The tranquil Finnish-Russian border has become a battleground for reindeer herders as wolf attacks have soared to record levels. Juha Kujala, a 54-year-old herder, can no longer predict how many of his animals will return each winter from the vast wilderness they roam. The culprit, he says, is wolves from Russia.
In 2025, a staggering 2,124 reindeer were killed by wolves, according to the Reindeer Herders’ Association of Finland. This represents a dramatic increase from previous years, coinciding with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Herders suspect the war has disrupted wolf hunting in Russia, driving the predators to seek new territory across the border.
“The last year has been the worst ever for wolf attacks in this area. The reindeer are an easy catch for them,” laments Kujala, whose farm lies just 38 kilometres from the Russian frontier. He and other herders are increasingly finding the skeletal remains of their animals, the wolves having gone for the throat and legs.
Historically, the wolf has been a strictly protected species in the EU, nearly hunted to extinction in many countries. However, its conservation status was downgraded in 2023 after numbers across Europe nearly doubled from 11,193 to 20,300 between 2012 and 2023. This has prompted some EU states to increase culling, while Finland lifted its ban on wolf hunting at the start of 2026, opting for a quota system instead.
Ilpo Kojola, a wolf specialist with Finland’s Natural Resources Institute, says the rapid population growth is likely due to reduced hunting pressure in Russia as soldiers were sent to the frontlines in Ukraine. “The increase in attacks is close timing with the war in Ukraine,” he notes, drawing parallels to past spikes during wartime.
Yet, the authorities caution that definitively linking the attacks to Russian wolves is difficult, as there is almost no cross-border contact, and Russia has provided no answers. Mia Valtonen, a senior scientist, says genetic testing shows many of the wolves shot in Finland in recent years do not appear to be from the country, but they cannot say for certain they are from Russia.
Kujala and other herders dismiss the scientific caution, calling for greater protection from the attacks that threaten their ancient way of life. “We do not hate the wolves but we need balance,” he pleads. “The reindeer spend most of their time out in nature. It’s impossible to protect them all the time.”
