How to pet reindeer
24.4.2026 by HenDaBen
I have pet a reindeer, but how did I do it?!
The reindeer I pet
Do not try to approach wild reindeer. They generally do NOT like human beings or their dirty hands.
If there's a fenced area that has reindeer roaming inside, you could bring a carrot to them. But do not feed the reindeer from a car, as this causes them to swarm roads to look for more food and snacks.
Reindeer running in the middle of road, without a single thought of moving away.
So how do you find friendly reindeer?
During tourist season the reindeer park in Hossa (Hossan Poropuisto in finnish) has a cafe restaurant that offers actual soup and has a souvenir store. Also, the area is somewhat crowded with reindeer. In this specific cafe area there's a chance you meet a wild but friendly reindeer - that is in the picture. I took the picture a few years ago, so the reindeer might have got bigger.
So if you manage to pet reindeer here, be sure to reward them well. They're not found elsewhere.
Travelling in Lapland
Reindeer tend to get near roads on zero wind days, and sometimes they just travel on roads. The little wind that traffic creates helps the reindeer to fight flies and other insects.
One of my favourite shots i managed to capture a few years back