'Santa's reindeer' are being hunted by wolves

Reindeer in Lapland, Finland, are famous worldwide. That's because they help Santa Claus to deliver presents to children all over the world. However, the animals are in danger. Reindeer owners report that increasing numbers of reindeer are being killed by wolves. A reindeer association said wolves killed around 1,950 reindeer this year. That is a 70 per cent increase from last year. Juha Kujala, a reindeer owner, is worried about his animals. He said there has been a sudden increase in the number of wolves in Finland. This has upset the natural balance between reindeer and wolves.

Mr Kujala joked to reporters about his animals, even though he is worried. He said: "These are Santa's reindeer. We are really lucky because Santa needs them for only one day of the year, so we can fly them for the other 364 days." Many owners believe the Ukraine War is the reason why there are more wolves. They say that hunters in Russia have gone to fight in Ukraine. This means more wolves are crossing the border between Russia and Finland. Kujala said: "It's worse since the Ukraine War started.…There's nobody left hunting the wolves."