Georgia River Reindeer Population Dramatically Dropping (PHOTOS)

If Santa is ever in need of some replacement reindeer, he will have considerably less to choose from than he would have 10 years ago.

The world's largest reindeer population has plummeted up to 92 percent in the last few decades. Once standing at 900,000, the George River herd now stands at 74,000, according to Survival International.

Important to the Innu and Cree people of Quebec and Labrador in eastern Canada, iron-ore mining, hydro-power flooding and road building are reportedly to blame for the depleting numbers of reindeer.

Innu elder and Chief Georges-Ernest Gregoire told Survival International: "All the massive industrial 'development' projects that have been imposed on our land in the last forty years have undoubtedly had a cumulative impact on the size of the caribou herd. That is why we need real control over our territories and resources, and why we must be involved as equals in decisions that affect our lands and the animals that live there."

Known as caribou in North America, the hunting season was delayed this year due to concerns over the stability of the George River herd. Environment and Conservation, Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs made the announcement in August this year, days before the hunting season was due to start. The season was reduced from eight months to three months with the season officially starting on December 20 this year, according to The Labradorian.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature writes the number of places in Canada where reindeer can be found has been greatly reduced. In Europe, poaching within the Russian Federation poses a major threat to the population.

This past week in Ohio, drivers were on the lookout for Santa delivering early presents as a patrolman rescued a lone reindeer along the northeast Ohio highway. The animal fell from a livestock truck after the driver hit a bump in the road and the doors of the trailer opened.

Check out photos of the reindeer below:

Comments

[roger stillick]

06:46 PM on 11/18/2012

The Canadian tree huggers got caribou hunting banned in most of Canada this spring 2012...
Meanwhile, next door in Alaska there are too many of them...
These critters are the most abundant wild animal in northern North America- larger than a squirrel...
The only place they died out is Lapland, due to eating radiation poisoned moss from Chernobyl...
The same tree huggers wanted the Western Badger culled as they scrape tree bark...LOL...RS

[opinionator63]

06:38 PM on 12/26/2011

Also endangered are writers who can put together a coherent sentence. For example, what on earth does the following sentence mean (taken from the story above)? :

"Known as caribou in North America, the hunting season was delayed this year due to concerns over the stability of the George River herd."

Who are they hiring for reporters and writers these days? Aren't there any English majors out there? Anyone? Anyone? Don't they teach diagramming of sentences anymore in the 8th grade? I hate to be so picky, but this is getting ridiculous. Please, writers, please check your grammar! Thank you.

[bccpn]

05:08 PM on 12/26/2011

Follow the money. Think about it. Who can really confirm anything put out about Polar bears and the Caribou? If your gonna run a scam make it hard to uncover the truth

[gunnerfan5]

08:05 AM on 12/27/2011

"Follow the money. Think about it"

From the incoherence of your post it seems unlikely that you have given the subject any thought at all and are just spouting meaningless talking points.

[bccpn]

04:59 PM on 12/26/2011

Man only thinks he is in control. Even global warming 10 fold will not stop the next ice age and that will be the end to mankind. We can do the heat and grow food where it was once permafrost but we cannot support life when 3/4 of the earth is ice.

[davyjones2112]

11:50 PM on 12/26/2011

mankind has survived all the previous ice ages. there is sound evidence ice ages pushed man-ape evolution. evidence also suggest ice ages can occur quite rapidly. I'm certain mankind can survive a new ice age. However billons would starve and we'd all be living alot closer to the equator.
Happy holidays.

[b48gordo]

04:34 PM on 12/26/2011

the globalwarming people are basically alarmist politians/scientists looking for a payday accompanied by the uninformed people that listen to them---the real scientists have been saying for decades that the earth has been slowly coming out of the last ice age---that is hard to do without it getting warmer and melting some ice----been watching nature shows forever and havent seen any grizzly bears migrating 500 miles to eat caribou calves in the artic tundra but there are some wolves picking off the weakened animals along the way---the grizzly bears almost died off because we killed off all the buffalo--yes the grizz is a plains animal---they cant even climb a tree-----the reindeer is not a tame elk----in fact the american elk and moose were misnamed by a british colonist that had never seen the european counterparts just look up russian elk or moose to see---and american writers have been messing up the old european identifications to make them come into line with ours----bob

[headedleft]

05:02 PM on 12/26/2011

I am wondering if on your death bed or your grandkids death beds if you may admit the err of your lack of common sense and need to be lead by the nose. If global warming is being over stated it is still far better than polluting. If warming is correct than it is people like you that have determined short sightedness is better than caution.

[bccpn]

05:03 PM on 12/26/2011

What are YOU doing about it?

[jeffrow63]

05:09 PM on 12/26/2011

If there is even a remote chance that we are causing damage to our environment and speeding up global warming, wouldn't it make since to err on the side on conservatism? Oh wait, conservatives don't believe in conserving anything but the money in their wallets.

[bccpn]

04:27 PM on 12/26/2011

Averaged over all land and ocean surfaces, temperatures have warmed roughly 1.33°F (0.74ºC) over the last century, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (see page 2 of the IPCC's Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report Summary for Policymakers (PDF)). More than half of this warming—about 0.72°F (0.4°C)—has occurred since 1979. Because oceans tend to warm and cool more slowly than land areas, continents have warmed the most (about 1.26° F or 0.7º C since 1979), especially over the Northern Hemisphere.

The global average for 2010 tied with 2005 as the warmest on record, according to NCDC.

[vavet]

04:46 PM on 12/26/2011

Oh, that's why the caribou fell out of the truck in Ohio?

[Militant Vegetarian]

04:24 PM on 12/26/2011

Why on Earth is there a hideous "hunting season" at all when there are so few of these animals left?? Why does the one horrible, hateful species, humanity, need to blast to shreds the innocent bodies of the gentle, beautiful beings who make this life worthwhile? Why must this society lick the blubbery behinds of the blood-thirsty and the oil-rich? They care NOTHING for the life-forms they wipe out of existence or for the wilderness that they destroy. They are not even all that happy in their McMansions and their SUVs, with their spoiled, disturbed, druggy children who bring guns to school to become "famous" after the massacre. Are these plutocrats not fat and rich enough already? Let the hunters shoot where the bullets belong: right in their own hideous sadistic perverted faces, and preferably before they have had a chance to reproduce. Heaven knows why anyone is ever so desperate as to reproduce these jerks anyway. They have no redeeming qualities. Save Nature and its creatures, and screw the NRA!!

[bccpn]

04:01 PM on 12/26/2011

Well I leave you all to your warming dirty planet that will implode if you do not send generous amounts of money to Al Gore.

[headedleft]

05:04 PM on 12/26/2011

And I leave you to your warming dirty planet that WILL implode if you continue to let the right wing destroy the very planet we live on.

[bccpn]

05:22 PM on 12/26/2011

Right wing comments show just how uneducated you are. Are the people in China left wing? I do not think you can go too much farther left and they are the worlds biggest polluters.

[moccasinmike]

07:30 PM on 12/26/2011

headedleft-further reading your rehtoric now i see your fustration,its pure political,bccpn laid some facts out but, facts are not your concern,as i am starting to move my political views further to the right as i see this country be whittled away by the current administration,middle america is pulling from the radical banterings of the liberal left who are masters of clouding the truth for there own agenda despite facts.

[gunnerfan5]

08:08 AM on 12/27/2011

"...... if you do not send generous amounts of money to Al Gore"

In an unpredictable world it's nice to know that you can always rely on some things. And one of them is that, sooner or later, the rabid deniers will always throw in an irrelevant reference to Al Gore.

[ballisticamax]

03:57 PM on 12/26/2011

For those fact minded, Reindeer are simply domesticated elk. Elk are mainly cold climate animals. Therefore, during the course of the winter conths a portion of the herd is going to starve. We all (at least I do) take-in or feed hungry stary dogs & cats. Elk are not cuddley enough for the animal huggers. I urge you to contact the Dept. of the Interior and urge them to arrange hay & feed drops along the elk's migratory paths. If the late summer foals had enough to eat, over the course of several breeding seasons, the population may very well stabilize.

U.S. Dept. of the Interior

1849 C Street Northwest Washington, DC 20240-0001
[phone]

[jerexrode]

05:03 PM on 12/26/2011

I've seen many elk in Colorado and they sure don't look anything like a reindeer.

[ballisticamax]

05:08 PM on 12/26/2011

Yes,as have I. The key word is "domesticated". Subtle anatomical changes occur after 500 years in order to accomodate the tasks required..

[mneff07]

07:18 PM on 12/26/2011

I will and perhaps we can create a non-profit to do just what you speak of too!

[jacmed]

03:39 PM on 12/26/2011

Global warming (or climate change, take your choice) is a phenomenon of nature, but man has definitely helped to accelerate it a bit. Furthermore, we are devastating the natural habitats of not only reindeer but thousands (millions? billions?) of other animals on this planet because of our need for mining, building, expanding, etc. If we continue at this pace, "Soylent Green" could become a reality by the time my oldest great-grandchild has grandchildren or even possibly children (she's now 8 years old)!

[bccpn]

03:45 PM on 12/26/2011

but man has definitely helped to accelerate it a bit. I keep reading these post can you back it up with real scientific data done in a controlled cross section of scientist and given extensive peer review? If not it is not fact nor conclusive.

[jhnnxn]

05:34 PM on 12/26/2011

And it could remain a just a so so movie.

[bccpn]

03:36 PM on 12/26/2011

Just last month the products I designed made over 1000 cars cleaner what are you greenies doing beside trying to put the blame on your neighbor?

[telvis55]

04:12 PM on 12/26/2011

you made car soaps and waxes?

[bccpn]

04:17 PM on 12/26/2011

That is funny ! No I design cats to make the air cleaner

[gunnerfan5]

08:09 AM on 12/27/2011

"Just last month the products I designed made over 1000 cars cleaner"

Sure you did.

[bccpn]

03:34 PM on 12/26/2011

Why is it the ones saying climate change is man made have had to tell lies and cover ups and the people saying it is not real are out in the open with all the data?

[wpbjr2150]

03:49 PM on 12/26/2011

Golly Gee Mr. Super User. I find just the opposite the nay sayers produce negative facts and made up research to deny that there is such a thing as global-warming. Constantly spewing lies. Why is it that Big-Oil is one of the main supporters to the nay-sayers of course a super user would know more than the average person could research on their own.

[bccpn]

03:54 PM on 12/26/2011

I have posted links and articles and you come up with this!. I am sure you can try a little harder to be a fool

[wpbjr2150]

06:48 PM on 12/27/2011

Scientific study points to the opposite why is there world-wide acceptance of global-warming except in the good ole USA. I am sure it has nothing to do with the fact that the majority of the big oil cos. are USA corporations. Gullible people like Sara Palin might beleive your propaganda but an intelligent person won't.

[Mountain Mike]

03:53 PM on 12/26/2011

What lies would that be? I'm guessing you do not know what you're talking about.

[bccpn]

03:19 PM on 12/26/2011

Fish fossils dated over 100,000 years old show higher levels of Mercury than the Tuna that was banned in the 90s. Was man around then? Oil is a natural thing with biological critters that eat it and bigger critters eat them so on and so on. That is why the Gulf just had a record catch and the rigs act as artificial reefs promoting life. The Alaskan pipe line increased the Caribou populations. Seems all the dire predictions by you people never come true but you will get on blogs like this and stand firm on all you say with not one thread of evidence. Keep sending Al your checks and money orders he needs a bigger house and jet.

[Mountain Mike]

04:01 PM on 12/26/2011

You can always find some data that will support your claims but the Mercury, Oil and Caribou you mention do not say anything for or against global warming. This is a fact, the last ten years have all been the the hottest on record. That's the kind of information we're talking about.

[bccpn]

04:11 PM on 12/26/2011

According to who? Look up NOAA records from the beginning this is not climate it is weather

[gunnerfan5]

08:14 AM on 12/27/2011

"Fish fossils dated over 100,000 years old show higher levels of Mercury than the Tuna that was banned in the 90s. Was man around then?"

Stupid, uneducated deniers and anti- environmentalists are constantly using this moronic argument. It's like their ability to think logically has been surgically removed. The fact that events happened in the past without human intervention is absolutely no proof at all that human intervention is not to blame for the same events happening now. Anyone with a brain, and without an agenda, should see this easily but it seems far too challenging for the anti-environmentalists.

[robertstone1robert]

03:00 PM on 12/26/2011

There are only 75,000 reindeer to choose from. How do you expect Santa to get around. Maybe he should get a flying car or saucer. You can solve the budget problem too. Put up toll booths.

[bccpn]

03:03 PM on 12/26/2011

He has been talking to Scotty on the Enterprise about getting a transporter. Scotty said he will get on it after he stops climate change

[robertstone1robert]

03:26 PM on 12/26/2011

Tell him to stop what he's doing and get on it right away. Santa only has 74,000 reindeer to choose from in ole George River. He might have to rein in his travels, or walk and lose weight.

[bccpn]

02:59 PM on 12/26/2011

Interesting little fact less than 1/10 of 1 % of our population believes in man made climate change but that small percent has major lobbying power in our government paying millions in contributions to give powers to un elected people in control of our businesses and our daily lives. Al Gore has made over 100 million on his green platform as did many others saying they are here to help. Yep fill their pockets by taking from ours. Keep sending those checks to Al he needs a bigger jet.

[floridacracker4perry]

03:38 PM on 12/26/2011

Just wondering bccpn, Did Gore ever pay that fine he got In Sweden? You know the one he Recieved for Leaving his rental car running while he gave a Speach on Global Warming? In Sweden, leaving a car running, while parked, is Illegal. Just wondering.

[bccpn]

03:49 PM on 12/26/2011

I have no Idea if he paid it I really try to stay away from any articles on him sort of like not going to a doctor you know is a quack.

[headedleft]

05:13 PM on 12/26/2011

It really nis sicko's as yourself that think money is the cure all. By your posting it is pretty easy to see you're a fraud. "1/10 th of a percent" A twisted percentage to to try and prove your neglect of real facts. Pretty pathetic pal.