Finnish wild forest reindeer returned to its historical range - two new herds have been created in a reintroduction project - Dr Milla Niemi
| Wednesday, November 15, 2023 |
| 2:45 PM - 2:50 PM |
| Sirius / Pleiades Room, Esplanade Hotel Fremantle |
Speaker
Dr Milla Niemi
Senior Specialist
Wildlife Service Finland
Finnish wild forest reindeer returned to its historical range - two new herds have been created in a reintroduction project
Abstract
The Finnish wild forest reindeer Rangifer tarandus fennicus occurred throughout Finland still in the 17th century. This native forest-dwelling subspecies of R. tarandus was gradually hunted to nationwide extinction by the 1920s but began re-establishing in the 1950s. Nowadays, it occurs in Finland and the north-western parts of Russia. The total world population is about 5000 individuals.
In 2016, Finland began a seven-year EU co-funded conservation project WildForestReindeerLIFE. The central action has been a new reintroduction into two areas of the subspecies’ historical range. This has been carried out through on-site captive breeding and soft releases.
Founder individuals from both zoos and the wild were moved into two captive breeding enclosures since autumn 2017, and releases took place in 2019–2022. Altogether, 81 individuals were released during the project, over half of which were born in the enclosures. The survival of released individuals appears to have been high so far. Seven released animals and two wild-born calves are known to have died, but there are no proven cases of predation yet, despite that large carnivores exist on the area.
Released animals have reproduced in the wild. Outside the enclosures, the first calf was born in 2020, and approximately at least 20 calves have been born in the wild to date. Both reintroduction areas currently have a 40–50-individual herd. The development of these herds will be monitored in upcoming years. Only the future will tell whether the reintroduction project is going to be successful and new, permanent subpopulations are created.
In 2016, Finland began a seven-year EU co-funded conservation project WildForestReindeerLIFE. The central action has been a new reintroduction into two areas of the subspecies’ historical range. This has been carried out through on-site captive breeding and soft releases.
Founder individuals from both zoos and the wild were moved into two captive breeding enclosures since autumn 2017, and releases took place in 2019–2022. Altogether, 81 individuals were released during the project, over half of which were born in the enclosures. The survival of released individuals appears to have been high so far. Seven released animals and two wild-born calves are known to have died, but there are no proven cases of predation yet, despite that large carnivores exist on the area.
Released animals have reproduced in the wild. Outside the enclosures, the first calf was born in 2020, and approximately at least 20 calves have been born in the wild to date. Both reintroduction areas currently have a 40–50-individual herd. The development of these herds will be monitored in upcoming years. Only the future will tell whether the reintroduction project is going to be successful and new, permanent subpopulations are created.
Biography
Dr Milla Niemi works as a senior specialist in Wildlife Service Finland, where she has been working with conservation of Finnish wild forest reindeer since 2017. Prior to her current work, she worked mainly on human-wildlife conflict projects, especially on road ecology related issues. She has a PhD in wildlife management from the University of Helsinki.
Session Chair
Leah Kemp
Australian Wildlife Conservancy
