In Sweden, there are a total of 51 Sámi villages where reindeer are herded, located in the Idre mountains and beyond. After encountering them in the Nipfjället mountains, I looked up some interesting facts about them.
In Sweden, reindeer can only be herded in designated Sámi villages. There are a total of 51 such villages in the country. A Sámi village is not just a single village, but rather a geographical area where reindeer herding is practiced. Last week, we hiked in one of these areas and encountered reindeer in the Idre Sámi village.
2. The only deer species where both sexes have antlers, which shed every year and grow slightly larger the following year.
3. The Sámi have 30 different words for reindeer.
4. There are approximately 260,000 reindeer living in Sweden. Along the smaller roads next to the pastures, especially north of the Idre line, you are likely to encounter them while traveling.
5. Reindeer in Sweden are almost completely domesticated, and every reindeer belongs to the Sámi people, but they can roam freely within the territories of the Sámi villages.
6. Since the Sámi measure their wealth by the number of reindeer they own rather than in real estate or personal property, it is considered a great disrespect to ask a Sámi person how many reindeer they have.
7. Reindeer herding is the exclusive right of the Sámi in Sweden. It is not a privilege, as it existed long before Sweden itself.
8. The reindeer is the only deer species whose fur completely covers its nose. Their specialized nose helps warm the incoming cold air before it enters their lungs. Reindeer have a strong sense of smell, which aids them in finding lichen beneath the snow. They can detect plants even through 60 centimeters of snow.
9. Reindeer hooves expand in the summer when the ground is soft and shrink in the winter when the ground is hard.
10. Some individuals make a clicking sound with their knees while walking, allowing the animals to stay together during a snowstorm.
11. During the winter months, they primarily live on what is known as reindeer moss. Reindeer eat mosses, herbs, ferns, grasses, as well as shoots and leaves from shrubs and trees, particularly willow and birch. In winter, they rely on lichen (also known as reindeer moss) and mushrooms, using their hooves to scrape away the snow to access it. An average adult reindeer consumes 9 to 18 pounds of vegetation daily.
12. The Chernobyl disaster also affected reindeer herding in the North. Scandinavia was significantly impacted by radiation from the 1986 accident, which affected the reindeer’s primary food source, lichen, that absorbed large amounts of cesium from the atmosphere. Today, the levels of cesium in lichens have decreased, although there are still some samples that exceed safety limits. However, among reindeer, only 1 in 1,000 may show cesium levels above the safety threshold.
-12 interesting facts about reindeer-