Reindeer in the north of Kamchatka are threatened with starvation
Pastures in the north of the peninsula are covered with thick ice crusts, which can cause a mass death of deer, Kamchatka.Today reports with reference to the Kamchatka Department of Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring.
According to weather forecasters, an alarming situation that threatens to starve animals has arisen in the pastures of the Olyutorsky district.
“In the Olyutorsky municipal district, the thickness of the ice crust has reached dangerous values of 35 millimeters. The extraction of snow–covered food by deer is difficult,” said the Kamchatka UGMS.
It is difficult for deer to get to the yagel, which is under the snow, if there is a thick crust of ice on top. It usually forms when there is a cold snap after a thaw.
As reported by Kamchatka.Today, in April 2021, a mass death of reindeer occurred near the village of Ust-Khairyuzovo in the Tigilsky district. Then the cause of the deaths of more than 350 animals was starvation. The thickness of the snow cover on the pastures reached 40-50 centimeters, there was water and ice under the snow. The animals couldn’t get to the yagel that spring.
Photo: Kamchatka.Today