Reindeer shrink as climate change in Arctic puts their food on ice

Warmer summers boost numbers but average weight falls by 7kg because winter snow turns to rain, which then freezes and locks away its food

Reindeer are shrinking on an Arctic island near the north pole as a result of climate change that has curbed the amount of winter food available to the animals, scientists said on Monday.

The average weight of adult reindeer on Svalbard, a chain of islands north of Norway, fell from 55kg (121lb) to 48kg (106lb) in the 1990s as part of sweeping changes to Arctic life while temperatures rose, they said.