Reindeer tracking event - probably aimed at children

[Jodie]

The Natural History Museum in London is running an event called "Tracking
reindeer" on 20 December (Wednesday I think) at noon and again at half
two, which seems to be free.

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/events/detail.jsp?key=7903
"Tracking Reindeer: Reindeer are famous for pulling Santa's sleigh on
Christmas Eve, but what do we really know about these misrepresented
creatures and how do scientists go about finding it out? The first obstacle to
studying reindeer is finding them, so join us as we discover some inventive
methods scientists use to overcome this problem and what their research has
uncovered. "

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There is also the 'Tracking Mammals Partnership' which aims to "improve the
quality, quantity and dissemination of information on the status of mammal
species in the UK

The First Report of the Tracking Mammals Partnership was published in 2005
and mammal surveillance results will be updated annually on this website,
bringing together all relevant information on the work of the Partnership. We are
also publishing annual updates on the work carried out by all the volunteers who
collect data for organisations in the TMP. A series of reports details the results of
the surveillance schemes run by individual organisations, as well as providing
information on past surveys."
http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-1757
Homepage: http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-5
and http://www.jncc.gov.uk/

UK Red Squirrel group at: http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-3211

Jo

 

[Tengu]

I take it they are talking about tracking reindeer figuritivley....are there any `wild` reindeer left in Europe? I got the impression from what little I know about the animal that true wild reindeer are very rare; they almost all belong to somebody.

There is a scottish tale that witches kept deer for milk. So presumably `someone` had interests in our dark age reindeer population.

(presumably it never took off otherwise the population would have survived. Saami in this country were either hunters or cattle herders, as is appropriate to our warmer than arctic clime.)

And what do they mean by misrepresented? How?

(Hint, when you leave food out for santas reindeer, make sure its berries or reindeer moss...they dont eat carrots much.)

 

[Jodie]

Probably figuratively yes
Although they do imply some sort of scientific technique so possibly they've
radio-tagged them or something along those lines. Reindeer radar perhaps.

I didn't think they were particularly misrepresented either, other than they tend
to crop up around Christmas time and are mostly associated with Santa Claus'
sleigh.

 

[torjusg]

I take it they are talking about tracking reindeer figuritivley....are there any `wild` reindeer left in Europe? I got the impression from what little I know about the animal that true wild reindeer are very rare; they almost all belong to somebody.

Wild reindeer does indeed exist in Europe. In southern Norway the majority of the reindeer are wild. Genetically pure wild stock is only found in two of the areas however. I Northern Norway and in Sweden there are only domesticated reindeer.

There is also, to my knowledge a quite large number of wild forest reindeer in Finland and European Russia.