Reindeer hunting in Greenland - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Reindeer hunting in Greenland is of great importance to the Kalaallit

Kalaallit

Kalaallit is the contemporary term in the Kalaallisut language for the indigenous people living in Greenland, also called the Kalaallit Nunaat. The singular term is kalaaleq. The Kalaallit are a part of the Arctic Inuit people. The language spoken by Inuit in Greenland is Kalaallisut.Historically,...

(Greenland

Greenland

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

Inuit

The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...

) and sporting hunters

Hunting

Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...

, both residents and tourists. Reindeer (Caribou)

Reindeer

The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...

are an important source of meat, and harvesting

Hunting

them has always played an important role in the history, culture, and traditions of the Greenland Inuit. Controlled hunting

Hunting

is important for the welfare

Animal welfare

Animal welfare is the physical and psychological well-being of animals.The term animal welfare can also mean human concern for animal welfare or a position in a debate on animal ethics and animal rights...

of reindeer, the quality of life

Quality of life

The term quality of life is used to evaluate the general well-being of individuals and societies. The term is used in a wide range of contexts, including the fields of international development, healthcare, and politics. Quality of life should not be confused with the concept of standard of...

for Inuit, and the preservation of tundra

Tundra

In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...

grazing areas. Therefore scientific research is regularly performed to determine the quotas needed to maintain a proper ecological

Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....

balance. Reindeer hunting is a multifaceted and challenging experience involving potential risks as well as personal rewards.

Background

Reindeer hunting by humans has a very long history and caribou/wild reindeer "may well be the species of single greatest importance in the entire anthropological literature on hunting."

In Greenland, wild reindeer have been hunted as a source of food, clothing, shelter, and tools by the Inuit - the indigenous peoples that populate the Arctic

Arctic

The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...

and colder regions. Methods that they have employed include crossbow

Crossbow

A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, often called bolts or quarrels. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word ballista, a torsion engine resembling a crossbow in appearance.Historically, crossbows played a...

, bow and arrow

Bowhunting

Bowhunting is the practice of killing game animals by archery. It has been a normal use of archery in every culture that had bows.- Technique :...

, snares, driving

Herding

Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group , maintaining the group and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. While the layperson uses the term "herding", most individuals involved in the process term it mustering, "working stock" or...

, trapping pit

Trapping pit

Trapping pits are deep pits dug into the ground, or built from stone, in order to trap animals.European rock drawings and cave paintings reveal that the elk and moose have been hunted since the stone age using trapping pits. In Northern Scandinavia one can still find remains of trapping pits used...

s, driving them off cliffs or into lakes and then spear

Spear

A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...

ing them from kayak

Kayak

A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...

s, and now using modern firearms

Hunting weapon

Hunting weapons are weapons designed or used primarily for hunting game animals for food or sport, as distinct from defensive weapons or weapons used primarily in warfare.-Characteristics:...

. The entire reindeer, including fur, skin, antler

Antler

Antlers are the usually large, branching bony appendages on the heads of most deer species.-Etymology:Antler originally meant the lowest tine, the "brow tine"...

s, and bones have been used. Their meat, viscera

Viscus

In anatomy, a viscus is an internal organ, and viscera is the plural form. The viscera, when removed from a butchered animal, are known collectively as offal...

, internal organs, and even stomach contents, have all been utilized as food, both raw, dried

Drying

Drying is a mass transfer process consisting of the removal of water or another solvent by evaporation from a solid, semi-solid or liquid. This process is often used as a final production step before selling or packaging products. To be considered "dried", the final product must be solid, in the...

, smoked, and cooked. Today reindeer are primarily hunted by residents and tourists for their meat, but mature animals may also be the objects of trophy hunting

Trophy hunting

Trophy hunting is the selective hunting of wild game animals. Although parts of the slain animal may be kept as a hunting trophy or memorial , the carcass itself is sometimes used as food....

because of the often large size of their antlers. They have the largest antlers relative to body size among deer.

In Greenland more reindeer are harvested than any other big game

Game (food)

Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...

land mammal

Mammal

Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...

species. Reindeer meat

Venison

Venison is the meat of a game animal, especially a deer but also other animals such as antelope, wild boar, etc.-Etymology:The word derives from the Latin vēnor...

is an important staple

Staple food

A staple food is one that is eaten regularly and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a diet, and that supplies a high proportion of energy and nutrient needs. Most people live on a diet based on one or more staples...

in most households, and the populace waits with great anticipation

Anticipation (emotion)

Anticipation, or being enthusiastic, is an emotion involving pleasure, excitement, and sometimes anxiety in considering some expected or longed-for good event.-As defence mechanism:...

for the autumn hunting season to begin. It is an opportunity to stock up the kitchen pantry and freezer with meat for the coming season and to enjoy the adventure of the hunt.

Game

Game (food)

harvesting conditions in Greenland can be extreme, and the unpredictable forces of nature can be hazardous to hunters. Greenland is large and long with differing hunting customs and regulations

Game law

Game laws are statutes which regulate the right to pursue and take or kill certain kinds of fish and wild animal . Their scope can include the following: restricting the days to harvest fish or game, restricting the number of animals per person, restricting species harvested, and limiting weapons...

, as well as weather patterns, depending on the region and season. The Greenland wilderness is sensitive and hunters are expected to respect it and "leave nothing but footprints

Leave No Trace

Leave No Trace is both a set of principles, and an organization that promotes those principles. The principles are designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts with their decisions about how to reduce their impacts when they hike, camp, picnic, snowshoe, run, bike, hunt, paddle, ride horses, fish, ski or...

Cultural status of the hunting experience

Hunting has always been an extremely important aspect of the Greenland Inuit culture:

"The Inuit culture is the most pure hunting culture in existence. Having adapted to the extreme living conditions in the High Arctic of the North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

n continent

Continent

A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Plate tectonics is...

for at least four thousand years, Inuit are not even hunter-gatherer

Hunter-gatherer

A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...

s. Inuit are hunters, pure and simple." (Henriette Rasmussen, Minister in Greenland Home Rule Government

Parliament of Greenland

The Parliament of Greenland is the legislature in the government of Greenland, an autonomous province of Denmark. The government of Greenland is also called Home Rule of Greenland. 16 seats are needed for a majority....

)

Even today hunting's importance is confirmed by the Greenland Home Rule Government:

"Hunting is the heart and soul of Greenlandic culture.... Hunting is also very important from a cultural perspective. In a society such as Greenland, which for centuries was based on subsistence

Subsistence economy

A subsistence economy is an economy which refers simply to the gathering or amassment of objects of value; the increase in wealth; or the creation of wealth. Capital can be generally defined as assets invested with the expectation that their value will increase, usually because there is the...

hunting (until about fifty years ago), hunting is still of great cultural importance. Irrespective of the fact that most live like wage-earners in a modern industrial society, many Greenlanders identity is still deeply rooted in the hunting."

Reindeer hunting has a special status in the hearts of the populace. Shooting a muskox provides four times as much meat as a reindeer, but "Greenlanders would much rather have caribou or reindeer meat than musk ox meat," says Josefine Nymand.

"... the experience is just as important [as the meat]. It is simply the most wonderful part of the year. The trips in for the caribou hunt in the beautiful autumn weather have a great social and physical meaning for people's wellbeing

Quality of life

. It has many functions." (Peter Nielsen, Head of Office at the Ministry of Environment

Natural environment

The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....

and Nature)

Inuit welfare and hunting culture

The long history of mutual dependence between humans and reindeer necessitates continuing efforts to safeguard their relationship and the welfare of both parties. Reindeer hunting – which is also commonplace in many other parts of the world – is considered so vital to the cultural heritage

Cultural heritage

Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...

of certain groups that there is an attempt being made to get it placed on UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

's World Heritage List

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

.

The identity of the Inuit is closely tied to their geography

Geography

Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...

, history and their attitudes toward hunting – "For Inuit, ecology

Ecology

Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...

, hunting and culture are synonymous." – and their identity as hunters is under attack. Those attacks are "... viewed in the Arctic as a direct assault on culture, identity as well as sustainable use," and Inuit are reacting:

"... for the Inuit, animal rights

Animal rights

Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...

campaigns are just the latest in a long litany of religious

Religiosity

Religiosity, in its broadest sense, is a comprehensive sociological term used to refer to the numerous aspects of religious activity, dedication, and belief . Another term that would work equally well, though is less often used, is religiousness...

, industry

Industry

Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...

, and government

Government

Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...

policies imposed by outsiders – policies which ignore Inuit values

Value (personal and cultural)

A personal or cultural value is an absolute or relative ethical value, the assumption of which can be the basis for ethical action. A value system is a set of consistent values and measures. A principle value is a foundation upon which other values and measures of integrity are based...

and realities, and threaten the survival of one of the world's last remaining aboriginal

Indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....

hunting cultures."

Therefore the circumpolar

Arctic Circle

The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....

peoples and their organizations are actively engaged in attempts to protect their welfare, identity, interests, and culture, including their hunting culture. The "Kuujjuaq

Kuujjuaq, Quebec

Kuujjuaq is the largest Inuit village in Nunavik, Quebec, Canada with a population of 2,132 as of the 2006 census. This is up roughly 10% from 1,932 as of the 2001 Census. It is the administrative capital of Nunavik and lies on the western shore of the Koksoak River.Kuujjuaq previously was known...

Declaration" addressed perceived attacks on their autonomy

Autonomy

Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...

and rights

Human rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

, and recommended that the Inuit Circumpolar Conference "undertake a comprehensive study on how best to address global forces, such as the 'animal rights' and other destructive movements that aim to destroy Inuit sustainable use of living resources, and to report back to the next General Assembly on its findings." The International Arctic Science Committee

International Arctic Science Committee

The International Arctic Science Committee is a non-governmental organization which is composed of international science groups participating in arctic science research. IASC is an International Scientific Associate of ICSU, and was established in 1990...

shares these viewpoints and therefore one of its objectives is to study the "sustainable use of living resources of high value to Arctic residents."

Reindeer welfare, sustainability, and quotas

Biologist

A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...

s and research scientist

Scientist

A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...

s are aware of these objectives and they constantly monitor the welfare, living conditions, and health

Health

Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...

of reindeer, as well as the ecological health

Ecological health

Ecological health or ecological integrity or ecological damage are the symptoms of an ecosystem's pending loss of carrying capacity, its ability to perform ecological services, or a pending ecocide, due to cumulative causes such as pollution. it can also be defined as farming so as to minimize the...

of their habitat, and they make recommendations and set quotas designed to ensure that game resources and natural biodiversity

Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...

are protected, managed, and maintained. Many factors, some of them difficult to measure or predict, are analyzed including natural cycles, parasite

Parasitism

Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species where one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host. Traditionally parasite referred to organisms with lifestages that needed more than one host . These are now called macroparasites...

s, disease

Disease

A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...

, short-term weather conditions (relative harshness of winter or summer), long-term climate change

Climate change

Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...

s, and condition of food sources. Hunting is far from the only factor affecting reindeer welfare, but it is one area that can be managed to some degree.

Since reindeer in southwestern Greenland have no naturally occurring non-human predator

Predation

In ecology, predation describes a biological interaction where a predator feeds on its prey . Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to feeding on them, but the act of predation always results in the death of its prey and the eventual absorption of the prey's tissue through consumption...

s, harvesting quotas are established to help regulate

Wildlife management

Wildlife management attempts to balance the needs of wildlife with the needs of people using the best available science. Wildlife management can include game keeping, wildlife conservation and pest control...

the number of reindeer in an area and prevent overgrazing

Overgrazing

Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, or by overpopulations of native or non-native wild animals.Overgrazing reduces the...

and death from starvation

Starvation

Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy, nutrient and vitamin intake. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death...

. During the winter, the great effort of paw

Paw

A paw is the soft foot of a mammal, generally a quadruped, that has claws or nails. A hard foot is called a hoof. Paws are used to pad feet for walking and increase friction.- Common characteristics :...

ing down (known as "cratering") through the snow

Snow

Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...

to their favorite food (a lichen

Lichen

Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...

known as reindeer moss

Cladonia rangiferina

Cladonia rangiferina, also known as Reindeer lichen , lat., is a light-colored, fruticose lichen belonging to the family Cladoniaceae. It grows in both hot and cold climates in well-drained, open environments. Found primarily in areas of alpine tundra, it is extremely cold-hardy.Other common names...

) can cost them too many calorie

Calorie

The calorie is a pre-SI metric unit of energy. It was first defined by Nicolas Clément in 1824 as a unit of heat, entering French and English dictionaries between 1841 and 1867. In most fields its use is archaic, having been replaced by the SI unit of energy, the joule...

s in expended energy, causing them to lose strength

Wasting

In medicine, wasting refers to the process by which a debilitating disease causes muscle and fat tissue to "waste" away. Wasting is sometimes referred to as "acute malnutrition" because it is believed that episodes of wasting have a short duration, in contrast to stunting, which is regarded as...

and die. Without human monitoring and regulation, mass starvation of reindeer would be a recurring problem.

Harvesting recommendations are also based on other prognostic

Prediction

A prediction or forecast is a statement about the way things will happen in the future, often but not always based on experience or knowledge...

factors, among them estimates of reindeer population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

and total population

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

in various regions, and availability of adequate food sources. Since these estimates are difficult to make and can vary over time for each region, the recommendations and quotas are constantly adapted to the local needs, sometimes quite radically. Greenland's reindeer population has historically fluctuated widely. For example, it numbered around 100,000 in the early 1970s and then (was believed to have) dropped to 9,000 in 1993. Regulations reflected these mistaken (and hotly debated) estimates and harvesting was suspended from the summer of 1993 until the autumn of 1995, whereupon hunting was once again allowed.

The suspension of hunting in 1993-1995 was hotly debated and "created much public anger." Hunter's local knowledge contradicted the estimates and a survey in 2000-2001 confirmed their claims. Quotas were then radically increased and the hunting season was lengthened: "In an effort to reduce caribou number and density, open harvests were continued in 2003, 2004 and 2005."

In 2005, improved counting methods revealed that the previous estimates had indeed been misleading and that the population density was far too high, with 3-4 caribou per km², rather than the preferred 1.2 per km². In 2006 the numbers were estimated to be more than 100,000, which was still too many animals. It is feared that the overpopulation can lead to increased mortality of calves, damage to feeding grounds, and to a population crash:

"Independent of climate and genetics, caribou calf mortality increases with high population density and grazing pressure.... [O]ver-abundance of caribou on the range may be a current problem, which may soon become an acute problem. Unfortunately, it is unknown how much longer the present range can continue to support the current caribou numbers. If the herds are allowed to continue status quo or increase further there is a clear risk of lasting damage to ranges. If the ranges are destroyed, caribou stocks can be expected to crash.

Clearly scientists and hunters must continue to work together for the best good of all concerned parties: the reindeer, the hunters, the general populace of Greenland, and the very sensitive and vulnerable range grounds, since Greenland's tundra is more sensitive than elsewhere in the Arctic due to the ever present Greenland ice sheet

Greenland ice sheet

The Greenland ice sheet is a vast body of ice covering , roughly 80% of the surface of Greenland. It is the second largest ice body in the world, after the Antarctic Ice Sheet. The ice sheet is almost long in a north-south direction, and its greatest width is at a latitude of 77°N, near its...

. The ever-present ice sheet acts like an open refrigerator door and influences the growth of vegetation along the coastal regions, making recovery a slow process.

Reindeer

Reindeer (or Caribou) (also called tuttu by the Greenlandic Inuit and rensdyr or rener by Danes) are the only deer

Deer

Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...

species in which both sexes have antler

Antler

Antlers are the usually large, branching bony appendages on the heads of most deer species.-Etymology:Antler originally meant the lowest tine, the "brow tine"...

s. Greenland animals can vary considerably in size, with females weighing up to 90 kg (198 lb) and the males ("bulls") 150 kg (331 lb). Other species of reindeer can be larger or smaller. In Greenland both sexes may be hunted. Although they have antlers, they rarely use them against humans, even when backed into a corner by the Sami people

Sami people

The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...

who herd, milk, and slaughter them for food. Their usual defense against humans is to pull away or flee, often uphill. Males use their antlers when sparring

Sparring

Sparring is a form of training common to many martial arts. Although the precise form varies, it is essentially relatively 'free-form' fighting, with enough rules, customs, or agreements to make injuries unlikely...

against each other, and reindeer may use them as a last resort to defend themselves and their young against predators such as wolves

Gray Wolf

The gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family...

(although wolves present no threat in southwestern Greenland). Although rarely aggressive toward humans, when in rut

Rut (mammalian reproduction)

The rut is the mating season of ruminant animals such as deer, sheep, elk, moose, caribou, ibex, goats, pronghorn and Asian and African antelope....

bulls will defend their harems from other bulls, and when humans come between a bull and his harem, attacks may occur.

Tame reindeer are known to be curious

Curiosity

Curiosity is an emotion related to natural inquisitive behavior such as exploration, investigation, and learning, evident by observation in human and many animal species. The term can also be used to denote the behavior itself being caused by the emotion of curiosity...

, but even wild reindeer can be curious in some situations. The wild reindeer is a shy animal and it reacts very quickly to sudden sounds or movements as well as the smell of strangers. In spite of this, inexperienced animals may even approach quite closely to a hunter and curiously observe while the hunter is field dressing

Field dressing deer

Field dressing is the process of removing the internal organs of hunted game, and is a necessary step in preserving meat from animals harvested in the wild. Field dressing must be done as soon as possible in order to ensure rapid body heat loss, and prevent bacteria from growing on the surface of...

a downed animal. They have good hearing and a good sense of smell, but have poor eyesight. They may react to a hunter's movements, but not necessarily to his form if he doesn't move. Under the right conditions, a stealthy hunter may be able to approach surprisingly close to a reindeer, even when the hunter is in full sight of the animal. Many animals are shot at relatively close range (10-50 meters).

Three subspecies in Greenland

Three subspecies of reindeer live in western Greenland where some interbreeding has occurred:

The most common variety of reindeer in Greenland is the native wild Barren-ground Caribou
Barren-ground Caribou
Barren-ground Caribou is a subspecies of the caribou that is found mainly in the Canadian territories Nunavut and the Northwest Territories and western Greenland. It sometimes includes the similar porcupine caribou, in which case the barren-ground caribou also is found in Alaska...

(Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus), which is a medium sized race of reindeer also found in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

The second type are the feral
Feral
A feral organism is one that has changed from being domesticated to being wild or untamed. In the case of plants it is a movement from cultivated to uncultivated or controlled to volunteer. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, may...

semi-domestic
Domestication
Domestication or taming is the process whereby a population of animals or plants, through a process of selection, becomes accustomed to human provision and control. In the Convention on Biological Diversity a domesticated species is defined as a 'species in which the evolutionary process has been...

reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus), brought from Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

in 1952. They are larger and were first introduced at a game reserve
Game reserve
A game reserve is an area of land set aside for maintenance of wildlife for tourism or hunting purposes. Many game reserves are located in Africa. Most are open to the public, and tourists commonly take sightseeing safaris or hunt wild game....

in the Kapisillit
Kapisillit
Kapisillit is a settlement in the Sermersooq municipality in southwestern Greenland. In 2010, the settlement had 86 inhabitants Kapisillit means the salmon in the Greenlandic language...

region of Godthåb's
Nuuk
Nuuk, is the capital of Greenland, the northernmost capital in North America and the largest city in Greenland. Located in the Nuup Kangerlua fjord, the city lies on the eastern shore of the Labrador Sea and on the west coast of Sermersooq. Nuuk is the largest cultural and economic center in...

fjord
Fjord
Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...

. Their care was the responsibility of Sami herders
Sami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...

who also controlled their harvesting and the meat preparation in a now-abandoned slaughterhouse
Slaughterhouse
A slaughterhouse or abattoir is a facility where animals are killed for consumption as food products.Approximately 45-50% of the animal can be turned into edible products...

at Itinnera. "Later animals from Kapisillit were released at several more locations to establish feral populations, which might support a hunting harvest. There is evidence for genetic
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....

mixing of native caribou and feral reindeer at some of the locations where reindeer were released."

A third type of reindeer that may possibly belong to the Peary Caribou
Peary Caribou
The Peary Caribou is a caribou subspecies found in the high Arctic islands of Canada's Nunavut and Northwest territories. They are the smallest of the North American caribou, with the females weighing an average of 60 kg and the males 110 kg...

subspecies (Rangifer tarandus pearyi), are smaller and fewer in number, and live in northwestern Greenland.

Practical details

Two main types of hunters are involved in harvesting reindeer: licensed commercial hunters and private resident sporting hunters, with tourists, trophy hunters, and research scientists harvesting a few more animals.

Transportation to and from hunting areas is nearly always done by boat. The rest of the transportation is by foot

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

. If the hunting area is far inland, it may involve carrying equipment to a lake, and then transporting it across the lake to a campsite using a smaller type of boat, such as a rowboat

Watercraft rowing

Watercraft rowing is the act of propelling a boat using the motion of oars in the water. The difference between paddling and rowing is that with rowing the oars have a mechanical connection with the boat whereas with paddling the paddles are hand-held with no mechanical connection.This article...

, canoe

Canoe

A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...

(including collapsible models), or a rubber

Rubber

Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...

inflatable boat

Inflatable boat

An inflatable boat is a lightweight boat constructed with its sides and bow made of flexible tubes containing pressurised gas. For smaller boats, the floor and hull beneath it is often flexible. On boats longer than , the floor often consists of three to five rigid plywood or aluminium sheets fixed...

. Some lakes have boats permanently left (or hidden in the bushes) near the shores, and they are sometimes used by hunters (not necessarily the owners) who frequent the area.

In 2006 the only hunting weapon

Hunting weapon

Hunting weapons are weapons designed or used primarily for hunting game animals for food or sport, as distinct from defensive weapons or weapons used primarily in warfare.-Characteristics:...

s allowed for reindeer harvesting were bolt action, non-automatic

Automatic firearm

An automatic firearm is a firearm that loads another round mechanically after the first round has been fired.The term can be used to refer to semi-automatic firearms, which fire one shot per single pull of the trigger , or fully automatic firearms, which will continue to load and fire ammunition...

rifle

Rifle

A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...

s, using .222 Remington

.222 Remington

The .222 Remington aka the Triple Deuce/Triple Two/Treble Two is a centerfire rifle cartridge introduced in 1950, and was the first commercial rimless .22 cartridge made in the United States...

caliber

Caliber

In guns including firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel in relation to the diameter of the projectile used in it....

cartridges or larger. A good, large rifle scope

Telescopic sight

A telescopic sight, commonly called a scope, is a sighting device that is based on an optical refracting telescope. They are equipped with some form of graphic image pattern mounted in an optically appropriate position in their optical system to give an accurate aiming point...

is important, as shots at longer distances may be necessary, and visibility may be poor because of snowfall, fog, or limited lighting levels. Folding or fixed-blade hunting knives

Knife

A knife is a cutting tool with an exposed cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools...

are necessary for many purposes. Binoculars

Binoculars

Binoculars, field glasses or binocular telescopes are a pair of identical or mirror-symmetrical telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point accurately in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes when viewing distant objects...

with large objective

Objective (optics)

In an optical instrument, the objective is the optical element that gathers light from the object being observed and focuses the light rays to produce a real image. Objectives can be single lenses or mirrors, or combinations of several optical elements. They are used in microscopes, telescopes,...

diameter

Diameter

In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle. The diameters are the longest chords of the circle...

are used to spot prey at great distances, sometimes in waning light.

Rifles (both bolt action and semi-automatic) of other calibers, shotgun

Shotgun

A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...

s, and other types of weapon

Weapon

A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...

s may be used for other game such as ptarmigan, Arctic Hare

Arctic Hare

The arctic hare , or polar rabbit is a species of hare which is adapted largely to polar and mountainous habitats. The arctic hare survives with a thick coat of fur and usually digs holes under the ground or snow to keep warm and sleep...

s, and arctic fox

Arctic fox

The arctic fox , also known as the white fox, polar fox or snow fox, is a small fox native to Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and is common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. The Greek word alopex, means a fox and Vulpes is the Latin version...

es, which are often encountered during a reindeer hunt.

Regulations and hunting licenses

Harvesting is governed by regulations and requires a hunting license

Hunting license

A hunting license is a regulatory or legal mechanism to control recreational and sports hunting.Hunting may be regulated informally by "unwritten law", "self restraint", or "morality" and by laws "enforced by government authority."...

indicating the number of animals to be harvested, as well as post-hunting reporting of results (a jawbone

Jawbone

Jawbone can refer to the following:* Mandible, the lower jaw bone* Maxilla, the upper jaw bone of humans* Jawbone , a musical instrument made from the jawbone of a donkey, horse, or zebra* Jawbone , blues musician Bob Zabor...

with teeth). Such licenses can be obtained by those who have established two years of residency. (Special arrangements are made for tourists and trophy hunters.) Information should be sought and licenses obtained (by application and payment) from the local municipality.

Airplanes, helicopter

Helicopter

A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

s, and other motorized

Motor vehicle

A motor vehicle or road vehicle is a self-propelled wheeled vehicle that does not operate on rails, such as trains or trolleys. The vehicle propulsion is provided by an engine or motor, usually by an internal combustion engine, or an electric motor, or some combination of the two, such as hybrid...

vehicle

Vehicle

A vehicle is a device that is designed or used to transport people or cargo. Most often vehicles are manufactured, such as bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, boats, and aircraft....

s (such as snowmobile

Snowmobile

A snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled,is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including...

s), are not allowed to be used for hunting or transport (on land) of animals or hunters. Boat

Boat

A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...

s are allowed for transport to and from hunting areas. A lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

identification tag

Label

A label is a piece of paper, polymer, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or article, on which is printed a legend, information concerning the product, addresses, etc. A label may also be printed directly on the container or article....

must be attached to the carcass until it is sold or used. The meat is owned by the hunter and no extra fees are charged for it.

In 2006 the open season extended from August 10 - September 15. In exceptional cases the dates can be changed, for example periods of bad weather and too much ice

Ice

Ice is water frozen into the solid state. Usually ice is the phase known as ice Ih, which is the most abundant of the varying solid phases on the Earth's surface. It can appear transparent or opaque bluish-white color, depending on the presence of impurities or air inclusions...

, resulting in a lengthening of the season. Winter hunting is an option for those specially licensed as commercial

Commerce

While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...

hunters (normally reserved for Inuit residents).

Game preparation and transport

Once downed, a reindeer should be quickly field dressed

Field dressing deer

by removing the viscera

Offal

Offal , also called, especially in the United States, variety meats or organ meats, refers to the internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but includes most internal organs other than...

. The skin, head, and viscera are often discarded and left for consumption by foxes, raven

Common Raven

The Common Raven , also known as the Northern Raven, is a large, all-black passerine bird. Found across the northern hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids...

s, and other bird

Bird

Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

s. The meat should then be kept cool to minimize decomposition

Decomposition

Decomposition is the process by which organic material is broken down into simpler forms of matter. The process is essential for recycling the finite matter that occupies physical space in the biome. Bodies of living organisms begin to decompose shortly after death...

and should also be protected from blow-flies

Blow-fly

Calliphoridae are insects in the Order Diptera, family Calliphoridae...

by the use of mesh game bags, and any fly eggs (very visible) and maggot

Maggot

In everyday speech the word maggot means the larva of a fly ; it is applied in particular to the larvae of Brachyceran flies, such as houseflies, cheese flies, and blowflies, rather than larvae of the Nematocera, such as mosquitoes and Crane flies...

s should be removed immediately. The cool climate makes it possible for the meat to be kept out in the open longer than in warmer climates, therefore a hunting expedition can last several days without a serious loss of meat quality. Once home again, the meat can be hung and aged for a few days before further processing.

Carrying a reindeer over a long distance in rugged mountainous terrain can be difficult and very strenuous. More than five kilometers each way is not uncommon. If the animal was very large, it may only be possible to transport one half at a time. In Greenland reindeer meat is commonly carried over the shoulders, possibly tied to a backpack

Backpack

A backpack is, in its simplest form, a cloth sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders, but there can be exceptions...

frame, or carried on the back with support from a headband

Headband

A headband is a clothing accessory worn in the hair or around the forehead, usually to hold hair away from the face or eyes. Headbands generally consist of a loop of elastic material or a horseshoe-shaped piece of flexible plastic or metal...

(the method preferred by Inuit). Unskinned game may also be dragged on snow, or allowed to slide down steep, snow-covered hillsides, thus saving much work and freeing the hands for support while climbing downhill.

Hunting methods

There are several methods

Hunting strategy

A hunting strategy, or hunting method, is for locating, targeting, and killing a targeted animal. Hunting methods have also been applied to situations such as the pursuit of fugitives by government agencies and the targeting of a small military unit by a larger one, especially during low intensity...

that can be used (often in combination) for harvesting reindeer:

Asking is seeking the advice of an experienced reindeer hunter.
Scouting
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....

is a variety of tasks and techniques for finding reindeer to hunt.
- Glassing is the use of optical instruments (such as binoculars) to locate animals more easily.
Blind or Stand hunting is waiting where reindeer are likely to travel.
Camouflage hunting
Camouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...

is concealing oneself visually to blend in with the environment, for example using a white anorak
Anorak
An anorak or parka is a type of heavy jacket with a hood, often lined with fur or fake fur, so as to protect the face from a combination of freezing temperatures and wind...

in snowy weather.
Still hunting is the practice of walking stealthily in search of animals.
Stalking
Game stalker
Defined narrowly, a game stalker is a hunter who for sport, approaches close to its timid quarry before making a kill. The practice is commonly associated with the moors of Scotland where the principal quarry is red deer. However, the skill is found worldwide and is of extremely long standing...

is the practice of walking stealthily in pursuit of identified animals.
Tracking
Tracking (hunting)
Tracking in hunting and ecology is the science and art of observing animal tracks and other signs, with the goal of gaining understanding of the landscape and the animal being tracked...

is interpreting and following physical evidence in the pursuit of animals.
Drive hunting is flushing reindeer toward other hunters.

Note
Nota Bene
Nota bene is an Italian and Latin phrase meaning "note well". The phrase first appeared in writing circa 1721.Often abbreviated as "N. B.", nota bene comes from the Latin roots notāre and bene . It is in the singular imperative mood, instructing one individual to note well the matter at hand...

: Loose dogs, dog driving, and coursing
Coursing
Coursing is the pursuit of game or other animals by dogs—chiefly greyhounds and other sighthounds—catching their prey by speed, running by sight and not by scent. Coursing was a common hunting technique, practised by the nobility, the landed and wealthy, and commoners with sighthounds and lurchers...

are not allowed.

Hunting conditions in Greenland

A reindeer hunt can be a short afternoon outing without much equipment, or a week-long affair with all the equipment that such an endeavor requires. New hunters may experience a form of "culture shock

Culture shock

Culture shock is the anxiety, feelings of frustration, alienation and anger that may occur when a person is emplaced in a new culture.One of the most common causes of culture shock involves individuals in a foreign country. Culture shock can be described as consisting of one or more distinct phases...

" the first time they enter the wilderness, and may require mental "acclimatization

Acclimatization

Acclimatisation or acclimation is the process of an individual organism adjusting to a gradual change in its environment, allowing it to maintain performance across a range of environmental conditions...

" when returning to civilization. It may feel like a fleeting period of mental confusion

Mental confusion

Confusion of a pathological degree usually refers to loss of orientation sometimes accompanied by disordered consciousness and often memory Confusion (from Latin confusĭo, -ōnis, noun of action from confundere "to pour together", also "to confuse") of a pathological degree usually refers to loss...

, similar to the "sea legs" felt by inexperienced boaters.

Reindeer harvesting can be done in groups or alone, with lone hunting generally requiring extra safety precautions. While reindeer harvesting is usually a pleasant experience and the following problems may never be encountered, it can also be exhausting and does entail some degree of safety risk. Good hygiene

Hygiene

Hygiene refers to the set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation of health and healthy living. While in modern medical sciences there is a set of standards of hygiene recommended for different situations, what is considered hygienic or not can vary between...

and adequate hydration can protect against infection

Infection

An infection is the colonization of a host organism by parasite species. Infecting parasites seek to use the host's resources to reproduce, often resulting in disease...

s, diarrhea

Diarrhea

Diarrhea , also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having three or more loose or liquid bowel movements per day. It is a common cause of death in developing countries and the second most common cause of infant deaths worldwide. The loss of fluids through diarrhea can cause dehydration and...

, and gastroenteritis

Gastroenteritis

Gastroenteritis is marked by severe inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract involving both the stomach and small intestine resulting in acute diarrhea and vomiting. It can be transferred by contact with contaminated food and water...

. A small first aid

First aid

First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...

kit should be carried when away from the campsite

Campsite

A campsite or camping pitch is a place used for overnight stay in the outdoors. In British English a campsite is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight using tents or camper vans or caravans; this British English use of the word is synonymous with the...

or boat, and preparations should be made for the various hazards of outdoor activities

Hazards of outdoor activities

Any outdoor activity entails many risks, even if participants do not recklessly place themselves in harm's way. Even a simple accident may create a dangerous situation that requires survival skills. However, with the correct precautions, outdoor recreation can be enjoyable and safe.- General...

. The terrain can be hilly, mountainous, uneven, and stony, with hidden crevices or holes. It may also be marsh

Marsh

In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....

y, muddy, and wet. It may be necessary to cross streams and rivers, and slippery rocks present a hazard. If there is snow and ice, there can be cornice

Cornice (climbing)

A snow cornice or simply cornice is an overhanging edge of snow on a ridge or the crest of a mountain. They form by wind blowing snow over the crest of the mountain, so they often form on the leeward sides of mountains...

s, crevasse

Crevasse

A crevasse is a deep crack in an ice sheet rhys glacier . Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the sheer stress generated when two semi-rigid pieces above a plastic substrate have different rates of movement...

s, and avalanche

Avalanche

An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...

s, although snow can make it easier to spot and track

Tracking (hunting)

Tracking in hunting and ecology is the science and art of observing animal tracks and other signs, with the goal of gaining understanding of the landscape and the animal being tracked...

reindeer.

The weather during the beginning of the autumn hunting season is often pleasant, relatively warm, and mild, but it can change very quickly. Hunters may encounter fog, rain, wind, and winter conditions. Occasionally, the situation can quickly approach a worst-case scenario

Worst-case scenario

Worst-case scenario is a situation where everything that could go wrong, has gone wrong.It may also refer to:* Worst Case Scenario , by dEUS* "Worst Case Scenario" , by The Hoosiers* Worst Case Scenario...

with events such as katabatic wind

Katabatic wind

A katabatic wind, from the Greek word katabatikos meaning "going downhill", is the technical name for a drainage wind, a wind that carries high density air from a higher elevation down a slope under the force of gravity. Such winds are sometimes also called fall winds...

s, storms, snow, hail

Hail

Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is referred to as a hail stone. Hail stones on Earth consist mostly of water ice and measure between and in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe thunderstorms...

, sleet

Ice storm

An ice storm is a type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain, also known as a glaze event or in some parts of the United States as a silver thaw. The U.S. National Weather Service defines an ice storm as a storm which results in the accumulation of at least of ice on exposed surfaces...

, freezing rain

Freezing rain

Freezing rain is the name given to rain that falls when surface temperatures are below freezing. The raindrops become supercooled while passing through a sub-freezing layer of air, many hundred feet , just above the surface, and then freeze upon impact with any object they encounter. The resulting...

, blizzard

Blizzard

A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong winds. By definition, the difference between blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind. To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have winds in excess of with blowing or drifting snow which reduces visibility to 400 meters or ¼ mile or...

s, and polar cyclone

Polar cyclone

Polar cyclones are low-pressure areas which strengthen in the winter and weaken in the summer...

s, even in the late summer. Lack of preparation can have fatal consequences.

Using a compass in Greenland involves accounting for a very radical magnetic declination

Magnetic declination

Magnetic declination is the angle between magnetic north and true north. The declination is positive when the magnetic north is east of true north. The term magnetic variation is a synonym, and is more often used in navigation...

. Failure to calculate correctly can send a hunter in the wrong direction, leading to complete loss of bearings

Bearing (navigation)

In marine navigation, a bearing is the direction one object is from another object, usually, the direction of an object from one's own vessel. In aircraft navigation, a bearing is the actual compass direction of the forward course of the aircraft...

. Getting lost in bad weather can waste precious time, forcing the hunter to overnight in very wet, cold, and unpleasant conditions. Hypothermia

Hypothermia

Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...

can further complicate matters and decrease the hunter's ability to think clearly, causing them to lose their bearings even more. A fight for survival

Survival skills

Survival skills are techniques a person may use in a dangerous situation to save themselves or others...

may then ensue. Deaths are relatively rare, but they do happen.

External links

Hunting, Herding, Fishing, and Gathering: Indigenous Peoples and Renewable Resource Use in the Arctic - Mark Nuttall, et al
Human Role in Reindeer Systems - Rangifer.net (U. of Alaska, Fairbanks)
Monitoring program: Rangifer as an indicator of change in the circumpolar arctic - Rangifer.net (U. of Alaska, Fairbanks)
English articles on reindeer - Greenland Tourism and Business Council website search
Dr. Christine Cuyler describes how she equips a reindeer while driving a snowmobile.
Project Caribou: An educator's guide - Yukon Department of Environment

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Background

Cultural status of the hunting experience

Inuit welfare and hunting culture

Reindeer welfare, sustainability, and quotas

Reindeer

Three subspecies in Greenland

Practical details

Regulations and hunting licenses

Game preparation and transport

Hunting methods

Hunting conditions in Greenland

See also

External links