Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-2l2gl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-28T01:49:51.015Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Reindeer and caribou Rangifer tarandus in the wild and under pastoralism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2009

Robert Paine
Robert Paine
Affiliation:
Institute of Social and Economic Research. Memorial University of Newfoundland, St John's, Newfoundland, CanadaA1C 5S7
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Reindeer and caribou, respectively Old World and New World forms of Rangifer tarandus, live in large groups in the boreal forest and on the Arctic tundra. Many stocks of reindeer are herded by pastoralists. This article reviews the ecology, breeding biology and herding behaviour of both forms, as revealed by recent field studies. It identifies breeding synchrony, dominance and leadership as important aspects of their social organization, mediated by a system of signals that keep the herds together, and discusses the significance of pastoral practices that maintain herd organization and make reindeer herding possible.

Type
Articles
Information
Polar Record , Volume 24 , Issue 148 , January 1988 , pp. 31 - 42
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Banfield, A. W. F. 1961. A revision of the reindeer and caribou, genus Rangifer. National Museum of Canada Bulletin 177. Biological Series 66.Google Scholar
Beach, H. 1981. Reindeer-herd management in transition: the case of Tuorpon Saameby in Northern Sweden. Stockholm, Almqvist and Wiksell. (Uppsala Studies in Cultural Anthropology 3).Google Scholar
Bubenik, A. B. 1975. Significance of antlers in the social life of barren-ground caribou. Biological Papers University of Alaska special report 1.Google Scholar
Burch, E. S. jr 1972. The caribou-wild reindeer as a human resource. American Antiquity 37: 339–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crook, J. H. 1970. Social organization and the environment: aspects of contemporary social ethology. Animal Behaviour 18: 197–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cumming, H. G. 1975. Clumping behaviour and predation with special reference to caribou. In: Luick, J. R. and others (editors). Proceedings of the First International Reindeer/Caribou symposium. Anchorage, University of Alaska.Google Scholar
Espmark, Y. 1964a. Rutting behavior in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L.). Animal Behaviour 12(1): 159–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Espmark, Y. 1964b. Studies in dominance-subordination relationship in a group of semi-domesticated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). Animal Behaviour 12: 420–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Espmark, Y. 1971a. Individual recognition by voice in reindeer mother- young relationship. Field observations and playback experiments. Behaviour 40: 295–301.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Espmark, Y. 1971b. Mother-young relationship and ontogeny of behaviour in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L). Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie 29: 42–81.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Estes, R. D. 1966. Behaviour and life history of the Wildebeest. Nature 5066: 999–1000.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaare, E. and others. 1975. Reindeer activity on Hardengervidda. In Wiegolaski, F. E. (editor) Fennoscandian Tundra Ecosystems, Part 2. Springer-Verlag, New York (Ecological Studies. Analysis and Synthesis, Vol 17).Google Scholar
Henshaw, J. 1968. A theory for the occurrence of antlers in females of the genus Rangifer. Deer 1: 222–26.Google Scholar
Hultblad, F. 1968. Overgaong fraon nomadism til agrar bosättning i Jokkmokks socken. Nordiska Museet: Acta Lapponica XIV.Google Scholar
Ingold, T. 1980. Hunters, pastoralists and ranchers. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ion, P. G. 1986. The snowpatch as relief habitat for woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou Gmelin) at Macmillan Pass, N.W.T. MSc dissertation, University of Alberta.Google Scholar
Kelsall, J. P. 1963. Barren-ground caribou and their management. Canadian Audubon Magazine 11–12 1963: 2–7.Google Scholar
Kelsall, J. P. 1968. The caribou. Ottawa, Queens Printer.Google Scholar
Lent, P. C. 1965. Rutting behaviour in a barren-ground caribou population. Animal Behaviour 13: 259–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LeResche, R. and Linderman, S. 1975. Caribou trail system in Northeastern Alaska. Arctic 28: 54–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, F. 1974. Biology of the Kaminuriak population of barren-ground caribou, Part 2. Canadian Wildlife Service Report Series 31.Google Scholar
Miller, F. L. and others. 1975. Distribution, movements, and socialization of barren-ground caribou radiotracked on their calving and postcalving area. In:Luick, J. R. and others (editors). Proceedings of the First International Reindeer/Caribou Symposium. University of Alaska.Google Scholar
Naumov, N. P. and Bbaskin, L. M. 1969. Lederskap i reinflokker som gruppeadopsjon. (transl.) Zhurnal Oshchei Biologii 30: 147–56.Google Scholar
Paine, R. 1982. Dam a river, damn a people? Copenhagen, International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs.Google Scholar
Pruitt, W. O. Jr 1959. Snow as a factor in the winter ecology of the barren-ground caribou (Rangifer arcticus). Arctic 12: 158–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pruitt, W. O. Jr 1960. Behavior of the barren-ground caribou. Biological Papers of the University of Alaska 3: 1–43.Google Scholar
Reimers, E. 1972. Growth in domestic and wild reindeer in Norway. Journal of Wildlife Management 36(2): 612–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reimers, E. and others. 1983. Calving time, growth rate, and body size of Norwegian reindeer on different ranges. Arctic and Alpine Research 15(1): 107–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruong, I. 1937. Fjällapparna i Jukkasjärvi Socken. Uppsala: Geographica 3.Google Scholar
Scott, J. P. 1956, The analysis of social organization in animals. Ecology 37: 213–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shirokogoroff, S. M. 1929. Social organization of the northern Tungus Shanghai: Commercial Press.Google Scholar
Skjenneberg, S. and L., Slagsvold 1968. Reindriften og dens naturgrunnlag. Oslo, Universitetsforlaget. [English translation: Reindeer husbandry and its ecological principles. Juneau, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1979.]Google Scholar
Skogland, T. 1985. Life history characteristics of wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus L) in relation to theirfood resources; ecological effects and behavioral adaptations. Meddelelser fra Norsk viltforskning 3. Serie 14. Trondheim.Google Scholar
Skogland, T. (1988). Comparative social organization of wild reindeer in relation to food, predator avoidance and mates (in press)Google Scholar
Skuncke, F. 1969. Reindeer ecology and management in Sweden. Biological papers of the University of Alaska 8: 1–82.Google Scholar
Skuncke, F. 1973. Renen i urtid och nutid. Stockholm, Norstedt.Google Scholar
Speiss, A. E. 1979. Reindeer and caribou hunters. An archaeological study. New York, Academic Press.Google Scholar
Thomson, B. R. 1975. Leadership in wild reindeer in Norway. In: Luick, J. R. and others (editors). Proceedings of the First International Reindeer/Caribou Symposium. University of Alaska.Google Scholar
Thomson, B. R. 1980. Behaviour differences between reindeer and caribou (Rangifer tarandus L.) In: Reimers, E. and others (editors). Proceedings of the Second International Reindeer/Caribou Symposium. Trondheim, Direktoratet for Vilt og Ferskvannsfisk.Google Scholar
Valkenburg, P. and others. 1983. Social organization and seasonal range fidelity of Alaska's Western Arctic caribou—preliminary findings. Acta Zoologica Fennica 175: 125–26.Google Scholar