reindeer – The Cairngorm Reindeer Herd

25th April 202525th April 2025

Building up to calving

With only a week or so to go until we could be seeing the first reindeer calves born, here are a few things which are preparing us, and the reindeer, ready for the big event. There aren’t any pre-natal classes for the reindeer but there is a pattern that we tend to stick to at this time of year. About 4-6 weeks before calving all our reindeer need an annual vaccination which was done at the end of March. At this time the herd are still free ranging so we brought them into our mountain enclosure for a couple of days for this as it can leave them feeling a little grotty. They then go back onto the free range for a few more weeks.

Zambezi leading the herd down for breakfast under a brilliant blue sky at the beginning of April.

This year we had an extremely hot and sunny start to April. This also coincided with the Easter holidays and the combination meant we were seeing extremely busy hills with day trippers and hikers. The hot weather was a little tough on the reindeer so they’d seek the cooler climes higher on the hill which meant for a longer walk to find them each morning. Of course, us herders had no problem with this, especially as it was cracking weather! We had to be canny about where we left the herd ready for the daily Hill Trip as we didn’t want them to be disturbed. Once we were into the second week of wall-to-wall sunshine the herd split forces and one group headed in one direction and the other group in the opposite direction. This still left a group of around 50 reindeer for hill trips but the other 20 had a 3-4 day ‘time out’ from visitors. Maybe they did it on purpose as it was mainly our older girls! As a result of them naturally splitting and us not wanting to miss the boat in getting pregnant cows in ready for calving we decided that we’d take them in a week earlier than we were planning to, so Kate and I did just that. We split off the pregnant cows, some of their 2024 calves and left out anything that wasn’t in calf so they could continue to free range. It gave us peace of mind knowing that anything due to give birth in a few week’s time were in and away from disturbance in the mountains. The last thing they need before giving birth is to be chased by an out-of-control dog or a drone.

The free roaming herd enjoying the hills in the good weather in early April.

Since, the free-range herd haven’t ventured too far and we catch up with them every few days for a check and a feed. In this group is Winner and Alba (hand-reared calves from 2023) so this is setting them up nicely for remaining on the free range for the whole summer. The cows in the enclosure are getting an easy feed twice a day and everyday their bellies are growing and udders starting to form. It’s exciting to watch this process.

Alba and Winnie have remained out with the free ranging herd.

Sheena checking in with some of the free ranging reindeer.

Ryvita is one of our oldest girls at nearly 16. She’s got the biggest velvet antlers out of all the females at the moment and is looking super. As she is long retired from breeding she’ll now get to spend the vast majority of her life out free ranging in the hills.

Amongst us herders we are all set with our annual calving bet picking a female reindeer who we hope won’t be last to calve, otherwise we will have to do a forfeit. Once upon a time the forfeit was to jump into a very cold loch, however, nowadays so many of us enjoy open water swimming it’s not really a challenge so now the loser has to make a cake in the autumn for when we all get together to name the calves of that year. Much more appropriate I think!

Feeding the herd now in our hill enclosure – lots of wide bellies on the hill!

The pregnant girls in the enclosure get an easy time with us now looking out for them and giving them at least two good feeds per day. Here’s Hopscotch and her almost five year old daughter Juniper eating from the same pile of food.

In the enclosure we’re regularly inspecting the size of bellies and whether there is any sign of an udder. Not sure Hopscotch is impressed!

Fiona

18th April 202513th March 2025

A busy day on the hill

Yesterday was one of the best sorts of reindeer herding days, almost entirely spent on the hill. Me and Fiona were due to help Tilly in the middle of the day, so we set off early to find the reindeer here on Cairngorm in the morning. The reindeer certainly made us work hard that morning as they were very high on the hill at roughly 950metres elevation, meaning we set straight off into a 400m climb! It was a windy day, and we had to pause a few times on route to brace ourselves as the gusts buffeted us. We could see the reindeer for much of the walk, and once we reached the same height as them, they were just the other side of a snow-covered burn. To save having to find a human suitable crossing, we called the reindeer to us, and they expertly navigated crossing the snow.

*Lapsang and Latte digging the front of their hooves into the snow.*

Video of reindeer crossing the snow.

The final section of snow that they had to cross was quite steep and it was amazing to see them jab the front points of their hooves, very purposefully into the snow. They looked like four legged mountaineers and used their front points much in the same way humans use crampons. It always amazes me to see how comfortable the reindeer are in difficult conditions that require us humans to have huge amounts of equipment and training to cope with. Fiona led the reindeer down to our chosen visit spot for the day and I had the lovely job of walking behind the reindeer. This can sometimes be a challenging job requiring lots of encouragement to keep the dawdlers at the back of the group moving. Yesterday though, the reindeer were moving well so I simply had the pleasure of moving with the herd.

*Chai keeping me company at the back of the group*.

Once we had fed the herd, we headed down the hill and drove over to help Tilly. At the moment half of our herd are free ranging on the hills in the Glenlivet estate, above our second base. Tilly had already got a big group of the reindeer into the coral, and we had the task of checking their temperatures and sorting some of the reindeer into different groups. We like to do regular temperature checks as it can give us an indication that a reindeer is unwell, before they are showing any other symptoms. By doing regular temperature checks it also means they are very used to the process, don’t find it in anyway stressful. In fact, yesterday many of the reindeer stood for us to take their temperatures without anyone even holding them.

*Tilly and Fiona with a group of reindeer in the corral*.

*A non-reindeer photo but I thought this display of lichen on one of the farm vehicles was particularly beautiful*.

Once we came off the hill, we drove back to Reindeer House for our last reindeer related job of the day. Three of our cows and calves had been free-ranging in Tilly’s group for the first part of the winter, we had then brought them back to join the herd on Cairngorm and Fiona, Ruth and I walked them back to meet the herd. Thankfully the herd hadn’t moved too far, we led the girls and let their calves follow them. As we were leaving the carpark we met a group who had spent the day learning winter skills, they professed that seeing the reindeer was the highlight of their day! Well done girls!! We then walked off the hill for the final important task of the day, a cuppa tea!

*Fiona and Ruth leading Feta and Christie back to the herd, I was leading Beanie, and you can see her calf, Coffee in the right of the photo*.

Lotti

11th April 202513th March 2025

Volunteer Blog: Emm’s visit in May 2024

My May Highlights

We returned in May and it was the calving season (Emm’s blog about her February visit can be found by clicking here). The calves are so cute and come in different colours which were silvery, dark brown, normal coloured, and ginger. They are so small and it was so lovely seeing the reindeer being mums to their calves. Some of the mums and younger calves were in the bottom corridor in the hill enclosure which we call the nursery. The mums and older calves were with the main reindeer herd in the main bit of the enclosure. It was so lovely seeing the calves suckling from their mums. Sometimes the mum would lick its tail or bum to encourage the calf to suckle. I saw calves nibbling on their mum ears. The calves would run often over to their mums grunting or the mums would run over to their calves grunting. Reindeer are normally quiet animals apart from calving time and rutting time and it was lovely to see them communicate. My first time handling a calf was when I held Feta’s calf whilst Hen took the calf’s temperature. Most of the reindeer are ok with you going near their calves but Brie was very protective of her calf so we had to be careful around her and her calf.

Emm holding Feta’s calf who we later named Earl Grey as has turned into one of the biggest calves of 2024.

Helsinki’s calf was premature and was so tiny so we kept them by the shed in the hill enclosure so we could keep an eye on them. We went to check them several times a day and were encouraging the calf to suckle. We bottle fed the calf with goat’s milk as Helsinki didn’t have much milk to begin with. Later on in the week, Helsinki and her calf joined the other mums and calves in the nursery as she was producing more milk and the calf was suckling on its own. The calf got much stronger and was doing so well.

Helsinki and her wee boy, who we later named Irish. Despite a rocky start to life Irish is doing well and has grown into a very tame and laid-back fella!

When reindeer are about to give birth, they tend to go away from the herd and find a high place as they are very private animals when giving birth. One day, Christie was missing from the main herd. Lisette went to find her and found Christie with her newborn calf. Later that day Cassie and Amy went to get Christie and her newborn calf and to take them to the nursery.

Lisette’s photo of Christie and new-born Espresso!

During our visit there was a fundraising scheme launched to raise money towards the new Centre. I decided to help support it by taking a swim in Loch Morlich. I am not an outdoor swimming person as I hate cold water. I am more a hot tub person! So, it was big challenge for me to swim in the loch. It was very cold as the water was still coming from snow patches from the Cairngorms. It was very special day as my herding friends, who love outdoor swimming, came and supported me and Tilly and her grandchildren joined in. Even the herder’s dogs joined in too and with everyone’s encouragement I raised £1000 for the new Reindeer Centre. We went for a drink and a meal afterwards at The Pine Marten Bar to warm up and celebrate.

Emm with the hat on and the herders in the loch. Go Emm!!

Following on from my visit in February I went again to Tilly’s farm with Amy. We helped take temperatures and the younger reindeer had an injection to help stop ticks. I was in charge of putting reindeer on head collars and holding them and was able to catch up with some of the reindeer. Winnie and Alba, two hand-reared reindeer who had just turned one year old, looked really well. Also, Elbe (Alba’s twin) who was looking really well too. We took seven reindeer back to the hill enclosure from the farm, Clouseau, Olmec, Aztec, Frost, Zoom, Zap and 99. Tilly tied Aztec and Clouseau the older boys to her quad bike whilst she drove slowly down with them following the quad bike very nicely. We led them down the hill to “Brenda” the reindeer truck. We went back and with help we took the seven reindeer up to the hill enclosure. I led Zoom and Olmec up to the hill enclosure.

One day Vanilla, who is leucistic (white), had a hoof trim. It was interesting to find out that leucistic reindeer hooves grow faster than a normal coloured reindeer. Leucistic reindeer are white, have blue eyes and sometimes are born deaf.

The building of the new Reindeer Centre was going well when I was there. At the beginning of the week, Tilly and Cameron gave me a tour of the new building which was just the walls going up. At the end of my stay Tilly gave me with Ann and Sheena another tour and the change in just a week was so amazing. The roof was on and the first floor in. It seemed to be going up very quickly.

One morning during the breakfast feed for the reindeer, we did a mock filming session. People who can’t get up the hill to see the reindeer will be able to experience a reindeer hill visit through a film at the new Reindeer Centre in the exhibition. We walked to the reindeer, fed the reindeer, counted them and chilled with them whilst being filmed for a practice run.

Emm

4th April 20256th April 2025

The Hat Girls

It’s well known that I have soft spots for a lot of reindeer, often if I have worked closely with them during free range missions or out on Christmas tours etc. However, one cohort I’m particularly fond of is the ‘hats’- reindeer born in spring 2021. In May 2021, I returned to reindeer herding after three years of trying out something different. My return was wonderful, and I instantly got stuck into the busy calving season. Just like the reindeer born in 2017 (the Authors and Poets) which was my first ever calving season, I’m very fond of the 2021 cohort, particularly as it was a relatively small calving. The three remaining females, Beanie, Beret, and Trilby are all different in both looks and personality.

In spring 2024 all three of them had their own calves – another generation to become attached to! They’ve all done so well, especially as first-time mums. This blog is just an excuse to show lots of lovely photos of them!

Beanie

Beanie was born on the 19th of May 2021 to mum Gloriana. She has an older brother called Butter and a younger brother called Rocket. When she was a bit younger and still finding her place in the herd Beanie would often be found towards the back and would get pushed around a bit by the older cows. For that reason I think some herders (not mentioning any names…) would spoil her with extra handfeed as we’d feel a little sorry for her! Beanie has now grown up to be a very friendly and greedy lass and is often found lurking behind after a Hill Trip fluttering her eyelashes for extra feed, ever hopeful. I have to use all my resolve not to cave – she definitely doesn’t need it! Beanie had her first calf in 2024, a large male who we named Coffee. He’s grown into one of the biggest calves of the year.

Beanie and her mum Gloriana in early 2022 free ranging in the hills.

Beanie growing a new set of antlers and up to her usual antics – trying to break into a feed bag but looking like butter wouldn’t melt!

In May 2024 Beanie had her first calf. A handsome lad called who we later named Coffee and who has grown into one of the biggest calves of the year – go Beanie!

Beanie in November 2024 with her usual pleading eyes! It’s hard not to give in…

Beret

Beret is a great character! Her mum Brie is probably the smallest cow in the herd, but she has been a highly successful breeding female over the years so Beret has several siblings including Cicero, Sorbet, and Latte. Whilst Beret was growing up, herders would often come back from a Hill Trip reporting that “she doesn’t know how to be a reindeer”! It took her a while to learn how to hand feed from visitors and there was one memorable winter season where she would jump on visitors for no reason. It was always in a harmless and innocent way but understandably could be intimidating for our visitors! She’s now learnt “how to reindeer” and has matured into a lovely, friendly, dependable lass. In May 2024 she became a mother for the first time – a big female calf who we named Brew who has the tendency to be rather opinionated about everything!

Beret is a firm favourite of herder Lisette and has her own blog here.

Beret and her mum Brie free ranging in early August 2021.

Beret and Brie looking very similar with their matching white noses – January 2023.

Beret and her younger sister Sorbet behind in August 2023.

Beret and her newborn calf Brew in May 2024.

Brew a few months later in August looking beautiful amongst the heather!

Trilby

Trilby is a lovely lass! Her mum was a reindeer called Screel who sadly died very unexpectantly in November 2021, leaving Trilby as an orphan. However, by 6 months old Trilby was big and strong enough to not require any special care from us, so she remained in the hills with the herd. We obviously looked out for her and spoilt her where we could! She perhaps doesn’t stand out as much as Beanie and Beret, maybe it’s because she is ‘normal coloured’ and for a while didn’t have a particularly strong personality. But now she’s almost 4 years old her family genetics are kicking in and she’s becoming more confident. Last winter was often at the front of the herd – so I’m hoping she’ll be a future leader! She’s friendly and greedy so we can always catch her out making her easy to work with. Her big sister Scully has serious attitude so maybe Trilby will follow in Scully’s footsteps! This year Trilby had a wee female calf who we named Tetley, so far Tetley is generally sweet-natured but I think has some attitude lurking fairly close to the surface!

January 2024 – Trilby on the right leading the herd, alongside old girl Okapi.

Trilby and her calf who we later named Tetley in June 2024.

Trilby and Tetley a few months later in August 2024. Tetley’s antlers didn’t get much bigger than these tiny bumps, but she’s in good condition and I’m sure as a yearling will grow a bigger pair.

Ruth

28th March 202512th April 2025

Photo Blog: March 2025

March has been a great month for us here at the Centre. We’ve become so used to working in the new Centre it’s hard to imagine life working from Reindeer House! March is always a relatively quiet month for visitors so it’s meant an excellent ratio of reindeer to people on our daily Hill Trips. Things will start getting busier in April with the school holidays, and reindeer will be back in our Paddocks from Saturday 29th of March. The Paddocks will be a work in progress for some time as we continue to landscape, but at least the reindeer will be back on display for folks to see! Have a read here for up to date info about what’s on offer in the Paddocks: https://www.cairngormreindeer.co.uk/paddocks/.

Here’s lots of lovely photos of some of our gorgeous reindeer taken throughout the month!

3rd of March: Chai is such a cutie, and she knows it!

3rd of March: Two girls with big antlers! Mangetout (born 2020) has the biggest set of antlers compared to the females in her year group and Pukka (born 2024) has the biggest out of hers, including the boys!

4th of March: Fiona, Lotti and I walked three cows and their calves up the hill to join the free ranging herd we have here on Cairngorm. Previously they’d been free ranging at our second winter site. Feta and Earl Grey, Beanie and Coffee, and Christie and Espresso.

5th of March: We’re so proud of these two! Alba at the front and Winnie behind. Both hand-reared in 2023 and now proper free-roaming reindeer! Go girls.

12th of February: Snow! And Cuppa’s awesome eyebrows.

12th of March: The top of Ryvita’s head. She’s usually the first cow to start growing her antlers.

13th of March: Winter has returned. Sundae looking particularly beautiful!

13th of March: Zambezi and the herd on their way in for breakfast.

14th of March: Torch making sure Cappuccino is looking good for our visitors.

17th of March: Shannon on St. Patrick’s Day. Shannon was named by herder Amy after the river in Ireland.

17th of March: Ryvita up to her usual tricks! She’s an old girl so I may have allowed this for longer than I would have if it was somebody younger!

18th of March: Trilby leading the herd on a beautiful day.

19th of March: Another old girl enjoying our backpacks – this is Oatcake.

21st of March: Amy and I went over to our second site to help Tilly which was very fun! We got to see all the male reindeer including this greedy chap – Aztec!

21st of March: Spartan looking very handsome and enjoying free ranging. He’s just beginning to grow a new set of antlers.

22nd of March: Peanut is a beautiful reindeer. She’ll turn 5 in the spring and is relatively shy in nature but very sweet!

22nd of March: Zambezi wondering if I’ve got any food!

23rd of March: Sunflower and Fika being very sweet!

25th of March: Christie cast her anlters a couple of weeks ago but still looks gorgeous. Her new antlers will begin to grow before too long.

27th of March: 10 month old Coffee leading the herd this morning. He’s a very confident chap!

Ruth

21st March 202527th February 2025

Like mother, like son: Russia and Spider

Russia, born in 2005 in the ‘countries’ year, was one of the first reindeer I got to know. She was already quite an old girl, but one of the tamest reindeer in the herd and always super chilled out. She was also ‘interesting’ in appearance – therefore standing out in the herd and making it easy for a wet-behind-the-ears reindeer herder to put a name to a face. There was something odd about her face, about her eyes… Now I don’t claim to be any sort of oil painting myself, but at least my eyes are in the right position on my face.

Russia’s… weren’t. They were a good bit further up her skull than normal, giving her an odd appearance of peering down her nose at you the whole time. Don’t believe me? Here you go:

I’m not saying this was a bad look in any way, just… odd. Her usual style of rather simple, straight swept-back antlers exacerbated the look too.

Russia with probably the nicest set of antlers she grew – still very simple, especially in comparison to Sequin and her fancy set in the background! Ibex, on the right, has a more average female set.

Russia had 6 calves in her lifetime who survived long enough to be named, including Pavlova, Spider and Brie who are still with us today. Normally I would say family resemblance is strongest between mother and daughter, but in Russia’s case it is her son Spider who inherited her looks, including the eyes. Oh, the eyes…

Russia with Spider at a couple of weeks old

Five months later – Spider has grown somewhat! Russia has cast and regrown her antlers too in the meantime.

Adult Spider and his eyes – way too far up his face!

Russia was a lovely friendly reindeer, seen here with Heather enjoying a mouthful of feed from her rucksack. This photo was taken around August one year, at which point Russia had been free-ranging on the hills for about three months, hardly ever seeing a herder, but here she is totally happy to walk straight up to us. Her offspring have generally been friendly too, Pavlova a little shyer and Brie very bold, but with much more ‘attitude’ than her mum. Once again it is Spider that is the most similar, in character as well as looks.

If you have a long nose, then best to make sure you look right down it…

And finally, here’s what Russia herself would have had to say about my opinion of her unusual appearance:

Hen

N.B. There are other blogs on family resemblance in the herd. Among others, you can find Ruth’s blog about Emmental and Pony and their respective offspring here, and her blog on Mini-mes in the herd here.

14th March 202513th March 2025

How does a reindeer keep warm in the winter?

Each winter, when the temperature drops, and we start reaching for our big coats and gloves. It always amazes me how comfortable the reindeer are in these conditions. It’s not a surprise really, being an arctic animal, they have evolved to cope with some of the coldest temperatures on the planet. Reindeer don’t show physiological signs of being cold until -35°C and have been known to survive right down to -72°C in Siberia. So how do they do it? I thought I would write a blog describing some of their incredible adaptations that keep them snug in the winter.

Coats

Reindeer have an incredibly insulative coat with hairs all over their body, in their ears, up their noses, between their toes. The only part of a reindeer without hair is their eyeballs! Their winter coat is so insulative that they lie on the snow without melting it. Their winter coat is formed of two layers, long guard hairs with a fine downy layer underneath. The long guard hairs are all hollow, with a honeycomb structure inside trapping pockets of warm air – an excellent insulator. They are also triangular allowing them to fit closely together without gaps to let the cold in.

*Peanut lying down in the snow. In their winter coat, reindeer are so well insulated that they lie on snow without melting it.*

Clicking

A question that we are regularly asked on Hill Trips is: what noise does a reindeer make? In the spring mothers and calves call out to each other by grunting and in the rut a bull reindeer will grunt to his females. During the winter though, reindeer don’t make many vocal noises. Instead, they make a clicking noise. This comes from a tendon sliding over a bone in their back legs with every step they take. This allows the reindeer to stay together as a herd during a blizzard when they can’t see each other without having to vocally call out to each other, which would lose body heat.

*Herd of reindeer keeping their eyes closed during a blizzard.*

Nose

Reindeer noses are amazing, definitely one of my favourite reindeer adaptations for the cold. During the winter time, reindeer generally keep their mouths closed, keeping the heat in, and instead breath through their noses. Inside their noses are amazing scroll structures which increase the surface area between the cavities where the air they are breathing in and the air they are breathing out are stored. This means heat exchange can occur and the air they are beathing out can warm the air they are breathing in, essential when the outside air is well into the minuses. Back in 2018, Ruth wrote a fantastic blog explaining in detail how amazing the nose of a reindeer is, it is well worth a read for more information, click here to see!

Feet

Reindeer have huge feet which serves two purposes: snowshoes and snow shovels. By being so big it spreads their weight out on the snow, stopping them sinking too far into the snow. Their back feet also step into the prints of their front feet and they will move as a herd in a single file line, stepping in the prints of the first reindeer, this makes walking through snow incredibly efficient. Sometimes when it’s really snowy here, we put out skis on to go and find the reindeer, in that case they will walk in our ski tracks instead. They can also their feet as big shovels to dig through the snow. Reindeer can smell lichen through a meter of snow and will dig through the snow to get to it.

*Lotti on skis with the herd following in her ski tracks.*

Antlers

Last but certainly not least…. antlers! Antlers are absolutely amazing and definitely could be an entire blog by themselves (in fact I have linked some previous blogs about antlers below). They are made of bone and grow and fall off again every year and then regrow the following year. They grow each year during the spring and summer, and whilst the bone is growing it is encased in a specialised skin called velvet. The velvet provides the blood supply that feeds the bone as the antler is growing. Once they finish growing, the velvet strips off and the antlers can then be used as weapons! The males use them to fight with each other during the rutting season over the right to breed with the females. Once the rut is over, their antlers will fall off, they are too heavy on the males to keep them all winter. Our heaviest set weighed a whopping 8.9kg. So, what do antlers have to do with the cold? Well, during the winter, once the males have lost their antlers it’s only the females and the calves who still have them. This gives the females a physical advantage whilst they are pregnant and makes sure they get plenty of food to eat during the harshest time of the year. The females loose them too, in the spring, as the new antler grows through underneath.

*Sherlock, who in March had not only lost his previous antlers but had also started to grow his new antlers already!*

Lotti

28th February 202528th February 2025

Photo Blog: February 2025

February has been a great month as we moved into our NEW Reindeer Centre. We opened the doors to the public on the 8th of February for the very first time – hoorah!

The Hill Trips have been running as normal every day (apart from one where we had to cancel due to wild weather!) and we’ve been taking visitors to the free ranging herd here on Cairngorm. We’ve also had reindeer on display in the Paddocks for the February half-term holidays. The entire herd is now back out free ranging in the hills, split between two locations. I love this time of year – getting out to see the reindeer in their mountain home every day is an absolute privilege.

Here’s a selection of photos just taken on my phone over the last month.

7th of February: Feeding the herd with Sheena and Hen, look at that lovely blue sky. We took four reindeer down off the hill and into our Paddocks where they stayed for a few days for the start of the February half-term.

8th of February: A big occasion – Tilly cutting the red ribbon opening our brand-new Reindeer Centre.

8th of February: Helsinki and her son Irish relaxing.

11th of February: Gorgeous Fern! The oldest reindeer in the entire herd. She’ll turn 18 in the spring and definitely deserves spoiling. You can see the evidence on her nose!

11th of February: A lovely pic of Fern and Andi.

12th of February: Moving the herd in to position ready for a Hill Trip. Emmental and Borlotti at the front.

13th of February: Trilby looking beautiful on a sunny day!

14th of February: Holy Moley posing for a photo whilst the others eat on the line. On Hill Trips, she often justs waits for the handfeed and doesn’t bother with the food on the ground!

14th of February: Vanilla coming in to see if there’s any more food on offer.

17th of February: Helsinki and her son Irish… again. They’re a very sweet pair!

18th of February: Emmental leading the herd to the Hill Trip location.

19th of February: Macchiato and a beautiful sky behind!

20th of February: Alba, one of our hand-reared calves from 2023, out free ranging and doing incredibly well! We’re very proud of her!

20th of February: Moving ther herd on a very windy and wild day!

23rd of February: The Hill trip was cancelleld as the weather was WILD! So here’s a pic from the Paddocks. Dr Seuss looking very relaxed.

25th of February: The lovely Winnie, like Alba, she was hand-reared in 2023.

26th of February: These two are aleays stuck together like glue, Florence and her wee boy Cuppa.

27th of February: Latte and her mum Brie.

28th of February: Emm at the back of the herd doing a super job getting them moving.

Ruth

21st February 202523rd February 2025

Volunteer Blog: Emm’s visit in February 2024

I was lucky enough last year to visit and work with the reindeer three times in 2024, February, May and September. I had many different experiences and I thought I would tell you about my highlights with the reindeer and herders during the year.

You’ll be able to find May and September’s highlights in future blogs!

My February Highlights

Emm with one of her favourite reindeer, Scully!

Our first visit was in February so the weather was still very cold with snow on the mountains. At this time of year the reindeer are free-ranging so each morning there was a visit up the mountain to find them and bring them to a suitable spot for the later hill trip. The reindeer would often be very high up and we would struggle to get them down if they ignored our calls so we would have to go and fetch them. My first trip up the mountain was with Ruth and Cameron. We walked up a steep slope as we thought they were in the gully but we soon realised they were somewhere else on the other side of the ridge we were looking at! We continued calling for a bit hoping they would come but they didn’t so we turned round to return to the carpark and tried another path to find them. At this stage the weather had turned into a raging snowy blizzard, it was very cold and the wind was strong. As we were about to pick up our bags, we turned around and saw half of the reindeer herd running towards us through the snow. It was a magical feeling to see the reindeer run towards us in such snowy conditions and the other half of the herd joined us a few minutes later. It was so amazing how deep the snow had got with the very heavy snow.

On another occasion with Amy and Cameron again to find the reindeer on the free range for the Hill Trip. We went to the visit spot for that day and called them. Some walkers on the ridge were looking down at us wondering what we were doing! The reindeer didn’t appear, so we had to fetch them which meant a hike across a stream and up a very steep hill to a ridge, then up the ridge going very high. We finally found them all sitting chilling on a rocky hill and ignoring our calls! To get them to the visit spot Amy and I led at the front calling them with a bag of feed to encourage them, Okapi leading the herd. Cameron herded at the back of the herd. Okapi was brilliant at the front, it was so amazing seeing them jump easily over the stream we had to cross. At the visit spot I gave Okapi some food out of the hand feed bag for being such a brilliant leader.

Emm on a Hill Trip with Christie closest to the camera.

The highest I have ever been on the free range in the Cairngorms was on a trip with Andi. It was a lovely day and we had fantastic views. Andi was at the front with a bag of feed whilst I was herding them at the back. Popsicle was limping so when we got to the Hill Trip spot, I checked her temperature and Andi checked her leg but she was ok. The trips were a chance to check the reindeer. On one visit I helped Fiona take Scully and Yukon off the free range as Yukon was limping and was very lame. Yukon is Scully’s calf so we brought Scully off too. I led Yukon whilst Fiona led Scully. It was very snowy and misty. We put them in the Paddocks in Glenmore with access to the shed, next to the Reindeer Centre. Later on that week the vet saw Yukon and gave him a Xray. It showed it wasn’t broken and that he had probably torn a ligament. I did an afternoon Hill Trip with Andi on the top ridge in the hill enclosure and afterwards we took the hill enclosure reindeer onto the free range. Some visitors came with us. I led the reindeer out of the hill enclosure gate and shook the feed bag so they all came out. We were hoping to meet up with the reindeer group on the free range and had a very big surprise when they came running over to us and the two groups joined up as one big herd. It was so amazing seeing them coming running over and there was lots of clashing of antlers from the two groups to establish the pecking order. It was so brilliant seeing them all on the free range. Amur kept licking my hand.

Pinto and the herd on a high snowy ridge.

During this visit I was kindly invited to go curling with them something which was completely new to me. I learnt how to throw the stone and sweep and then played a few games. It was very exciting and so brilliant. My team were the yellow stones and we lost against the red stones team but it was such great fun. We went for a meal afterwards and Nan, one of the reindeer house’s dogs, was there and I got to give her a cuddle. Nan is one of Tuva’s puppies. Later in the week I got to see Sheena’s dog, Ginger, who had six puppies. They were only two weeks old and very cute. I helped Sheena weigh them to make sure they were growing well. I also helped out with another of the Reindeer House dogs, Dug, with walks at the back of the Reindeer Centre on the tracks and in the woods which was such great fun.

Emm, Sheena, Ginger and one of her gorgeous pups!

Some of the herd were over at Tilly’s farm so I went over one day with Andi and Amy . We went up on to our second winter grazing site to find the free ranging herd and to feed them and check their temperatures. We went in a buggy and it was a bumpy track, across little streams and going very high up with beautiful views. When the reindeer saw the buggy, they ran over and surrounded us as they associated it with food. We took their temperatures and checked them all. It was such an amazing view made more special by the reindeer. More reindeer appeared running down a hill while we were there including Frost. I was able to walk around the reindeer, chill with them and take photos before we went back to Tilly’s farm in the buggy.

Emm, Amy and Andi enjoying a bumpy ride in the buggy!

Some of the free rangers at our second site.

The building works for the new Centre had started and there was a big hole where the Paddocks used to be and it was now a building site with diggers. Despite the building work one day I saw a wildcat walk across the old reindeer shed area the top of the big hole in the Paddocks. It turned to look at me then carried on. It turns out it was one of the wildcats released locally and her name is Callie and she had a collar on.

Emm

14th February 202524th January 2025

A free range mission…

A lot of our work focuses on our herd here on Cairngorm, but a lot of you will know that we have a secondary site, and it is always lovely to get out that way to help Tilly! Recently Sheena and I went on a free-range mission to move a group of reindeer that were just out of our boundary line. The group of reindeer we were moving included some older girls and three young bulls, I have compiled some pictures of the outing for the reindeer’s wonderful adopters. The group were initially grazing in two separate groups but once we had called them, the reindeer joined up and made their way up hill towards us.