There are events that put the quarantine in the shade. Reindeer herders are on the threshold of the great joy

The 22nd of April in Yamal is usually the birthday of the first reindeer calf of the year. The first-born appears in one of the southern districts of the region, and then at the end of April the happy news is spread everywhere. Mass calving in tundra traditionally begins in May and lasts for the entire month, while belated calving occurs in early June.

During the period of self-isolation with the strict prohibition to leave premises representatives of the Union of reindeer herders of Yamal cannot deny themselves the pleasure of being involved in the work though distantly. Thus, the head of a reindeer farm from Yamalskiy district Maldyo Laptander told the representatives of the public organization that the first stage of vaccination and tagging of reindeer had taken place well. The state of health of reindeer herders and reindeer is normal, and the herd is driven to calving sites.

“The birth of a reindeer is a holiday for a reindeer herder. As reindeer herders say, there will be reindeer, there will be life. There is nothing more precious than that for a tundra dweller. In a word, it is a source of family welfare and personal happiness for every person”, Timur Akchurin, the executive director of the Union of reindeer herders of Yamal, said in an interview to a correspondent of the news agency “Sever-Press”. – “The whole life of a tundra dweller revolves around reindeer. Soon the great joy in tundra will happen, a new life will be born, and if there is a birth of the new life, then tundra lives, and life continues no matter what”.

The head of the public organization notes that reindeer are well-fed this year due to the warm winter and availability of food. It will help all the she-reindeer during calving. The main thing is that the weather would not get worse at the end of the spring and would not prevent newborn reindeer calves from adapting.