Although they are called by different names in North America, wild caribouand domestic reindeer are considered to be a single species throughout the world.

Caribou are rather large members of the deer family. Their broad, concave hoofsspread to aid walking on soft ground and are good for digging in snow. Both sexes grow antlersthat in males serve as sexual ornaments and weapons for fighting rivals during the breeding season. Alaskan caribouare clove-brown with a white neck and rump.

In Eurasiapeople long ago began to tamewild caribou. Some anthropological studiessuggest that this occurred in the southern Altai mountainregion about 5,000 years ago. All domesticatedreindeer may have derived from those stocks, for modern attempts to domesticate animals from wild caribou populations have not succeeded. It is speculated that initially hunters learned that tamed deer on a leashcould help them sneak closer to wild herds. Later tame animals were used to pull sleds, and in some cultures they were saddled and ridden. Eventually people kept herds as a dependable source of food, hides and transport.

Today, all across northern Eurasia, there are Native peoples who base their economies upon the herding of reindeer. Modern uses include the former ones, plus commercial sales of meat and some hides. Recently, the sale of antlers to the Orient has become important. In the Russian Republic today, reindeer number about 2,250,000.

Different reindeer varieties have been developed in Asia to suit local conditions and human needs, including transportation. Chukchishave a breed that appears to be the product of longer domestication than most. Excellent for meat production, they are not so good for pulling sleds. The Chukchis may have begun keeping larger herds for commercial meat and hide production in response to the 17th century arrival of Russians. Under the Soviet system Chukotkan herders were organized into brigades, each responsible for 500 to 2,000 reindeer. Larger numbers of reindeer were kept on the Chukotsk Peninsula and the long migrations to the west discontinued. There are no forests on the peninsula and winter can be particularly difficult; nearly half the reindeer died in the winter of 1984.

Life in a reindeer camp remains traditional in many ways, based on the mutual dependence of reindeer and people. Reindeer hidessupply beautiful, light and warm clothes enabling people to work in the severe cold. Winter hides, one of the best available natural insulators, furnish tents, provide bedding and, sewn together with sinew, become the winter coverings of the large round tents called yarangas.

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