Heat takes Reindeer to shelter at Ivalo Kela office

As above-30-degree Celsius temperatures hit northern Finland this week, reindeer entered villages trying to seek shelter in or near houses.

Reindeer are production animals, but live out on the hills all year round and owners provide no shelter facilities.

In Ivalo, some reindeer were pictured outside the doors of a local office of the national social insurance institution, Kela. The agency posted jokingly in social media that "queuing could be avoided through booking a time in advance".

A Finnish language newspaper Helsingin Sanomat quoted on Thursday Arja Jomppanen, an agency employee in Ivalo, as saying the reindeer take "no notice of people around" even if crowds have gathered watching them in the unusual place.

Jomppanen added that while reindeer flocks can be a traffic nuisance on Lapland roads also in normal temperatures, in hot weather they are bothered by gadflies and can be particularly erratic.