Tag Archives: reindeer
‘(NEAR) RECORD NUMBER OF ANIMALS AND TWO CRUEL DEATHS’: Annual Svalbard reindeer count shows Mother Nature was kind, but humans discarding steel wires were a fatal snag
Photo by Trine Lise Sviggum Helgerud / Norwegian Polar Institute
It was a highly favorable winter for nearly 1,700 Svalbard reindeer, the second-highest count ever in an annual census, but for researchers conducting the count it’s two reindeer who didn’t survive who are much in mind as they were fatally snagged in wires discarded by humans.
Svalbard Daily Planet for the week of Aug. 19-25, 2019
Climate change forces reindeer turn to seaweed (we’re pretty sure that means “eat” rather than literally transform), salvage resumes on the Northguider trawler, more about tourists wrecking and picking up wreckage in pristine areas, the Svalbard icebreaker is the first Norwegian ship to reach the North Pole, area temperatures at highest point in 300-year timespan and more headlines from the global media about this blessed land of the frozen chosen (with our always inspirational masthead motto for the day in italics).
RABIES ALERT: Reindeer observed near Ny-Ålesund in mid-July tests positive for disease; warning issued about infection risk
A sick reindeer that was killed along with her calf near Ny-Ålesund earlier this month has tested positive for rabies, raising concerns about the further spread of the disease and the upcoming reindeer hunting season, according to The Governor of Svalbard.
Pick the ‘fake news’ headline: 1) Scientists discover energy source of Rudolph’s nose; 2) Trump wants to starve Santa’s reindeer
Rudolph has a wonderful nose. An ingenious nose. Amazing ability. Tremendous energy. And brilliantly red.
If that sounds like praise from a certain orange-hued megalomaniac, consider this other shocking exposé: “Trump wants to starve Santa’s reindeer. Why, they are barely able to pull all that weight now! Who knows what will happen if all the funding flowing to scientists and universities for global warming is cut? Might have to cancel Christmas!”
Random weirdness for the week of Nov. 13, 2016
Plenty of folks have suggested Svalbard as an ideal destination for U.S. residents wanting to flee instead of being ruled by The Don, but at least one person is asking Santa to give the gift of a much simpler solution – albeit one that may have people here wishing for a wall.
Land and sea sick: Four more reindeer pay ultimate price for garbage; how much are we willing to pay so they don’t have to?
Four more reindeer paid the ultimate price during the past several days for due to the trash scattered around Svalbard (actually, many more undoubtably did as well, but not in view of people exploring near town).
The question is: how much of a price are we willing to pay so the animals don’t have to?
Get the picture? Photographer’s encounter with reindeer snagged in cables results in unfortunate type of shooting
I’m driving into Adventdalen for one of my many enjoyable photo tours on a Tuesday afternoon. The weather is fine and I’m hoping to find the reindeer that lives below Mine 7, as I have done many times in recent days.
Briefs from Svalbardposten for the week of July 26, 2016
Coal prices rebound, but not enough for profitable mining
Store Norske’s final months of full-scale mining-related activities are both busy and more lucrative than expected as prices have risen from a low of $41 a ton earlier this year to about $60 a ton in mid-July.
Random weirdness for the week of July 5, 2016
Since this week seems to be our “reality check” issue, we’re leading with something whose only local connection is it involves our unofficial “sister city” in the U.S., but is high on our rant list for WTF Are Climate Change Deniers Thinking??!! It was a chilling weekend in Juneau, Alaska, where within a day of each other: 1) record flooding occurred when a glacial ice dam collapsed and released an entire lake on the town, and 2) a 1,225-meter-high mountainside spontaneously collapsed on a glacier field a bit further north.
Briefs from Svalbardposten for the week of May 24, 2016
400 kr. for a 750ml bottle of ‘luxury’ local water ‘not a lot’
Anyone in Svalbard can drink locally sourced water merely by turning on a tap – or melting ice or snow – but Jamal Qureshi says he believes plenty of people will be willing to pay 400 kroner for a 750-milliliter bottle of his water from the archipelago.
