August has been a busy and fun month. The first half of the month was very busy with visitors and sold out Hill Trips. Without the Paddocks and Exhibition this year it feels like the Hill Trips have been even busier than usual. Sometimes we even put a bonus additional Hill Trip on so as not to disappoint too many folk! The reindeer were not complaining about another opportunity to hand-feed!
But as Scottish schools went back the second half of the month got slightly quieter with visitors and we’ve been having lots of free range action which I love. Generally we start to see the free ranging females more as they come down in altitude as the weather gets cooler. Towards the end of the month we also start bringing in the mums and their calves back into the enclosure. They spend June through to August/early September out roaming the hills learning how to be little wild reindeer and enjoying all the best grazing, but when the autumn rolls around it’s time for them to learn what a feed bag is and in time, how to walk on a halter etc. The following photos are a small snapshot of what’s been occurring this month…
1st of August: Sheena leading down Mivvi with Cairngorm mountain in the background.2nd of August: Frost coming over to say hello!5th of August: Kernel and Jelly, both 4 years old, leading the herd on a very dreich Hill Trip.5th of August: Mivvi looking so smart in his short, dark summer coat.6th of August: Harness training in the sun! 7th of August: Sherlock looking MEGA!7th of August: The most identifiable nose on the hill?? Dr Seuss saying hello!8th of August; Amy being mobbed by a bunch of boys (and girl Alba is bottom left) wanting their breakfast!9th of August: A free ranging mission with Cameron. Moving a group of VERY old girls, Ibex, Sambar, Gazelle, Sika and Pavlova with a collective age of 79!12th of August: Handsome Akubra. 13th of August: Haricot on a beautiful breezy morning.14th of August: Wafer coming over to say hi! He looks great this year, with very pretty antlers.14th of August: Winnie and Alba looking super! Both were hand-reared last year.15th of August: A late afternoon excursion from the office to find and move some free ranging reindeer. This is the lovely Emmental who was certainly not shy!16th of August: Cows and calves are back in the enclosure! This is Christie, her male calf, and Solero in the middle.16th of August: Brie’s calf is exceptionally cute! But I could say that about all of them…19th of August: Marple and her calf behind.20th of August: Jenga spending a short while in the enclosure for a wee health check after a summer out free ranging. 20th of August: Sunflower and calf!24th of August: Ryvita aged 15 and looking fantastic!!24th of August (a): Vienna and calf being retrieved from the free range. I enjoyed a lovely evening walk with them back to the hill enclosure.24th of August (b): Vienna and calf home! Back in the enclosure after a summer out in the hills.
On my first day I headed up to the hill enclosure with Ben and was very excited to see the reindeer again, our last trip being in December the previous year. We checked the herd and found that Torch was missing, not coming down for breakfast, so Ben went off to find and check on her. I was straight away given the job to lead the visitors down to the visit spot and do a talk on reindeer adaptations to the extreme weather conditions. The visitors were very interested in how they are so well adapted for the snow and cold weather, right from the antlers down to the hooves, and asked me lots of questions. I really enjoyed sharing the knowledge with people. Ben got Torch in and after the visitors had gone we checked her temperature which was fine!
Snoozy reindeer on a snow patch.
Some of the Hill Trips were to the free-range on Cairngorm and it was lovely to see them in their natural environment, hear and see the red grouse as well as the funicular railway and it was well worth the 40-minute walk sometimes needed to catch up with the herd. The conditions could be very severe up on the free-range and on one Hill Trip it was so windy I had to fight to not get blown over. I had never seen it like that before. When on the free-range herders would need to go up first and find out where they were and bring them down to a suitable spot for the visitors. They could be anywhere and on my trip with Ruth and Fiona when we went to find them we would try to call them down but often they refused to move and had to be fetched down. This would involve some trekking across rough ground and on one occasion involved jumping over a burn. Thankfully I didn’t fall in! I went with Fiona on one morning to find them and walked up very high as they were well up on the mountain. There were snow patches in some parts which were knee deep. When we found them they wouldn’t come down to our calling so Fiona went to the front and started to lead them down and I was at the back to herd them from behind. Suddenly a dog appeared off the lead and ran at Fiona and the reindeer near the front and the reindeer turned and started to run back towards me being very scared of the dog. I managed to stay calm and they all stopped and we waited for Fiona to come back up after making sure the dog was back on a lead. We then put Hopscotch on a head collar and Fiona led them down with me pushing from the back but the reindeer had different ideas and went their own way and I lost sight of Fiona. She eventually appeared from the side so we had walked past her with the reindeer doing their own thing. Fiona had thought they had run off but thankfully they had behaved themselves for me and stayed together. When we got to the visit spot we counted them all and they were all there. I got the reindeer special badge for getting the reindeer calm when they were spooked and for keeping the herd together. I was very proud of myself.
Emm feeding the reindeer from the tasty white bag.Emm leading the free ranging herd.
On another occasion with Hen and Cameron we did the free-range Hill Trip but when we got there we couldn’t see them so we had to go searching. We were getting desperate until eventually I looked over a ridge and saw them all lying down relaxing hiding from us. We were very relieved. I did notice how wild the weather could be at this time of year and it could change quickly. On one Hill Trip it was so snowy, sleety and windy that no children were allowed and we had to wear ski goggles to keep the snow out of our eyes. Some visitors were turned away if they did not have proper outdoor clothing suitable for the weather and I realised how important that was. Andi escorted the visitors that day guiding them up and back on the main path because of the weather.
Andi, Emm, and Hen well wrapped up!
One day we had to move some reindeer around. Dante, Glacier, Marple, Vienetta, Vienna and Kulfi all came off the free-range. Vienna and Kulfi went to join some others in the Paddocks and the others went into the hill enclosure. To move them we put head-collars on and lead them. It was interesting to see when we put them into the hill enclosure with the others there was a lot of charging around, rearing up with front hooves and clashing of antlers as they had not met for a while and were establishing the pecking order.
The free roaming herd.
When not out on the hill there were lots of jobs to be done in the Paddocks such as poo-picking, take Paddock reindeer temperatures, feed mixing, scrubbed and cleaned fences in the Paddocks cleaning off bird poo and cobwebs mainly, putting up the pictures and information about the particular reindeer in the Paddocks at the time, answering questions from the visitors and putting the reindeer ‘to bed’ and closing up the Paddocks at the end of the day. There were a lot of things to be done for the adoptions and in the shop helping out with the new adoption forms, restocking the shop and putting Holy Moley cards into envelopes. I even hoovered which is something my mum says I never do at home!
Emm in the old Paddocks!
As the pregnant reindeer were due to calve in the next month or so the herders have a calving bet when all the herders choose who they think will calve first. The loser is the one who reindeer calves last and they have to do a forfeit which is chosen by the herders. It used to be that they had to take a swim in the loch but now most of the herders actually do this for fun so they have to decide another forfeit! I was able to make my choice and thankfully I didn’t lose this year. On Easter Sunday there were chocolate eggs all round Reindeer House and the electric van after Easter Bunny’s visit and we enjoyed looking for them and of course eating them. A few days later Joe did a photoshoot for the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue team for the money raised from the naked calendar which was over £4,500. He did a photo with his clothes off handing over the cheque which was very funny although we kept well away!
On our Hill Trips the calves born in May 2022 were given preferential feeding and are given first go at the special mix from the food sack so we had to keep off the bigger greedy reindeer to let the calves feed. On the Hill Trips there are a number of talks; the introduction, history, health and safety, hand-feed as well as the reindeer adaptations and the herders let me do these at times during my visit which was very special to be given the responsibility. Many of the visitors asked us to take photos of them with the reindeer and I enjoyed this and met some lovely people from all over the world.
From time to time there was a trip to Tilly’s farm to collect grain, barley and lichen to bring back for the herd. I did the trip with Sheena one day. When over there we helped Tilly out with the farm animals. We put some barley in the trailer for the red deer and it was pulled behind the quad bike driven by Tilly and we followed. The red deer came running down when they saw us for their food. We all then went on the quad bike to the reindeer to check temperatures and any with high temperatures had an injection. I helped catch them and put the head collars on to hold them. I was also able to spend time chilling with them and take my own photos. I caught up with Sunny the hand-reared reindeer as well as Elvis the oldest in the herd at the time aged 17 years who were at the farm. I also saw twin one-day old lambs from the Soay sheep and a two-week-old Belted Galloway calf. It was nice to have a cup of tea and kit-kat afterwards in Tilly’s farmhouse with the dogs Tuva and Moskki running round. Tilly was excited to share the new plans for the new Reindeer Centre which had been approved. Unfortunately we had a flat tyre on the way back and I helped Sheena change the tyre. I was able to award her the special badge as she did so well and saved the day and she was secretly proud of herself.
Tilly and Emm on the quad bike with Moskki and Tuva the border terriers.
I really enjoy catching up with all the dogs who come and go from Reindeer House and this time got chance to go for a walk with Sheena and five dogs, two of Sheena’s and the rest from Reindeer House, after work one day. We went round the back of Reindeer House in the paths in the forest. The views were beautiful of Loch Morlich and the Cairngorms.
Sheena and Fraoch, Dug, Elsie, Ginger, and Tiree.
One last thing I had to do in April was to say goodbye to Sookie (a beloved Reindeer House dog) before we left as she was getting very old and poorly and we did not think she would be still with us when I came back in October. We heard a little while later that she had died which was very sad, she was buried in a beautiful spot which was one of her favourite places.
Back in late May, our thoughts start to turn to getting the cows and calves out of the hill enclosure, so they can spend the summer months free-ranging on the mountains, getting peace and quiet and the best of the grazing, and the cows can teach their calves the lie of the land too. In recent years, we tend to take them out in two batches, allowing each batch to spend a couple of weeks in the main section of the hill enclosure first. This has two-fold benefits – it helps to strengthen the calves as they move around more than they do in the smaller ‘nursery’ area, but most importantly it exposes the calves to visitors. This makes our job in the autumn easier when the female reindeer return to the hill enclosure, as the calves are much more relaxed in amongst people than they otherwise would be – even though they’ve barely laid eyes on a human in the interim.
Setting off up through the top part of the hill enclosure
Prior to leaving the enclosure, the cows and calves are all checked over, and given Spot-on to help ward off ticks. We then halter up all the adult females, as it’s a far less stressful process to just lead the reindeer out of the enclosure rather than to try and herd them. We do this in an evening rather than during the day too, as it lessens the risk of us bumping into hill-walkers, who may have dogs in tow. Any young females of a year old who are tagging along with their mums and new siblings aren’t haltered, as they will just follow anyway.
There’s a lot of grunting to start with, as everyone establishes where their calf is, and the calves wonder why there are so many human legs in their herd suddenly!Out through the gate at the top of the enclosureEveryone has settled down and is enjoying the evening wander!
We take the group about a mile or so from the top gate of the enclosure, although the spot we leave them in is only actually a couple of hundred metres from the fence and the far end of the enclosure.
A good year for the cotton-grass this year!I ran ahead ahead to get some photos, meaning I could sit and relax in the sunshine once I’d got into position!Progress isn’t particularly fast with so many reindeer on halters, so there was plenty of time to chat along the way!
Some years in the past the cows have taken off at speed into the distance as soon as they’ve got the chance, but this batch were more than happy just to graze and chill out once we’d taken halters off and released them. This little chap (above) was born a bit prematurely, so had to be bottle-fed for a while whilst mum’s milk got going, so he’s very tame!
The face of a Lotti who’s just realised that two birthday cakes and a birthday present have been carried the whole way out as a surprise!Birthday cake all round!And in classic unpredictable Sheena-fashion – a watermelon! ‘What is the heaviest and most unexpected snack I could possibly bring?!’Some time to chill out for us too (although the sun had sadly disappeared behind the hill by this point).At this time of year the reindeer have started moulting around their eyes, their darker summer coat showing through and giving them all ‘panda eyes’.Time to go, for us and them.Heading home! How could I not finish with this photo?
Through the summer months we see very little of the female reindeer and their calves, leaving them to graze in peace after spending around 6 weeks in the hill enclosure. We will head out to look for them occasionally though, when time and weather allow, but the next time we have proper contact with them again is from August onwards, as they start to return to the hill enclosure in dribs and drabs. It’s like catching up with old friends again!
Sheena counting reindeer. Lace is the dark reindeer with her head up and antlers visible.
My involvement with the reindeer goes back 30 years when Tilly and Alan were my neighbours and Alex and Fiona where still very wee.
I came up to the Highlands to work at Badaguish Outdoor Centre for people with additional needs before I was due to start a nursing degree . I never left – I fell in love with the mountains, and then a reindeer herder!! And now the reindeer.
Sheena catching up with the free rangers out in the hills.Sheena bringing back Ochil and her calf Vanilla to the enclosure after they spent the summer free roaming.
My wonderful friendly golden retriever Rosie used to end up at Reindeer House after following any walker passing by my house down at Badaguish. Tilly would phone me and I would often end up there socialising, helping out, then for dinner and end up walking home with Rosie after a wee whisky or two!
I eventually went to university but not to study nursing. I did a Honors Fine Art degree in 2004.
Sheena drawing on the hill!
Over the years I have kept in touch with Tilly and the reindeer, volunteering, an extras pair of hands or legs walking out onto the mountains to help herd in the girls for calving or just going up to spy the herd in the summer months on the mountain.
Several years ago, I got a call to work with the team and use my artistic talents for ‘Christmas Fun’ (weekends in December when Santa visits the Paddocks). By this time Fiona was all grown up and coordinating all things Christmas and the herd on Cairngorm along with her mum and the team. Now I am just a regular part-timer in the team.
Sheena doing some harness training with the male reindeer.Sheena and Choc-ice chilling out together.Sheena driving the Christmas lorry!
So, when I am not a reindeer herder you might find me working in my studio at home as an artist, working on some colorful wild abstract paintings. These days I also work on some reindeer crafts, inspired from my trip to Jokkmokk, Sweden in 2020 with fellow reindeer herders Fiona, Joe, and Olly where we stayed with friend Sofia, Mikel Utsi’s great niece. Inspiration for art was everywhere. The snow, visiting herds of reindeer, northern lights, traditional cloths, and traditional food.
That part of Sweden is the capital of Sami culture in Sweden holding the Sami winter festival, which involve reindeer racing, reindeer parades, and all things Sami culture. And I had a wonderful time in the Sami Museum viewing the traditional arts on show. This was very much my inspiration for small reindeer art and crafts for the shop.
The Jokkmokk crew with borrowed dogs! Fiona, Sheena, Olly and Joe.Jokkmokk winter market.Beautiful Sami colours.Some of Sheena’s wonderful things we sell in the shop!Sheena’s lovely dogs – Ginger and her mum Elsie on top of our local hill.Sheena and Oatcake!
It’s the last blog of the month and so time for another photo dump! March has been a relatively quiet month, with the Paddocks shut and fewer visitors around, but it’s still felt very busy for us herders! Generally only four members of staff work each day throughout March. The mornings are taken up by two herders heading out to find and move the free ranging herd, and the other two herders lead the Hill Trip at 11am. So, by the time we’ve all had lunch the afternoons seem to totally fly by. We also had some very snowy and wintery weather in the middle of the month, making our lives a little more interesting and keeping us on our toes! Hopefully, we’ve managed to tick off all the important jobs in time for the Easter Holidays which kick off on the 1st of April.
1st of March: Sunny has spent the majority of January and February free ranging in the hills with the big boys. He and a few other youngsters were brought off the hill on the last day of February and spent a few days in the Paddocks. So of course it was only right Sunny got an invite to dinner!! 2nd of March: Sheena and Lotti take some routine temperatures. Whilst we don’t expect any at this time of year, it’s good handling practice for the reindeer to make sure we can still catch them whilst they’re out free ranging. In this photo it’s Beret’s turn, but Holy Moley is patiently waiting for her go, anything to be allowed into the white bag! 3rd of March: Can you spot Fiona leading the herd at the front? Meanwhile I’m being “sheep dog” at the back, making sure everybody follows. Vienna and her calf Kulfi are the last two reindeer… as usual!6th of March: Snow again! This time I’m at the front of the herd leading them in to the visit location, whilst Andi is gently encouraging them at the back. Here we have the beautiful Lace and if you look VERY closely you might be able to spot a golden eagle in the sky above the herd! 7th of March: After demolishing lots of hand feed, Pumpkin is in need of a wee rest!7th of March: 99 and Tub, two ten-month-old calves having a play fight!8th of March: What a day!! Popsicle and her mum Caterpillar looking gorgeous in the snow.9th of March: Another cracking blue bird day! Here’s Merida and Beret saying hello,12th of March: Solero chilling out after a Hill Trip whilst people enjoy milling around the herd in the background.13th of March: A very wintery Hill Trip for me and Cameron! This is why we tell people they need full waterproofs and walking boots/wellies at this time of year.14th of March: Moving the herd in a snow storm.14th of March: The morning ritual of allowing the calves to feed out of the bags first, whilst we prevent older reindeer from sneaking in (yes you, Holy Moley).15th of March: Can’t resist including this picture of Lolly (Oatcake’s calf). What a cutie. 18th of March: Leading the herd in to position for the Hill Trip, the fab trio at the front leading the way as always- Lace, Fly and Sika!19th of March: Sorbet, Cornetto and his mum Helsinki posing in the sun!20th of March: What a glorious morning to go retrieve and deposit the herd ready for the Hill Trip!23rd of March: Sisters Suebi and Turtle hanging out together, strong family resemblance between these two! 24th of March: Moving the herd with Hen on a very atmospheric morning. The reindeer were particularly lazy today, they did not come to our call, so we got a great morning work out walking up to them!27th of March: There are a few cows on the hill who are now beginning to grow their antlers for 2023. This is Ryvita who is showing off her wee velvet buds. 28th of March: Morven (currently looking a bit lopsided) and her calf Mochi waiting for the food to be put out.
This year I will endeavor to make the last blog of the month a photo blog with a collection of pictures taken over the month. So here’s some highlights from January! A month when the Centre shuts and we crack on with lots of office work and general maintenance tasks such as painting the Exhibition floor and oiling the Christmas harness. But inevitably, I don’t take any photos of that stuff, so instead it’s just lots of lovely pics of reindeer!
1st of January – the Centre is closed for the day but the reindeer in the enclosure still need feeding so we recruit lots of friends to help carry the load!2nd of January – Sheena and Choc-ice chilling out together after a Hill Trip.7th of January – Arta looking handsome on the winter free range. With older brother Dr Seuss and younger brother Mr Whippy, Arta sometimes gets out-shined by his charismatic siblings but here he is looking fab! 7th of January – talking of the charismatic Dr Seuss, here he is getting bored waiting for his free lunch and using the quadbike as a chin rest!12th of January – Hopscotch (closest to camera) and Pumpkin (on the left) are often the first over each time we call them for lunch.14th of January – Beanie looking gorgeous! 14th of January – Amy and Lotti defending the feed bags from the older reindeer. Only calves are invited in to the bags for a wee bit of preferential feeding!January 15th – Sheena calling the herd over in very wintry conditions.15th of January- Morven and her calf Mochi looking beautiful in the snow.16th of January – more free range fun for Lisette and Lotti. Holy Moley making her presence known right by the feed bags! 16th of January – the four gorgeous Reindeer House dogs – Fraoch, Dug, Tiree and Sookie. They accompany us on most free-range feeding outings, and are trained to lie-down and stay far away so as the reindeer do not see them, until we return to them. 20th of January -two of my favourite things- reindeer and skiing! Fly and Lace leading the whole herd and following in our ski tracks. Nice to see some blue sky.24th of January – no skis required anymore! Mel waiting for the herd to come over – and yes, it’s Hopscotch leading the way again!24th of January- Pip and Turtle – two of our ‘lockdown calves’ from 2020. Hard to believe they’ll be turning three in the spring! 24th of January – Marple teaching her daughter Viennetta the art of cheekiness.27th of January -and finally, to prove we actually do some “proper” work in January here’s Hen cleaning the shop walls ready for a lick of paint!
It’s hopefully common knowledge amongst our reindeer supporters and adopters by now that we have released a charity naked calendar for 2023. Raising money to support our local Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team and over a period of 18 months we braved the weather in all conditions taking off our clothes and posing with the reindeer for 13 pictures to feature. Initially we had planned to sell 500 copies but due to popular demand have sold 750 with a further 300 just ordered and under pressure to sell them before early January!
I had the pleasure (if you can say that) of being the photographer for the calendar, seeing all my friends and colleagues in their birthday suits and helping to put the whole thing together. It wasn’t something I had ever thought I’d be doing when I first came to work here five years ago but we are a quirky bunch, and I wasn’t at all surprised when as a group we decided to go ahead and create a calendar baring all!
Photographer Joe with his favourite reindeer Kipling. The face behind the camera, and the one that belongs to Mr September’s bottom 😉
The Idea
I think the idea came from several of us when our reindeer had featured in The Royal School of Veterinary Studies Charity Naked Calendar in 2020. We got a free copy from them, and the calendar hung proudly in our kitchen for the duration of the year. I guess during this time we became inspired to do one ourselves and celebrating our own 70th year anniversary, it seemed like the perfect time to do such a thing. Raising money for a charity was the second thing to consider and I don’t think we ever looked passed the idea of the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team. The dedicated volunteers involved already do an incredible job in the mountains and all the funding they receive goes back into the service they provide. So, with the idea set and charitable cause in mind, it was time to start taking off our clothes and get the photos!
The Early Stages
When planning how to make the calendar, it seemed only best to take a picture during every month of the year to showcase the reindeer looking different in the various seasons. With this in mind, January was to be the first month and the January of 2021 was particularly cold with temperatures being recorded as low as -18 as well as up to three feet of snow lying at a time. Fiona stepped up to be the driving force and get the calendar going by volunteering to get her picture first and Lotti also paired up to do it together. There was so much snow that it was easier to approach the reindeer by skis and the plan was set to involve these as well. Taking my camera out for the first time to do this I had no idea how to plan the picture or whether my camera should indeed focus on the bums or reindeer. What seemed like a straightforward idea turned out to be harder than first appeared with the reindeer constantly moving, never staying in the same position for more than two seconds. I clicked away taking several different pictures and hoped that one would suffice. January done, only 11 more months to go!
Miss and Miss January! This photo didn’t make the grade but has been used as a promotional picture – it even made it on to the front cover of a German newspaper.
The following few months saw a familiar trend with the reindeer not behaving for the camera, either facing the wrong direction, not interested in what was happening or sometimes we simply couldn’t find them on the free-range. Maybe they too thought it was a strange idea for the herders to stand next to them with no clothes on.
Coming Together
As the months got warmer, not surprisingly we had more herders volunteering to take part in the action. One of the things I noticed was the different ways in which people participated in. Some herders would arrive to the photo shoot with a dressing gown, and we would practice a clothed shot to make sure we were happy. I would then turn around while they removed their gown and we’d be able to get the picture without me seeing too much of them, a rather dignified way of doing such a thing.
Hen and Andi (Miss and Miss October) making sure they’re happy with their poses before baring all. The ever chic Mel (Miss December) in her dressing gown!
Another technique of having their photo taken was to strip off completely starkers baring all and plan a photo pose on the spot. Sometimes I wouldn’t know where to look but there was lots of laughter about the ridiculousness of it all. We had to get quite imaginative towards the end making sure no two pictures or poses were the same. Some photos were taken on the free – range, others in our hill enclosure, woodland and one shot also involved water. The entire team of herders did an amazing job getting their kit off and we managed to feature every member of staff who worked here at the time along with a couple of past herders. I should also say an extra well done to Hen, Lisette and Harry who went out of their comfort zone to feature and Amy, who within her first month or working with us also volunteered to be in the calendar no peer pressure involved!
Ben (Mr February) was unfazed about being in his birthday suit and continued to carry out his reindeer herding duties unclothed. Needless to say the reindeer were also not bothered. Sheena (Miss June) and Sherlock getting ready for the photoshoot in Black Loch. After the photoshoot, Sheena went for a wee swim and Sherlock decided to follow… anything for food!
The Cover Shot
The final picture to take was the cover shot which was also the harshest weather experienced throughout. On a snowy and windy morning, Fiona, Lotti and Ruth took one for the team and shivered away as I tried to fumble with the camera and take a photo. By the time they got their clothes off they could barely feel a thing and the whole experience was very uncomfortable. The reindeer of course were fine. When we got back to the house and the girls had thawed out, we glanced at the photos to see how they looked. Unfortunately, the snowflakes blurred every single picture and none of them were good enough. We went out again a few hours later to repeat the whole freezing ordeal once more (sorry girls!) but thankfully on the second time of asking we got a picture we were happy with and no resulting frost bite.
Joe, Fiona and Lotti (plus dogs) attempting to take the photo for the SECOND time that day! Snow flurry over – Ruth, Fiona and Lotti get into position…
The Finished Calendar
After the final editing tweaks, the calendar had finally been created. It was great to hold a copy for the first time and start selling them in our shop. It wasn’t long until several newspapers got in touch wanting to write a story about the calendar. The Daily Record and a couple of other tabloids did an online piece about us, and our local papers also wrote two stories. We even featured as page 3 models in the Strathspey Herald and also on the cover of German newspaper BILD showing some of our bare bottoms. It’s still all quite surreal that we have created the calendar, everyone is immensely proud of it and couldn’t be happier with how many we have sold so far.
The day the first batch of calendars arrived!!Page 3 models!
For now, I just hope we can sell as many as possible and I can’t wait to see what the final figure will be for the mountain rescue team.
Late summer/autumn is always a very exciting time of the year for a reindeer herder. It’s when we start seeing the cows and calves more regularly after they’ve spent the summer free ranging in the hills.
Each morning we drive up the ski road to Cairngorm Base Station and have a spy for any free ranging reindeer. One morning in mid-September Fiona, Sheena and myself were checking the roads when we spotted a small herd of reindeer. Exciting! Even from a distance we instantly knew there was a calf in the group, and we knew she had to belong to a lovely female called Ochil.
Ochil had a white (leucistic) calf back in May, and even though we had three white calves born this year, the other two were already safely in the enclosure with their mums so it just had to be her – our ID skills of calves from over a hundred metres away are not usually that good!
Ochil and calf Vanilla on the 4th of June – the last time I saw them!
Fiona dropped Sheena and I off to try to get the small herd into the enclosure, whilst she headed back down the hill to carry on with feeding the herd in the enclosure. Mission on!
As we got closer to the herd we were able to identify them all. Three cows (Ochil, Vienna and Roule) and their lovely calves, plus a yearling female called Beanie. I’d not seen any of these reindeer since we let them out to free range back in June, so it was lovely to see them again. They all looked great! The enclosure was about 1.5km away from where we were, across a ridge, over a road, across a burn and up a hill affectionately known by the herders as “Killer Hill”. You can see how our mission unfolded in the following photographs….
Sheena with Ochil on a halter and her leucistic calf following beautifully behind. At this point I had Vienna on a halter with her calf also following very closely behind his mum and me. Beanie (just behind Ochil) was also following beautifully. As a herd animal they generally follow quite merrily (plus Sheena’s white bag contained something particularly tempting!)This is Vienna on a halter about mid-way through the walk over to the enclosure, with Ochil’s white calf Vanilla and Vienna’s grey calf Kulfi not too far away.Beanie following nicely not too far behind us. And what about Roule and her calf?! Well, you can just spot them on the skyline. Roule is an independent lass and couldn’t be persuaded to come into the white bag to have a halter put on, so we left her to it and crossed our fingers she just followed the rest of the herd! She played it very cool – this is about as close as she decided to get to us.Sheena leading Ochil and Vienna with their calves still following well. Just one burn to cross and “Killer Hill” to climb, and we were almost there!Yes!! We got them in to the enclosure! Now just to get them down to the shed. More free ranging reindeer joined us on route, they were waiting for us at the top of “Killer Hill”. 14-year-old Ibex is closest to the camera, who happily followed us in with her two-year-old daughter Flax.Ochil and calf safely in the enclosure.Vienna’s calf also in the enclosure, looking very well after a summer in the mountains. And yes! Roule and her calf Mivvi also followed us in. We weren’t sure if they would until the final moment. She was very reluctant to follow us up “Killer Hill” but after losing sight of her for around 15 minutes she finally decided to follow the others and come in (with a little help from Ibex). Success! Here they are later that afternoon chilling out after a Hill Trip.Beanie later that afternoon on the Hill Trip – clearly not camera shy after a summer spent free ranging.
Here at The Cairngorm Reindeer Centre we are ‘popping the bottles of bubbly’ and celebrating, because it was this day 70 years ago that the first small group of reindeer arrived in the Cairngorms for what would be a successful experiment to re-introduce reindeer to Scotland after many years of absence.
An idea conceived by ‘couple extraordinaire’ Mikel Utsi and his wife Dr Ethel Lindgren, their tenacity and zeal paid off and the first small breeding group actually set foot on terra firma here in the Cairngorms on 27th May 1952.
Mr Utsi holding Sarek, before disembarking MS Sarek at Rothesay Dock, Glasgow, 1952
The first consignment was swiftly followed by a second group of reindeer coming in the following October and finally on 29th April 1954 a third group arrived. These reindeer would form the nucleus of the Cairngorm Reindeer Herd we love and cherish today.
Mikel Utsi was a Swedish Sami, born 17th May 1908 and brought up in a reindeer herding family in Swedish Lapland. As the second child of 8 children he was expected to ‘make his own way in life’, something I think we can all agree he certainly did!
Mikel Utsi fly spraying antlers, Loch Morlich behind.Not much changes on our summer morning today, here’s Hen spraying Bond’s antlers (and getting a beady look in return!) in summer 2021.
His wife Dr Lindgren came from a very different background. Born on 1st January 1905 she was the only child of a wealthy Swedish-American banking family. She travelled extensively as a child with her family, graduated at Cambridge University with a first class honours in oriental languages and moral science and studied and wrote her PhD on reindeer herding people, the Tungus after expeditions to NW Manchuria in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s.
Dr Lindgren with Alice, Anne, Pelle (behind) in 1952
Mr Utsi and Dr Lindgren met in Jokkmokk on the Arctic circle in Swedish Lapland and they married in 1947. They then devoted their lives to their ‘dream’ to re-introduce reindeer to Scotland. And 70 years on that dream has been a huge success, providing enjoyment to many. We have a lot to thank them both for.
Mr Utsi introducing Sarek to three Aviemore school children, 1952Sheena leading a Hill Trip, 2021
The vast majority of reindeer have been born here in the Cairngorms and they descend from original females brought in during the 1950’s. Over a span of 11+ generations, both homebred and imported bulls have been used to ensure genetic diversity in the herd.
Today visitors to the herd, our reindeer support scheme and Christmas events with our trained reindeer are all ways we generate income to help keep this unique herd of reindeer in their natural, free-living environment. We have a dedicated group of ‘Scottish Reindeer Herders’ who are also family and friends and who are involved daily in the well-being and caring of this unique herd.
Vikhta outside Reindeer House, 1962Volunteer Carol, herders Amy, Lotti and Ruth, with Fiona and Sherlock and Tilly and LX posing outside Reindeer House – May 2022.Herders on calf naming night , September 2021
So for me as co-owner of the herd I would like to say a big ‘THANK YOU’ to the late Mikel Utsi and Dr Lindgren for establishing this herd and also to our reindeer herders of today who continue to make this imaginative experiment such a success.
So raise your glass to The Cairngorm Reindeer Herd and may they thrive in the Cairngorms for many years to come.
Free-ranging herd in 1956Happy free-ranging herd, summer 2021
Tilly Smith. Co-owner of the Cairngorm Reindeer
A podcast with Tilly about 70 years of reindeer on the Cairngorms, produced by Pinsharp Studios, can be found here.
At the end of November 2021 the UK was battered by Storm Arwen. It hit us on a very busy weekend with various teams heading off on Christmas tour – Fiona wrote a blog about that which can be found here. We’ve now had many more storms and lots of snowfall this winter, but I thought that I would share some photos of the reindeer and reindeer herders in the snow taken during the first major wintery weekend of the season…
Me (Lotti) and Colin setting off with our team of reindeer to head to Oban Christmas event.Andi performing the very important task of sweet talking Suidhe.Hook, Clouseau and Druid leading the boys over for their breakfast.Ibex and Christie looking majestical! The wonderful Sheena clearing the way up onto Utsi’s bridge to make the walk less treacherous for our visitors! Ben H was new to reindeer herding in November when he started working with us, however he is no stranger to snow clearing having worked as a lifty on Cairngorm mountain in the past! He certainly knows his way around a shovel and a bucket of grit! The herd enjoying their breakfast!And finally, the wonderfully snowy view from Utsi’s bridge!
