Strange sounds in the tundra

If you hear a strange repeating sound in the tundra, reminding crack, you can be sure: there is a reindeer somewhere close to you. On movement the tendons in their joints rub against the bones and make these clicks, which are heard for hundreds meters at open spaces. Thanks to this peculiarity, deer do not loose each other neither in a snowstorm, nor during the polar nights.

Reindeer have got another peculiarity as well – they can change their eyes colour according to the season. In summer they are golden, and in winter – bright blue. It’s about tapetum – reflective surface on the retina. With its help deer adapt their eyesight and can see well both in winter during the polar night, and in summer, when the sun almost doesn’t go down the horizon.

Text: Arctic.ru
Photo by Sergey Sidorchuk, who spent a week in autumn 2020 at the camps of the Nenets reindeer herders, Pavel Yarotskiy and Pavel Yadne. The reindeer camp is called Tyyakha in Taimyr  Dolgan-Nenets district, on the left bank of the Yenisey river.