Abstract
Back-fat depth, kidney-fat index (KFI), fat and triglyceride contents in femur and metatarsal marrows were measured from 92 semi-domesticated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus L.) in northern Finland during 1980-84. The age of the reindeer varied from 5 months to 10 years and marrow fat content was estimated by five different methods: standard ether extraction, oven-drying (Neiland, 1970), reagent-dry assay (Verme and Holland, 1973), compression method (Greer, 1968) and visual estimation (Cheatum, 1949). The kidney-fat index (Riney, 1955) was significantly related (r=0.892) to the percent marrow fat in femur and metatarsus. The oven-drying method gave high correlations with results obtained by ether extraction and reagent-dry methods. Oven-drying produced a lower mean dry-weight value than reagent-drying (1.31 ±0.36%). The amount of compression had a concave relationship with the ether-extractable fat content of femur and metatarsal marrows. The subjectiveness of the visual estimation technique limited its use. Femur marrow fat contents (dry-weight %) in reindeer which died from starvation varied between 2 - 8%. Metatarsal fat contents were slightly higher. Adult males had a mean triglyceride content of 46.8 |Jmol/g in August in the femur. Adult females had slightly lower values. The amount of triglycerides was significantly related to the ether-extractable fat content of the femur (r=0.914) and metatarsal (r=0.911).
Highlights
Goodcondition of reindeer in autumn is very important to winter survival and optimal reproduction (e.g. Reimers, 1982; Larsen, 1985)
The condition of the reindeer was classified into three groups: good, fair and poor, according to measurements and organ fats (Suomus et al, 1975)
Back-fat was the only deposit to disappear in most reindeer during winter
Summary
Goodcondition of reindeer (genus Rangifer) in autumn is very important to winter survival and optimal reproduction (e.g. Reimers, 1982; Larsen, 1985). Goodcondition of reindeer (genus Rangifer) in autumn is very important to winter survival and optimal reproduction Reimers, 1982; Larsen, 1985). Physiological condition, and «condition» are, ambiguous concepts that frequently refer to the general state of health of animals, apparently inferred from their relative fatness (Anderson, 1981). According to LeResche et al (1974) the nutritional status of individual wild animals can be determined grossly or finely and acutely or chronically. A l l body tissues reflect nutritional status to a greater or lesser extent. Some indices are more sensitive than others, and some are more obtained than others. N o one index can give all the answers, and several indices are generaly used
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