Hungry reindeer in Svalbard began to eat seaweed due to climate change

The Svalbard archipelago is home to at least 2,000 reindeer.This winter, about 30% of the population -- up to 700 individuals --

At the same time, the seaweed itself is not very caloric and causesAnimals have diarrhea.

“They walk back and forth between the coast and several ice-free vegetation areas every day. They have to combine any possible food in order to survive. ”

Braid Bremset, biologist at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Researchers point out that deer are practically nottrying to walk across the ice between the islands and just walk along the shore in search of food. Despite this, an attempt to adapt animals to new weather conditions, when the Arctic warms up three times faster than the rest of the world, is more likely a positive fact, scientists believe.

Sidebar

Now the average weight of an adult reindeer is 48 kg, which is 20 kg less than it should be ideally, and 7 kg less than in the early 2000s.