Yukagir are a small people spread across three regions of Eastern Siberia – the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Magadan and Chukotka, along the Kolyma and Indigirka rivers.

They have become known as Tundra and Taiga Yukagirs. Together they number just over 1500 people. The Yukagir have traditionally been nomadic and semi-nomadic hunters, with wild reindeer being one of the preferred game. Yukagir in the tundra regions also practiced small-scale reindeer herding primarily for transportation purposes. Yukagir are today settled, but some lead a semi-nomadic life during reindeer herding and hunting seasons. Since collectivisation, both tundra and taiga Yukagir have practiced reindeer husbandry within the collective system.