We were delighted to be asked to send a representative from the Cairngorm Reindeer herd to speak at the Arctic Science Summit Week at a session focusing on how climate change was affecting reindeer herds in areas outside of the Arctic. Myself and Hen travelled to Aarhus, Denmark for the conference to take part in the session.
Also taking part in the session was Khongorzul Mungunshagai, a representative from the Mongolian Dukha herding community. Both Khongor and I spoke about how the rising temperatures are affecting the health of the reindeer, primarily through increased challenges of tick borne illness, and the potential for future changes to the plants that grow in these areas. This could affect how suitable the habitat is for the specialised digestive systems of reindeer.
It was really interesting to speak to Khongor and hear about how their reindeer are facing similar challenges to our own herd. After the presentations there was a group discussion, which herders Tilly and Fiona were also able to join online, with topics including ways that scientists could better share results of studies with indiginous communities, how to better share knowledge about disease treatment for reindeer, and how to build connections between different herding communities.
One of the main aims of the Reindeer Trust, which was set up as a charity by chief herder Tilly Smith, is to encourage knowledge sharing with other reindeer herders, societies and associations throughout the world. Our experience has been that there are very few veterinary studies carried out on reindeer, as they aren’t an intensively farmed animal and are therefore of less commercial interest. This can make treatment of disease difficult as they are quite different to other species and it can be guesswork or trial & error for our vets when trying to work out how best to treat them.
It was an exciting opportunity to represent the Cairngorm Reindeer Herd and the Reindeer Trust and to meet with like-minded and interested people from across the world.
We also had time to look round the local natural history museum, including their excellent display of taxidermy plus explore the local area.
Andi