In the early 20th century, wild forest reindeer (i.e. European or Finnish forest reindeer) were hunted to extinction in Finland. However, reindeer from Russian Karelia naturally returned to Finland in the 1950s, establishing a permanent population in east-central Finland during the 1960s.

Southern Norway hosts an estimated 25,000 wild mountain reindeer, which represents over 90% of the Eurasian population. Wild reindeer often perform extensive migrations, and historical findings in Norway testify to the long standing existence of mass migrations typically between winter pastures further inland and high-altitude summer pastures in more coastal areas.

The red deer in the Geneva basin live alongside highly-urbanized zones, making use of scattered woods bordered by the large, forested slopes of the Jura mountains. Within this landscape, red deer make daily movements between forest patches within the urbanized lowlands, and longer, seasonal migrations between the lowlands and the Jura mountains. There are two resident subpopulations, one living year round in the lowland and the other in the mountains.

Red deer populations in Norway have increased rapidly over the past 30 to 40 years. The annual harvest peaked above 50,000 red deer in 2021-2022, and the population size is more than 250,000 individuals. Red deer distribution spans the whole southern part of the country, but the species is most abundant along the southwest coast. Populations in this region are partially migratory, which means they consist of both migratory and resident individuals.

Across this alpine ecosystem, red deer migrate along steep elevational gradients in response to changing seasonal snow cover and vegetation. In harsh winters, red deer find refuge in lower elevations close to valley bottoms, bringing them in closer proximity with human development. However, in milder conditions, deer can remain on forested southern slopes at an intermediate elevation throughout the winter.

Alpine ibex within the Belledonne population migrate from steep south-facing rocky cliffs in low-altitude winter ranges (~1,860 m) to high-altitude alpine pastures for summer ranges (~2,360 m). The ibex use steep south-facing snow-free corridors distributed 50 km along the Belledonne massif and generally avoid crossing roads, even to access other mountain ranges on the opposite side (Oisans and Arvan-Villards mountain ranges).