As late as the seventeenth century, herds containing thousands of wild forest reindeer appeared throughout Finland, with the exception of the northern fell areas and southernmost Finland. Wild forest reindeer were hunted to extinction in Finland in the late 1910s, but continued to live in the remote backwoods of Russian Karelia. The Kainuu population was given a new start in the 1950s, when individuals began to come across the border to the Finnish side in Kuhmo, in the modern area of Elimyssalo.
Today, there are three populations of wild forest reindeer in Finland: in Kainuu, Suomenselkä, and Ähtäri. The wild forest reindeer of Kainuu also travel within the areas of North Karelia and Russian Karelia. In Russia, the wild forest reindeer is found in Kom and Arkhangelsk, as well as Karelia.
Range map © Google Maps
Wild forest reindeer
Scientific name: Rangifer tarandus fennicus
Range and numbers:
In Finland, 800 individuals in Kainuu, 2000 individuals in Suomenselkä and about 20 individuals in Seitseminen and Lauhanvuori National Parks (reintroduced populations).
In Russian Karelia up to 2,400. See range map.
Conservation status in Finland (2019): Near Threatened (NT)