As Climate Changes, Herders Feed Reindeer
2024-04-07
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1As he drives slowly across snow, Nils Mathis Sara drops food on the ground for hundreds of his reindeer to eat.
2His animals live in Finnmark, the northernmost point of Norway.
3But Sara wishes he did not have to feed them.
4"This is an emergency situation," said the 65-year-old Sara.
5"I am not supposed to feed them. They are supposed to feed me."
6Sara is Sami, an ethnic group native to the northern areas of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola peninsula of Russia.
7Normally, the reindeer find their own food.
8They dig through the snow to reach small plants, called lichen, buried below.
9But every winter for the past ten years, Sara has had to buy food to help the animals live through the cold season.
10Winter temperatures in the area can drop to as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius.
11Until recently, only snow fell during the winter months in Finnmark.
12But in recent years, the weather has been warmer, with temperatures sometimes rising above freezing.
13That means rain, instead of snow, falls on the ground.
14Then, when the temperature drops, that water turns to ice.
15The thick ice makes it difficult for the reindeer to reach the lichen.
16"It is especially hard for the younger reindeer, as their hooves are not strong enough to break through," Sara said.
17One morning in March, Sara and a family member put down about one and a half metric tons of food for the reindeer.
18The two men have been doing the same thing every other day since February.
19"I should really be doing this every day, but economically it does not make sense," said Sara.
20Feeding the animals can also bring unexpected results.
21Later that day, Sara sees hundreds of reindeer in his reindeer feeding area.
22But, the reindeer do not belong to him.
23Sara quickly drives over to the herder of the other reindeer.
24He asks the herder to move the animals out of the area.
25The reindeer had come to Sara's area because of the smell of the food Sara had put on the ground.
26In addition, reindeer are semi-wild.
27Normally, herders follow the animals as they look for food under the snow.
28But feeding the animals makes them slowly become less wild and depend more on humans.
29This makes the Sami people live more like farmers than herders.
30Sara says this goes against the Sami's traditional way of living.
31"When we feed the reindeer, they change their behavior and become more accustomed to humans," Sara said.
32"This is not our way."
33I'm Andrew Smith.
1As he drives slowly across snow, Nils Mathis Sara drops food on the ground for hundreds of his reindeer to eat. His animals live in Finnmark, the northernmost point of Norway. 2But Sara wishes he did not have to feed them. 3"This is an emergency situation," said the 65-year-old Sara. "I am not supposed to feed them. They are supposed to feed me." 4Sara is Sami, an ethnic group native to the northern areas of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola peninsula of Russia. 5Normally, the reindeer find their own food. They dig through the snow to reach small plants, called lichen, buried below. 6But every winter for the past ten years, Sara has had to buy food to help the animals live through the cold season. Winter temperatures in the area can drop to as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius. 7Until recently, only snow fell during the winter months in Finnmark. But in recent years, the weather has been warmer, with temperatures sometimes rising above freezing. That means rain, instead of snow, falls on the ground. Then, when the temperature drops, that water turns to ice. 8The thick ice makes it difficult for the reindeer to reach the lichen. "It is especially hard for the younger reindeer, as their hooves are not strong enough to break through," Sara said. 9One morning in March, Sara and a family member put down about one and a half metric tons of food for the reindeer. The two men have been doing the same thing every other day since February. 10"I should really be doing this every day, but economically it does not make sense," said Sara. 11Feeding the animals can also bring unexpected results. 12Later that day, Sara sees hundreds of reindeer in his reindeer feeding area. But, the reindeer do not belong to him. 13Sara quickly drives over to the herder of the other reindeer. He asks the herder to move the animals out of the area. The reindeer had come to Sara's area because of the smell of the food Sara had put on the ground. 14In addition, reindeer are semi-wild. Normally, herders follow the animals as they look for food under the snow. But feeding the animals makes them slowly become less wild and depend more on humans. 15This makes the Sami people live more like farmers than herders. Sara says this goes against the Sami's traditional way of living. 16"When we feed the reindeer, they change their behavior and become more accustomed to humans," Sara said. "This is not our way." 17I'm Andrew Smith. 18Gwladys Fouche wrote this story for Reuters. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English. 19_______________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21peninsula n.- a long piece of land that is surrounded by water on three sides 22herder n.- a person who follows and looks after livestock such as cattle and goats 23accustomed to adj. phrase - familiar with doing something or with a situation or state of being