reindeer

Reindeer herds in global decline

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Reindeer and caribou numbers are plummeting around the world

Matt Walker

June 11, 2009

The first global review of their status has found that populations are declining almost everywhere they live, from Alaska and Canada, to Greenland, Scandinavia and Russia.

The iconic deer is vital to indigenous peoples around the circumpolar north.

Yet it is increasingly difficult for the deer to survive in a world warmed by climate change and altered by industrial development, say scientists.

Reindeer and caribou belong to the same species, Rangifer tarandus.

Caribou live in Canada, Alaska and Greenland; while reindeer live in Russia, Norway, Sweden and Finland.

“Father of North American Boreal Ecology” has Passed On

After a long life rich with achievements, Professor William O. Pruitt Jr., Senior Scholar in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Manitoba, passed away on December 7, 2009.

He is greatly missed.

The list of Dr. Pruitt’s accomplishments is vast. His research and passion for teaching has been profoundly important in our understanding of boreal ecology. His tireless service to protect the boreal forests and its critters is truly inspiring. Dr. Pruitt was so helpful to CPAWS and so many others with his teachings and insights about woodland caribou.