IMPROVED EEINDEER HANDLING 



3 



much easier, he is able to stay out on the range a long time, and by 

 being able to cover his range thoroughly is assured of a complete 

 rounding-up of all stock. 



More efficient herding is also made possible by consolidating two 

 or more herds where the ranges occupied do not form a sufficient 

 natural unit to keep them separated. With the increase in the num- 

 bers of reindeer, it is becoming more and more difficult to keep ad- 

 joining herds from mixing, especially where there is not a good 

 natural division between areas. Under such conditions, combining 

 the herds will simplify management and obviate considerable future 

 difficulty. 



It should be emphasized that open herding does not imply lax or 

 insufficient herding. It means constant patrol around the herd, but 

 instead of being held in a close band, the reindeer are permitted to 

 graze naturally and spread out over the range. In this way the 

 herding consists chiefly in making a big circle around the band each 

 day without disturbing it, and in working in the few stray animals 

 that get too far away from the outer grazing circle. 



ROUNDING-UP 



The reindeer are rounded up each summer during July or August 

 for marking, and again in the fall, usually in October, for butcher- 

 ing. Formerly, when the herds were small, the reindeer when 

 rounded up were handled by roping either on the open range or 

 within a crudely constructed inclosure of brush or poles. With the 

 large herds, however, roping is impracticable, the handling is done 

 through a chute, and the fawns are marked on the basis of per- 

 centage ownership of female stock. 



In rounding-up, usually from 6 to 10 herders scour the range for 

 stock. Each man, starting out on foot, is accompanied by a dog and 

 carries a small supply of provisions. As he must pack his own pro- 

 visions, the maximum time he is able to stay out on the range is 

 about 10 days. The men work separately, each herder camping 

 where night overtakes him. Sometimes he is fortunate enough to 

 reach a cabin at which to stop, but oftener he sleeps out by a camp 

 fire under a tree or on the open tundra. As soon as any reindeer are 

 located they are started in a common direction and kept going toward 

 the corrals until gradually all are brought together. The total herd, 

 which may often number 5,000 or more reindeer, is then grazed within 

 a mile or two of the corrals at night and held closer in during the day 

 until the completion of the w^ork. 



Small bands of 1,000 to 2,000 animals are separated from the main 

 herd from time to time as required for handling. Often, while the 

 herd is being held awaiting corralling, small bunches escape at night 

 into the hills. For this reason, in a number of instances reindeer 

 owners are fencing large pastures adjoining the corral in which to 

 hold the herd during the round-up. The type of fence generally 

 constructed is either a 5-f oot-high wire-netting fence or one of poles, 

 usually with five panels 1 foot apart. 



