Wild reindeer along Pilegrimsleden
In Norway, several of the pilgrimpaths are passing thrue areas for wild reindeer
Today there are about 20,000 wild reindeer in Norway. The species lives in mountain areas in Southern Norway.
Originally, wild reindeer were found throughout the country, but much has changed over the past hundred years. In the north, there was a gradual shift to reindeer farming, and the last wild reindeer herds there disappeared in the 1800s. The wild reindeer herds in Southern Norway were almost wiped out due to overhunting around the same time.
Development and human activity have led to a fragmentation of the areas the wild reindeer can use. The reindeer, which could previously move fairly freely across four large connected mountain areas in Southern Norway, now use 24 more or less separate areas. Pressure on their habitats has increased throughout the 20th century and continues today. Disease and climate change are also part of the challenges they face now.
Source of inforrmation in Norwegian: Villrein i Norge - miljodirektoratet.no
Foto Mattias Jansson ( Reindeer-Not wild)