The police pursuits we're used to might involve a few patrol vehicles or perhaps a trusty K-9, but things sure are different when the pursuit plays out across the snowdrifts of the Siberian tundra. To fight petty crime in this icy landscape, Siberian officials want to deploy the 'reindeer police force'.
Reindeer are perfectly adapted to negotiating the region's frozen terrain – a skill local offenders like to exploit when fleeing bar brawls and crime scenes on reindeer-pulled sleds. Police rely on snowmobiles to keep up, but it seems the vehicles are no match for the agile ungulates. Aside from the risk of breaking down or running out of fuel, there's also the challenge of following suspects into remote and hard-to-reach areas of the tundra, The Siberian Times reports.
Local police want to hold their own and have been asking for reindeer reinforcements since 2012. Now, it looks like they will finally get their wish this winter.
And it seems the job of a service reindeer comes with some dietary perks. The antlered employees are to be fed a special diet of oats, hay, moss and bread made with top-quality rye flour, the report adds.
Top header image: Judith Slein, Flickr
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