Abstract
The Taimyr wild reindeer herd, i.e., caribou (Rangifer tarandus), is one of the most important wildlife resources in the Russian Far North and may constitute the largest migratory Rangifer herd in the world. Over the last 60 years the herd has undergone a recovery from low numbers in the 1940s, reaching high densities by 1970 that concerned wildlife managers and domestic husbandry herds, with an 11.7% annual growth rate. At that time an aggressive commercial harvest of the herd was implemented, and organized wolf control was initiated with the goal of stabilizing herd numbers and injecting needed economic activity into the region. These actions dampened the rate of increase throughout the 1970s and 1980s to a 3.0% annual growth rate. From 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the loss of financial capability to sustain the commercial harvest and continue wolf control, the population again increased at a 5.6% annual growth rate, until peaking in 2000 at just more than 1 million animals. Since 2000 the herd has been in decline; harvesting, primarily unregulated, has increased; the wolf population has increased; and range conditions have deteriorated. Understanding what has occurred in the Taimyr range can provide North American managers with valuable lessons in understanding the large migratory herds on this continent, especially given that the social and political situation in Russia enabled intensive management, i.e., harvest and wolf control, that may not be able to be duplicated in North America.
Highlights
The Taimyr population of wild reindeer is the most numerous and economically important wildlife resource in the Russian Far North, occupying more than 1.5 million km2 in central Siberia (Kolpaschikov et al 2003a)
From 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the loss of financial capability to sustain the commercial harvest and continue wolf control, the population again increased at a 5.6% annual growth rate, until peaking in 2000 at just more than 1 million animals
Understanding what has occurred in the Taimyr range can provide North American managers with valuable lessons in understanding the large migratory herds on this continent, especially given that the social and political situation in Russia enabled intensive management, i.e., harvest and wolf control, that may not be able to be duplicated in North America
Summary
The Taimyr population of wild reindeer is the most numerous and economically important wildlife resource in the Russian Far North, occupying more than 1.5 million km in central Siberia (Kolpaschikov et al 2003a). From the early 1950s until the end of the 20th century the population recovered from the very low numbers of the 1930s and 1940s. Throughout that growth phase, during which the population increased tenfold, managers faced many challenges and instituted a number of aggressive harvest regulations (Yakushkin et al 1975a, b). Concerns shifted to overpopulation and conflicts with domestic reindeer; harvesting was actively encouraged and facilitated (Syroechkovskii 1975). After the collapse of the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s, commercial harvesting became uneconomic and declined, and government agencies had few resources to monitor the herd and the harvest
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