Reindeer herd begin annual migration in mesmerising footage

As graceful as a flock of birds or a swarm of bees in motion, a herd of hundreds of reindeer turn as one, swiftly changing direction and racing across the snow-covered plains of northern Scandinavia.

The reindeer are making their annual migration across the tip of the Artic region crossing from Norway into the border of Finland, guided by herders from the indigenous Sami people.

The journey has been captured from the air for the first time by photographer Jan Helmer Olsen with a drone.

“My footage felt very special as nobody ever manages to see how the herd moves as one body from the air. It's watching a huge flock of birds in flight,” Mr Olsen said.

"Filming the event was a spur of the moment thing as the reindeer stay well away from urban areas and it's a trek out to find them.”

“Using a drone was always just a hobby to me, but I get a lot of satisfaction out of the footage as it is so rare for somebody to film from the sky above.”

The annual journey takes two months, with hundreds of Sami herding their packs for hundreds of kilometres.