Reindeer, Finland.
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| Kujala Reindeer Farm, Nissinvaaran, Finland - charcoal and chalk on grey paper. 31 x 48cm |
Being
a farmer's daughter I am quite familiar with ungulates ( cows and
sheep) at close quarters. These domesticated and semi-tamed reindeer
were very friendly, and so long as there were oats and lichen on hand
they remained in the same area so we could observe them. They were very
fidgety due to the midges that pester them incessantly, and often broke
into a trot to get away from them, circling back to the food again. This
made drawing them quite challenging, especially since the midges were
attracted to us humans as well!
Always there was this clicking noise as they moved, especially noticeable in the heavier males.
Wikipedia informs me: "The sounds originate in the tendons of the knees and may be audible from
ten meters away. The frequency of the knee-clicks is one of a range of
signals that establish relative positions on a dominance scale among
reindeer. "Specifically, loud knee-clicking is discovered to be an
honest signal of body size, providing an exceptional example of the
potential for non-vocal acoustic communication in mammals."
The
farmed reindeer ( there are very few wild ones now) range free in the
woods for over 50ks from the farm and are all tagged. Their horns, meat
and skins are all used, and some animals are trained for pulling skis, a
popular race.
REINDEER FARM/ KUJALAN POROTILA -
www.kujalanporotila.com
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| When they all walk away - memory helps! |
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| These animals were quite used to humans and knew which bag contained the lichen - their "chocolate"! |
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| This male had already shed the velvet which covers and nourishes the antlers as they regrow them each year. |
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| That evening I had fun cobbling together a small model using red wax and no tools, just my fingers! |
