Reindeer

Reindeer sledding  During the middle of the 20th century the snowmobile became common among the reindeer herders. Before that, besides skiing, the transportation with reindeer was central during wintertime. The reindeer pulled people as well as equipment in gerres (a special kind of Sami sled). The Sami also used the reindeer as pack animals during bare ground migrations.     Our reindeer   Our reindeer for the tours are male reindeer that are tamed and trained in a traditional way to pull sleds. We start to train them when they are about 3 years old. Even though they are tamed, they have still their natural instincts from the wild. They are also a herd animal, so where one reindeer goes the rest want to follow.

Reindeer in Sweden In Sweden we have mountain reindeer and forest reindeer. The mountain reindeer dwells in the mountains during the summer season and in the woodlands during the winter season. The forest reindeer stays in the woodland around the year. In Scandinavia all reindeer are semi domesticated (partly tamed) and herded both in the mountain and the forest region. There are about 230 000 reindeer in Sweden.  The reindeer´s food  The reindeer graze different kinds of lichens and about 250 species of plants. The winter food (lichen) is poorly nutritional and is not satisfying the reindeer’s need of energy. Therefore, in summer/ autumn the reindeer build up a strong fat reserve to survive the winter.

Protected agains snow and coldness The reindeer is acclimatised to endure the long cold winter. The fur is thick and every single hair is hollowed and filled with air. The wide hooves carry the reindeer on the snow. With the hooves the reindeer digs through the snow for food. Through a thick layer of snow the reindeer can feel the smell from the lichen.  Read more about the reindeer on the website: www.samer.se