Svalbard reindeer

Wildlife Photo of the Day - August 16, 2019: Reindeer in the Arctic.

Reindeer and caribou are two names for the same species (Rangifer tarandus), with 'reindeer' generally referring to the domesticated variety that are herded by humans and pull sleds.

Julie here. It's snowing! It's not technically the first snow of the year, but it is the first time snow has stuck to both the grass and the pavement. I'm hoping it will still be around after school so that we can go horseback riding in it. The snowglobe conditions outside make it seem more believable that Christmas is only 2 weeks away. We are all getting excited, especially Bethany, since it will be her first Christmas Eve and Christmas morning here. For science class, each of us is…

The smallest subspecies of reindeer and astonishingly tame - although wild, the Svalbard reindeer is less shy of humans than the domesticated reindeer we have in Finland. Surprising, since the Svalbard variety is hunted. They taste the same as ours, though. Yummy! This one strolled into Longyearbyen and was calmly cropping the sparse green shoots of grass recently uncovered by the retreating snow along the roadside. I enjoyed a piece of local reindeer at Huset. It tasted exactly like the…

A Svalbard Reindeer fattening up for winter.

Storholmen, Svalbard

illustrations/ cartoons/ caricature/ map of different subspecies of reindeer / caribou of the world