Satellite Monitoring of Reindeer Goes Large-Scale in Yamal
The Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (YNAO) has the largest population of domesticated reindeer globally, with about 649,000 to 660,000 animals. Scientists plan to equip more than 100,000 of them with satellite tracking collars as part of the Bezopasnaya Tundra (“Safe Tundra”) project.
Satellite collars will allow herders to track herd movements – locating animals if they scatter or join migrating wild reindeer. The data is also valuable for research, helping scientists map migration routes and assess the health of reindeer populations.
The Bezopasnaya Tundra project has no direct equivalent in scale. The system operates in real time, with herd movement data flowing into a digital platform and appearing on an electronic map, which will later be integrated into Yamal’s unified geospatial system. The map shows grazing pressure, highlighting areas where land is overused and needs recovery, as well as where migration routes intersect with industrial infrastructure.
For herders, whose families often spend months migrating far from urban centers, the system brings safety and predictability. Accurate coordinates make it possible to plan air deliveries of fuel and food, ensure children reach boarding schools on time, and, in emergencies, guide medical teams or rescue services directly to the herd’s location.
Counting and Preserving
Russia leads the world in reindeer numbers, with about 1.6 million animals, and is steadily bringing reindeer herding into the digital age. In 2021, Yamal launched the research project “Tundra Through the Eyes of a Reindeer,” using GPS collars to study energy expenditure and diet, though it covered only two herds. In Chukotka, domestic reindeer have been fitted with tracking collars since 2015, with herding operations now using more than 300 devices.
“The migration of wild reindeer has a negative impact on herding in Chukotka. Wild herds move across large distances, drawing domestic animals away, weakening their grazing base, and potentially spreading disease. Specialists also note that wolves often follow wild herds,” said Vladislav Kuznetsov, head of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. “The solution is to monitor migration using satellite tracking systems.”
Today, herders can track animals using modern devices even without internet access, allowing them to respond quickly if herds split. Chukotka plans to go further by deploying drones to count animals and locate strays.
Research on domestic and wild reindeer forms part of a broader picture. In Yakutia, scientists use satellite collars on wild reindeer to identify migration routes and assess how human activity affects natural movement patterns.
Seeing the Tundra Differently
Yamal’s new project brings together science and real-world practice. Thirty-one herding operations have already joined. In the coming years, the Bezopasnaya Tundra project will expand to the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Yakutia, and Taimyr. Russia is not only building an effective environmental monitoring tool for its own territory, but also developing a potential export solution – a full ecosystem that combines tracking devices, GIS platforms, and analytics. Yamal’s experience may attract interest from countries such as Norway and Finland, where preserving grazing land and indigenous traditions is also a priority.
