Photos: Sami reindeer herders turn to technology for new grazing terrain

In Northern Sweden, the shifting of weather patterns is forcing indigenous Sami reindeer herders to venture further afield to find grazing terrain for their hungry reindeer, pushing up costs with more effort and time. In order to cope with the climate crisis, reindeer herders are now adapting to new technologies with higher costs and are also concerned about the future for the generation to come.

Updated on: May 31, 2020 11:01 AM IST

News

Share via

• 
• 
• 
• 

Copy link

• 

1/8

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on May 31, 2020 11:01 AM

An aerial view of reindeers from the Vilhelmina Norra Sameby at their winter season location, near Örnsköldsvik in Northern Sweden. The shifting of weather patterns in northern Sweden are forcing reindeer herders to go further afield to find grazing for their hungry reindeer, incurring higher costs. (Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP)

2/8

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on May 31, 2020 11:01 AM

Daniel Viklund from the Vilhelmina Norra Sameby flies a drone while his reindeers herd. Viklund belongs to Sweden’s indigenous Sami community with hundreds of tawny reindeer. In Sweden, only the Sami are allowed to herd the animals raised for their meat, pelts and antlers. (Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP)

3/8

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on May 31, 2020 11:01 AM

Between 1991 and 2019, parts of northern and eastern Sweden saw a rise in average temperature of nearly two degrees Celsius compared to the 1860-1900 period, Sweden’s meteorological institute said in a report. For several days in early January, temperatures in the north climbed about 10 degrees Celsius more than normal, the institute said. (Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP)

4/8

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on May 31, 2020 11:01 AM

Neila Fjellstrom, a reindeer herder, monitors the location of his herd on a screen. Using a drone allows Fjellstrom and his wife to keep track of the animals when poor snowfall makes travel by snowmobile impossible. They also herd them on with recordings of his dog barking when reindeers head to areas with little food or hazards like roads or windfarms whose turbine noise scares the reindeer. (Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP)

5/8

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on May 31, 2020 11:01 AM

The Sami community and their reindeer are especially vulnerable to the changing climate patterns, according to research. A “warming climate alters the vegetation conditions and threatens the reindeer’s well being and access to food,” Finland’s University of Oulu and its Center for Environmental and Respiratory Health Research said in a study last year. (Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP)

6/8

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on May 31, 2020 11:01 AM

“Reindeer herding has been practiced for many hundreds of years and it’s an important part of Sami culture,” Kjell-Ake Aronsson, a researcher at the local museum told AFP.“Reindeer meat is an important product,” Aronsson added. Reindeer products were proudly on display, from steaming pots of reindeer stew to soft pelts and knives with handles carved from antlers. (Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP)

7/8

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on May 31, 2020 11:01 AM

Margret Fjellstrom rides her snow scooter. Sweden’s Sami parliament estimates around 2,000 people are directly dependent on herding the country’s 250,000 animals for a living. (Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP)

8/8

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on May 31, 2020 11:01 AM

An aerial view shows a herd of reindeer near Örnsköldsvik. The increased effort needed for herding reindeer now makes Viklund worry about the future. “I want to give my children the opportunity to do it,” Viklund told AFP. “Climate change could destroy that dream,” he adds. (Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP)