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Paper short abstract:

This paper draws on recent ethnographic fieldwork in Dovrefjell national park and explores what implications the introduction of the muskox has had on the human-muskox-reindeer relations. These are especially connected to knowledge production, supervision and negotiations over the right to roam.

Paper long abstract:

Around 90 years ago the muskox was introduced from Greenland to the high mountain area of Dovrefjell in Norway. Today a herd of around 200 muskoxen live here alongside the native wild reindeer. The latter was recently enscribed on the threatened species list while the former is classified as an alien species. This paper draws on recent ethnographic fieldwork in the national park Dovrefjell and explores what implications the introduction of the muskox has had on the area and on the human-muskox-reindeer relations.

The somewhat accidental and partly intentional introduction of the muskox has undoubtedly led to multiple and a complex set of implications, but not all of them are negative. I argue that the introduction has resulted in not only more knowledge about the muskox, but also about the reindeer. The presence of the muskox results in a lot of mass tourism, which leads to negotiations over the right to roam, which again makes monitoring and supervision of the reindeer herd in the area more important. It also facilitates studying how the reindeer reacts towards the presence of people in its habitat. Additionally, the introduction has led to what my interlocutors call “the best health monitoring programme of a muskox herd in the world”.