Scientists say climate change is causing reindeer in the Arctic to shrink


While warmer summers are helping increase the number of reindeer on a chain of islands north of Norway, scientists say warmer winters are causing the animals to starve.
Since the 1990s, researchers have been studying reindeer on Svalbard, 800 miles from the north pole. Two decades ago, the average weight of an adult reindeer was 121 pounds, and now, it's 106 pounds. Reindeer are herbivores, and in the summer, plants are more plentiful, giving the animals access to food. In the fall, it's easier for healthy female reindeer to conceive, and there are now more of the animals on Svalbard — researchers say the wild herd has grown from 800 in the 1990s to 1,400 now.
Arctic temperatures are rising faster than the world average, due to greenhouse gases building up in the atmosphere, and in the winter, there is less snow and more rain, which freezes into sheets of ice, making it more difficult for reindeer to get to their food. Scientists say some reindeer are starving to death, and females are giving birth to stunted young. When the reindeer are able to reach food, because there are now more of them, there's competition for plants. Prof. Steve Albon, ecologist at the James Hutton Institute in Scotland and leader of the study, told Reuters that while warmer summers are "great" for reindeer, warmer winters are "getting increasingly tough."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Frustrated Trump warns 'crazy' Putin
Feature Trump lashes out online after Putin launches his largest missile and drone attack on Ukraine
-
Antisemitism: What a young couple's murder tells us
Feature A Jewish couple was hunted on the street in a hate crime disguised as a political protest
-
Where will international students go if not the US?
Talking Points China, Canada and the UK are ready to educate the world
-
Why men have a bigger carbon footprint than women
Under the Radar 'Male identity' behaviours behind 'gender gap' in emissions, say scientists
-
Why the weather keeps getting 'stuck'
In the Spotlight Record hot and dry spring caused by 'blocked' area of high pressure above the UK
-
EPA is reportedly killing Energy Star program
speed read The program for energy-efficient home appliances has saved consumers billions in energy costs since its 1992 launch
-
The worst coral bleaching event breaks records
The Explainer Bleaching has now affected 84% of the world's coral reefs
-
Why UK scientists are trying to dim the Sun
In The Spotlight The UK has funded controversial geoengineering techniques that could prove helpful in slowing climate change
-
Electric ferries are becoming the next big environmental trend
Under the Radar From Hong Kong to Lake Tahoe, electric ferries are the new wave
-
US proposes eroding species protections
Speed Read The Trump administration wants to change the definition of 'harm' in the Environmental Protection Act to allow habitat damage
-
Ukraine is experiencing an 'ecocide' and wants Russia to pay
Under the radar The environment is a silent victim of war