Franciska Rensberg

Franciska Rensberg is a reindeer herder in the Ruvhten Sijte Sámi reindeer-herding community (Sw. sameby) in western Härjedalen. Through long-term and systematic breeding work within her own reindeer herd, she has made significant contributions to both reindeer husbandry and research at SLU. For 40 years, she and several other herders in the sameby have weighed calves during both calf marking and autumn round-ups to closely monitor the reindeer’s condition and development, and to identify animals to retain for breeding, thereby strengthening the herd. This work has resulted in an invaluable database containing records of more than 20,000 registered calves and their mothers, including data on calf body mass. The database is a unique resource for the entire reindeer herding industry, but it has also had a major impact on research at both SLU and other universities. To date, it has contributed to two doctoral theses at SLU, and ongoing studies of how reindeer husbandry is affected by climate and environmental change would scarcely have been possible without Franciska Rensberg’s curiosity, openness, deep practical knowledge and her own research ideas.

Press photo

Franciska Rensberg. Photo: personal archive