Every year, around 3500-5000 reindeer are killed in car accidents on Finnish roads. We reindeer herders have tried numerous ways to solve this problem. Every reindeer lost in traffic is not only a tragic event as such but also a financial loss for the reindeer owner. Although owners receive compensation for animals killed in accidents, it never fully reflects the true value of the lost animal.
The most widespread trial with this topic has by far been “glowing in the dark” reindeer. That magical creature you can easily find by google. This trial inspired global media and it still regularly pops up especially in social media news, often accompanied by incorrect information.
So, let me tell you how the story really went.
On a dark February evening in 2014, I put on my winter work clothes, jumped into my boots, pulled my fur hat over my ears, grabbed a can of reflective paint spray, and headed towards the enclosure of our beloved sled reindeer. I was tired of worrying about their road safety during the dark winter months when most of the reindeer collisions in Finland occur.
So, together with some colleagues in the Reindeer Herders’ Association, I had come up with the idea to try reflective paint on our reindeer’s antlers. In collaboration with the Swedish company Albedo 100, we developed a project for testing. The idea was to make reindeer more visible for drivers by spraying the antlers with reflective paint that glows in car headlights.
So, on that night, together with my husband Kari, we painted the antlers of our tamed, sled-working, white reindeer boy, Vakke. Then I took a photo of Vakke, with his glowing antlers shining brightly in the Arctic night. He looked a lot like the magical glowing elk creature from Harry Potter movies. When I got back home, I shared the image on my Facebook profile without thinking further any possible consequences.
Soon after, I received a message from the editor-in-chief of Yle Sámi, asking if they could write a small news article about it. I agreed. And that’s how the snowball effect began. The image went viral on Reddit, and before long, the glowing picture of our reindeer, Vakke, spread like wildfire around the world, and my phone started to ring. Day and night. 24/7. It took almost three weeks before the first media wave calmed down.
Our beloved Vakke gained unexpected international attention through the project and earned the nickname “Skywalker.” Vakke made headlines on every continent, with also numerous international media outlets visiting our home to feature him.
However, despite the global buzz, the reflective paint did not prove to be very effective in reducing accidents. The reindeer rubbed the paint off their antlers within just a few days. Since reindeer are typically handled by humans only once a year, the paint’s effectiveness was too short-lived to make a lasting impact.
The trial was perhaps one of the most successful traffic awareness campaigns ever and, in its own right, a very commendable project. For me, it also taught how a single image shared by a private individual on social media can go viral and attract a massive amount of international attention.
Since then, various technical alert systems to prevent reindeer road kills have been developed in both Finland and Sweden, but no truly effective solution has yet been found. That’s why every autumn, we place our own warning signs along roadsides, especially in areas where we know reindeer are likely to be moving. We also strive to monitor our reindeer’s movements as closely as possible and herd them away from major roads as quickly as we can if they happen to wander onto them. Thanks to these efforts, we have managed to keep the number of reindeer collisions in our area relatively low. And, fortunately for us, the main grazing areas of our reindeer are mostly not crossed by major roads, which helps reduce the risk of accidents.
Long live Vakke Skywalker!
