Climate change: Arctic reindeer numbers crash by half
The population of wild reindeer, or caribou, in the Arctic has crashed by more than half in the last two decades. A new report on the impact of climate change in the Arctic revealed that numbers fell from almost 5 million to around 2.1 million animals.
The report was released at the American Geophysical Research Union meeting. It revealed how weather patterns and vegetation changes are making the Arctic tundra a much less hospitable place for reindeer.
Reindeer and caribou are the same species, but the vast, wild herds in northern Canada and Alaska are referred to as caribou. It is these herds that are faring the worst, according to scientists monitoring their numbers. Some herds have shrunk by more than 90%.
Prof Howard Epstein, an environmental scientist from the University of Virginia told BBC News that warming in the region showed no signs of abating.
"We see increased drought in some areas due to climate warming, and the warming itself leads to a change of vegetation.
The lichen that the caribou like to eat grows at the ground level.
Warming means other, taller vegetation is growing and the lichen are being out-competed," he told BBC News.
Rain is a major problem, too. Increased rainfall in the Arctic, often falling on snowy ground, leads to hard, frozen icy layers covering the grazing tundra - a layer the animals simply cannot push their noses through in order to reach their food.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46516033
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