The question of whether reindeer are extinct is common, but the answer is definitively no. Reindeer, known as caribou in North America, belong to a single species, Rangifer tarandus, which is widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. This species plays a significant ecological role as the primary herbivore in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions and has deep cultural importance to numerous indigenous communities. However, the species is facing widespread population challenges that have led to serious concern about its long-term future.
Current Global Conservation Status and Range
The species Rangifer tarandus inhabits the circumpolar region across Eurasia, Greenland, and North America. Their range extends from the tundra and Arctic islands down into the boreal forests, known as taiga. The species as a whole is currently classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, indicating a high risk of extinction in the wild.
This global Vulnerable status reflects a substantial overall decline in wild populations across their vast range, with an estimated 40% drop over the last three generations. The total number of wild reindeer and caribou has fallen dramatically, from an estimated 4.7 million individuals two decades ago to around 2.1 million, a decline of over 50%. However, this overall figure masks regional variations; for instance, some smaller herds in Alaska and Norway have shown stable or even slightly increasing trends.
Primary Factors Driving Population Decline
The primary pressures on reindeer and caribou populations are complex, involving a combination of human activity and changing climate conditions. A major factor is the increasing frequency of “rain-on-snow” events in the Arctic, which are linked to a warming climate. When rain falls on snow and then refreezes, it creates a layer of impenetrable ground ice, locking the animals out from their primary winter forage, which includes ground lichens. These icing events can lead to mass starvation, sometimes causing the deaths of tens of thousands of animals.
Habitat disturbance and fragmentation also contribute significantly to population stress, particularly in the southern reaches of their range. Linear disturbances from resource extraction, such as oil and gas development, mining, and logging, disrupt migration routes and increase the energy expenditure required for movement. These human-made corridors can also facilitate greater access for predators, such as wolves, by providing easier travel through deep snow, thereby altering the natural predator-prey dynamics and increasing predation risk. Furthermore, a warming environment allows for the expanded range of parasites and diseases, and increased heat stress can weaken the animals’ ability to resist pathogens and withstand food shortages.
Critical Status of Specific Subspecies
While the entire species is not facing imminent collapse, the global conservation status obscures the severe, often catastrophic, declines in distinct population segments. This is where the concern about extinction becomes most relevant, as many localized groups are facing what is known as extirpation, or local extinction. For example, numerous herds of woodland caribou in Canada have been designated as Threatened or Endangered due to massive population drops.
The George River herd in Canada provides a stark illustration of this critical status, having declined by a staggering 99% from its peak of over 800,000 animals in the early 1990s to only a few thousand individuals today. Similarly, the Dolphin and Union caribou population in the Canadian Arctic, which migrates between the mainland and islands, is now classified as Endangered. In Russia, the three subspecies of wild reindeer are classified from Near Threatened to Critically Endangered, reflecting a 40% decline since 1990. These examples demonstrate that the loss of these unique, localized populations represents a significant erosion of the species’ genetic diversity and ecological function across its historic range.