Conservationists and herders in Norway differ about
whether to blame predators or overpopulation
Tveraa, who is with the Norwegian In-
stitute for Nature Research in Tromsø, first
presented his case in a government-funded
report last year, and he added new analysis
in a study published in the October issue of
the Journal of Applied Ecology. The govern-
ment has pointed to the findings as exoner-
ating the threatened lynx and wolverines,
which are already protected by strict hunt-
ing limits. To the Sami, however, the study
threatens an economic lifeline.
To receive compensation, a herder must prove that a dead reindeer was killed by a lynx or wolverine. That’s hard when herd- ers find remains of only 5% to 10% of the reindeer that they lose. The government ap- proved just a quarter of more than 60,000 such applications in 2011. The claims none- theless are lucrative: That year, Sami herders in Norway received $11 million in predator payments, or two-thirds of what they re- ceived from meat sales.
To find out how much damage the preda- tors really do, Tveraa’s team combined their own data on reindeer health since 2000 with herd sizes reported by herders, obser-
To receive compensation, a herder must prove that a dead reindeer was killed by a lynx or wolverine. That’s hard when herd- ers find remains of only 5% to 10% of the reindeer that they lose. The government ap- proved just a quarter of more than 60,000 such applications in 2011. The claims none- theless are lucrative: That year, Sami herders in Norway received $11 million in predator payments, or two-thirds of what they re- ceived from meat sales.
To find out how much damage the preda- tors really do, Tveraa’s team combined their own data on reindeer health since 2000 with herd sizes reported by herders, obser-
vations of lynx and wolverines, and satellite
data on grazing areas. They found that as
a factor in reindeer mortality, food scarcity
was two to three times more significant
than lynx, and more than 20 times more
significant than wolverines.
“Tveraa has a very solid basis for these findings—a very large data set collected over a very long time series,” says Terje Bø, head of wildlife management in the Norwe- gian government’s environment division in Trondheim. In the global canon of human- carnivore conflict research, Tveraa’s “robust” study, says Matt Hayward, an ecologist at Bangor University in the United Kingdom, “goes against the grain of papers saying, ‘It’s the predators’ fault.’ ” Other experts agree that the findings are plausible. “It’s sort of official: We have too many reindeer,” says Emil Halvorsrud, a wildlife official in Lak- selv. Large herds are becoming less sustain- able, he says, as a warming subarctic climate results in more slush and rain in winter, leaving pastures covered in ice.
Ellinor Jåma, with the Sami Reindeer Herders’ Association of Norway in Karasjok, agrees that overpopulation is a factor in some deaths. “We may have too many reindeer in some areas of Finnmark,” she concedes. “But in the middle of the country, reindeer health is good—and we still have heavy losses,” which she blames on predation.
Bø hopes Tveraa’s findings will show how ecological data could underpin a new com- pensation system the government has pro- posed to launch in 2017. Tveraa underscores that he doesn’t take sides in the debate. “We hear: ‘Oh, since your research is paid for by the government, you are only there to pro- tect the carnivores,’ ” he says. That’s not so, he insists: “The data speak for themselves.” ■
“Tveraa has a very solid basis for these findings—a very large data set collected over a very long time series,” says Terje Bø, head of wildlife management in the Norwe- gian government’s environment division in Trondheim. In the global canon of human- carnivore conflict research, Tveraa’s “robust” study, says Matt Hayward, an ecologist at Bangor University in the United Kingdom, “goes against the grain of papers saying, ‘It’s the predators’ fault.’ ” Other experts agree that the findings are plausible. “It’s sort of official: We have too many reindeer,” says Emil Halvorsrud, a wildlife official in Lak- selv. Large herds are becoming less sustain- able, he says, as a warming subarctic climate results in more slush and rain in winter, leaving pastures covered in ice.
Ellinor Jåma, with the Sami Reindeer Herders’ Association of Norway in Karasjok, agrees that overpopulation is a factor in some deaths. “We may have too many reindeer in some areas of Finnmark,” she concedes. “But in the middle of the country, reindeer health is good—and we still have heavy losses,” which she blames on predation.
Bø hopes Tveraa’s findings will show how ecological data could underpin a new com- pensation system the government has pro- posed to launch in 2017. Tveraa underscores that he doesn’t take sides in the debate. “We hear: ‘Oh, since your research is paid for by the government, you are only there to pro- tect the carnivores,’ ” he says. That’s not so, he insists: “The data speak for themselves.” ■
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