In one of the more amazing sights from nature comes this “hypnotic” video of a herd of reindeer in Russia walking briskly in a tight circle and doing so with a specific purpose.
Science Girl posted a clean version of the clip, saying it’s “a swirling mass of threatened reindeer stampeding in a circle making it impossible to target an individual.”
Reindeer Cyclones are a real thing… a swirling mass of threatened reindeer stampeding in a circle making it impossible to target an individual.. here the fawns are in the middle
This herd is on Russia’s Kola Peninsula, in the Arctic Circle
pic.twitter.com/0Y2UwBKuOh— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) March 30, 2021
The Moscow Times posted the clip to Twitter on Tuesday, saying it was from the Murmansk Region of Russia and “shows how reindeers ‘dance’ in a hypnotic circle in order to protect the does and their fawns in the center from predators. No matter what species you are, a mothers’ love is the strongest.”
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The Times reported that the “mesmerizing video” was made by photographer Lev Fedoseyev, who used a drone.
In a post two years ago, Live Science talked about reindeer cyclones and how the Vikings hunting reindeer were confounded by this phenomenon: “Faced with this spinning reindeer stampede, any predator — wolf, bear or human — would have a very tough time targeting and overpowering a single reindeer, making this a formidable defense strategy, according to PBS.”
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