Summer response distances of Svalbard reindeer Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus to provocation by humans on foot

Abstract

The objective of our study was to examine response distances of Svalbard reindeer Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus to direct provocation by humans on foot during summer in areas subject to combinations of high or low human activity, and hunting or no hunting. We hypothesised that Svalbard reindeer can become habituated to human activity even when hunted. Reindeer sight, fright, flight and running response distances were measured in response to direct provocation by humans on foot in five areas chosen for their degree of human activity and hunting. No differences in sight distance were found among the five areas. Reindeer in the area with the most human activity in summer and no hunting (Adventdalen) had shorter fright, flight and running distances than reindeer in the area with little human activity and no hunting (Reinsdyrflya). Reindeer response distances in the three areas with hunting and moderate human activity were similar and intermediate to areas with high and low human activity and no hunting There were significant negative correlations between the fright, flight and running distances and the amount of human activity in an area, and with the exception of running distance having a borderline significant value, there were no correlations with intensity of hunting. Our findings suggest that Svalbard reindeer become habituated to human activity and that hunting probably has only a weak or even no influence on it. Furthermore, these findings do not lend support to the hypothesis that reindeer that are hunted by humans are less likely to habituate to human activity than those that are not hunted.