Reindeer

A global history of human relationships with reindeer, and how wildlife relocation can preserve both reindeer populations and cultural heritage

Across the Arctic and the boreal north, reindeer populations are dwindling as our ever-developing planet grows warmer. Reindeer range is roughly half what it was in the nineteenth century, and populations have dropped by more than half in the past ten years alone. However, we have a conservation tool at hand for this crisis: wildlife translocation, or moving animals to more suitable habitats.

In this book, the first popular global history of reindeer, Nancy Langston interweaves historical research with accounts of her fieldwork in Lapland, Iceland, North America, Mongolia, and elsewhere. She details the history of struggles faced by communities that have relied on reindeer hunting and herding and engages with the scientific debates about the need to move northern wildlife to viable habitats because of human activities. She also addresses the challenges—logistical, ethical, and societal—of moving large animals in a world with complex geopolitical boundaries.

Enhanced by the author's own artwork, this passionate, informed, and surprisingly hopeful volume sheds light on the complicated past and possible futures of reindeer and the cultures surrounding them.