Highly adaptable’ is a term that many people use to describe Arctic deer. However, the adaptability of the deer population does not account for the decline in their populations. Adaptability refers to the ability to accommodate or adjust to new conditions. The Arctic deer population has likely adapted to the disappearance of the sea ice by migrating inland.

Even before humans began altering the environment, Arctic deer populations were declining. At first, the loss of sea ice may have been considered a minor concern for the deer. The ice provided protection for the animals and allowed them to swim across the ocean to islands for food. However, as the Arctic became more ice-free, the deer were forced to find alternative means of travel. The loss of the sea ice may have forced the deer to change their migration patterns. They no longer had to rely on the ice to travel from place to place. Instead of traveling across the sea, the deer may have moved overland to the mainland. Evidence of this shift can be found by examining the hunting patterns of the Inuit people.

The Inuit traditionally hunted reindeer for clothing, food, and utensils. The Inuit hunted deer by stalking the animals through snowdrifts and waiting for the opportunity to attack. The caribou were difficult to hunt because the animals evaded the hunters by moving quickly through the snow. The Inuit hunters learned to adapt to caribou behavior by tracking the animals and waiting for an opportunity. However, the deer were easier to hunt because the deer stayed in specific areas. The Inuit hunters could track the deer by following a scent trail and following the trail until it ended. When the hunters found deer, they could approach the animals and kill them without disturbing other deer in the area. When the Arctic sea freezes, the deer lose their ability to follow scents. The deer may migrate to areas where the land is flat or to areas where there is an abundance of food, such as berries. The deer do not follow the scent trails of the caribou because the Arctic deer do not have the same scent systems as the caribou. The deer do not react to chemicals in the caribou’s saliva or nose, so they are unable to follow the caribou’s scent trails. Since they cannot follow the caribou, the deer must devise some other method of finding food. The deer must move inland or to another island. Humans have altered the terrain of the Arctic Islands, so the deer may follow new paths to find new sources of food. When humans create paths across the ground, the deer follow them, instead of following the preexisting trails. This, combined with the loss of scent, forces the deer to migrate to a new area.

Humans have altered the environment in the Arctic to such an extent that Arctic deer no longer rely on ice for travel. Unfortunately, the deer population has declined, which has caused many hunters to lose interest in the animal. The hunters need evidence that the deer population has decreased to justify a hunt. The results of the hunting season do not indicate a decline in the number of deer. The hunters do not actively hunt deer. Instead, they wait for the deer to move toward them, and then they kill the deer with a spear or firearm. Since the hunters do not actively search for deer, they may miss evidence of a decline in the deer population. The hunters may be aware of the decline, but they choose not to report the population decline, possibly out of fear of retaliation from the Inuit. Even hunters who do not hunt the deer may be aware of the decline in the deer population, so they do not see the need to report it.

In conclusion, the Inuit hunters may have adapted to the disappearance of the sea ice by migrating, and the caribou have not. The Arctic deer population has declined, but it is not clear why. The hunters do not actively search for deer, so they may not notice a decline in the deer population. The deer population may decline for other reasons, such as the introduction of foreign species or disease, so the evidence that the deer population has declined must come from scientific sources.