STOCKHOLM, (Reuters Life!) – Hundreds of reindeer crossing a frozen lake above Sweden’s Arctic Circle for their annual migration to winter grazing grounds drowned this week as the ice collapsed beneath them.
The herd of roughly 3,000 reindeer were being moved by their Sami herders from the western shore of the frozen lake Kutjaure to the east when some reindeer at the front suddenly turned back, causing the ice to crack and several hundreds to drown.
“In the ensuing commotion the whole herd moved in circles, adding great pressure and weight on the ice,” said Erik Gustavsson, a manager at the County Administrative Board of Norrbotten.
The reindeer crashed through the ice and then trampled on each other as they tried to climb out of the water, he said.
