Reindeer
A total of 106 reindeer have been killed since 23 November after being hit by freight trains in Norway - Representational Image Timo Newton-Syms

More than 100 reindeer have been killed on the tracks in three days in Norway after being hit by freight trains, a reindeer herder has said.

On Saturday (25 November) alone, about 65 reindeer were mowed down, Torstein Appfjell, a distraught reindeer herder in Helgeland County, told the Associated Press by telephone.

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Appfjell, who represents four families in the area with a total of around 2,000 reindeer, said the death of the animals was "totally tragic" and "unprecedented".

According to Appfjell, a total of 106 reindeer have been killed since Thursday (23 November). In the worst 12-month period they've seen in the area, 250 animals have been killed by trains, he added.

The local media reported that Bane NOR, the company which operates the locomotives, has now reduced the speed of the freight trains in the area.

In October, Globalstar Europe Satellite Services Ltd had designed an animal tracking provider, FindMy, which would help prevent trains from colliding with reindeer in Norway's hinterland.

FindMy, formerly known as FindMySheep, uses the Globalstar network and STX3 chipset for its animal tracking collars and services, including SaveMyReindeer, IOT Business News website reported.

According to the report, reindeer are herd animals and any collision with a train can injure as many as 50 of them at a time. SaveMyReindeer will use data from the Norwegian Railway Directorate on the real-time location of each train and combine it with open data from Kartverket (Norwegian Mapping and Cadastre Authority) to create a moving geo-fence 40-50 km around the train.

"Reindeer husbandry is an ancient and important element of Norway's economy and also hugely significant in the culture of our indigenous people," Kristin Skjerven, Senior Adviser with Kartverket said. "FindMy's IoT solutions are already proven in protecting sheep and cattle and SaveMyReindeer holds even more potential to prevent needless incidents, while helping the nation's railway users suffer fewer disruptions and improving train staff welfare."