Tervola belongs to Finland’s reindeer management area. However, here in the southern part of Lapland, reindeer husbandry is often a subsidiary livelihood for people who earn their living from agriculture and forestry.
The mainstays of reindeer’s diet are the lichens and tough grass. In the spring and at the summer, the reindeer will graze the newly sprouted shoots of the grass and shrubs and the green leaves of birches and willows, and in autumn grass and mushroom. During the harsh winter months when the snow covers the lichen pastures often in thick layers, the herders must give their reindeer additional food, which normally is hay.