Reindeer in South Georgia are an example of an animal which has been introduced outside its native range. The reindeer, a species of deer adapted to arctic and subarctic climates, was introduced to the subantarctic island of South Georgia by Norwegian whalers in the early 20th century.[1]
Initially, the reindeer were intended to provide recreational hunting as well as fresh meat for the numerous people working in the whaling industry on the island at the time.[1] As the whaling industry came to an end in the 1960s, and in the absence of a permanently resident human population, the reindeer population, in two geographically separated wild herds, increased to the point where their presence was causing environmental damage. This led to a decision to eradicate them, a program carried out between 2013 and 2015.