Domesticated herds have displaced Chukotkan caribou. The wild animals have difficulty subsisting in areas already grazed by reindeer. In addition, herders tend to shoot caribou present near their herds, since caribou compete with reindeer for forage and make herding difficult. Still, there are signs of recent increases in the caribou population of western Chukotka. Other effects of reindeer herding are not as obvious.
Herds can threaten ground-nesting birds by trampling nests and eggs, and even eating eggs.
Potential predators like wolves are often killed to protect the herds. Mechanized assistance to herding has its price as well. To the west of the Chukotsk Peninsula vast land areas have been destroyed by large-scale placer mining for gold. The areas are so large that reindeer may be unable to cross them. Until now the peninsula has been spared but one mine has begun operating in its southwest part.