accidents, and their preferred habitat. A new subpopulation of 100 individuals now exists further south-west of the existing herds found in Kainu and Suomenserka.
Today, 3,000 Finnish wild reindeer are thriving. Currently, the world population of Finland and Russia is approximately 5,000 people. A sequel to this project is being prepared to continue protecting these species for future generations.
WildForestReindeerLIFE complies with the EU Directive on the Protection of Natural Habitats and Wild Fauna and Flora.