RUSSIA/FILE: Russian scientists start a satellite tracking project to monitor the world's biggest herd of reindeer in the Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia

Record ID: 559534

  • Title: RUSSIA/FILE: Russian scientists start a satellite tracking project to monitor the world's biggest herd of reindeer in the Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia
  • Date: 22nd April 2014
  • Summary: KRASNOYARSK, RUSSIA (RECENT - MARCH 22, 2014) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) SCIENTIST IGOR SAVCHENKO, SIBERIAN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY, SAYING: "At some point a reindeer starts experiencing an urge to leave, and this is a real problem, like poaching. When domesticated reindeer walk away with the wild ones it has been impossible to find them."
  • Embargoed: 7th May 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Russian Federation
  • Country: Russia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAD2FCV3C1ATPZ6TYYWDAPRMFCP
  • Story Text: Scientists from the Siberian Federal University in Krasnoyarsk have started a reindeer monitoring project that they hope will help preserve the world's biggest herd, which lives in the region.
    The region is home to over a million wild reindeer but the confirmation of the actual size and health of the reindeer population requires accurate data about their current habitat, migration routes and wintering sites, which the biologists lack.
    Reindeer is the cornerstone of the regional ecosystem and monitoring the size of the herd is vital for supporting the livelihood of the local indigenous population of the Evenks, the Nenets and others.
    For indigenous people, reindeer is the main source of food, transport and clothing. Biologists say that in recent years hunting of the wild reindeer has become uncontrollable and the scientists fear for the sustainability of the herd.
    Since early 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, conducting traditional aerial observation has become difficult for the cost of it resulting in a twenty year gap in reindeer monitoring research.
    But Siberian biologists hope to start getting first accurate data as early as the forthcoming summer.
    East Siberian Oil and Gas Company, OJSC Vostsibneftegaz, which is part of the Rosneft oil giant offered financial support in financing the project which would involve monitoring the reindeer via satellite.
    The project headed by professor Alexander Savchenko from the Krasnoyarsk Siberian Federal University started last month from initial aerial observations to identify current wintering sites of the numerous herds in vast Siberian forests before they start on a 1,000 kilometre (600 mile) migration to the shores of the Arctic Ocean in spring.
    In July researchers plan to put initially ten collars with satellite transmitters on animals from different herds to track their moves.

    "Today we use modern satellite technologies. We put on relatively small number of collars on the reindeer and the signal is transmitted via the satellite to the recipient station. From the station the signal is sent to the computer monitor of a researcher who can track the reindeer movements from the comfort of the office," explained professor Savchenko.
    The collars are produced by the Russian company Es-Pas with a track record of manufacturing animal monitoring equipment. Its director, Alexander Salman, said the collars were especially designed for the local reindeer and have a lifespan of up to a year.

    "The device is fixed on an animal and turned on my removing the magnet attached to it. From that moment the device starts to identify its own coordinates with the help of the navigation receiver and transmit the GPS coordinates," Salman said.
    The collar was first tested on a reindeer last summer.

    "The weight of such collar is usually 1,200 - 1,330 gramms. It is a relatively light weight for such big animals as reindeer and the practical experience shows that the reindeer is quite comfortable with it," said Alexander Salman.
    The reindeer are skittish animals and hard to get close to. Immobilizing it with drugs could be too stressful. So the Siberian scientists decided on what the believe is the safest and most economical way - intercepting the animals in water, when they swim to cross rivers during the migration.

    "Normally, you would approach a reindeer in a boat, lift its head, it would go into a state of so-called stupor, and at that time you would put the collar on, bolting it. During all that time the reindeer would remain calm and once you let it go it would swim away," explained biologist from Krasnoyarsk university Igor Savchenko, son of professor Savchenko who leads the project.
    If the satellite tracking project works the collars could later be tested by local reindeer farmers who sometimes lose their entire domesticated livestock when the animals follow their instinct and walk away with migrating wild herds.

    "At some point a reindeer starts experiencing an urge to leave, and this is a real problem, like poaching. When domesticated reindeer walk away with the wild ones it's impossible to find them," Savchenko said.
    For indigenous people loosing a herd is tragic. Igor Savchenko said there was recently even an instance of a suicide when an Evenk killed himself out of despair and fear that he would not be able to feed his numerous family.
    But even if some animals in a herd wear a collar finding the runaways would be much easier.
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