November has whizzed by. Even more so because I took a week off at the beginning of the month. Don’t worry though, this blog has just as many photos in as normal!
When I left at the end of October the rut was still underway for a couple of our breeding bulls. On my return the rut was well and truly over, and sleigh training had started! One reason I love this job is that every season is different with new things happening every few weeks.
Hopefully you’ll enjoy this snapshot of November. The snowy days were some of my favourites!
13th of November: Morven with her crazy curly antlers!13th of November: I’ve only just noticed Beanie and Quickstep (Pinto’s calf) have matching coloured hooves!13th of November: Sleigh training on a soggy afternoon in Glenmore. Kulfi and Jester at the back.14th of November: Kulfi and Jester in the Paddocks. Kulfi drinking from the burn that flows through their night-time (off show) enclosure.14th of November: Six-month-old Jig looking handsome! He’s Chickpea’s calf.14th of November: Beautiful Beret on a cold morning.14th of November: Salsa and her mum Sundae behind. 15th of November: My first Christmas event of the season in Buckie. The team were amazing. 17th of November: I helped out on a photoshoot trying to get the reindeer into position for two models. Kernel, Zoom and Dr Seuss were very obliging… if food was on the cards!18th of November: Reindeer on the ski road! A regular sight at this time of year. 18th of November: Sanna and Tiree keeping me warm in the lorry.18th of November: Sleigh training in the snow! Zoom pulling for the very first time alongside Mivvi. 20th of November: Snow has arrived!! Alba looking amazing. 20th of November: Florence leading the herd through the snow. 20th of November: More snowy reindeer – they’re all so stunning. This is Popsicle closest to camera and Cheer behind. 20th of November: Vanilla camouflaged for the first time since last winter!21st of November: Haka suckling from his mum Christie. 21st of November: Another white reindeer in the snow! This time six-month-old Morris.22nd of November: Patchy snow on the hill this morning after a warmer spell. This is Oro who potentially has the best tuft of all calves this year. He belongs to Emmental. 22nd of November: Sorbet and daughter Ballet sharing a pile of food. 27th of November: Cicero patiently waiting for breakfast.27th of November: Some of this year’s gorgeous calves Bolero, Waltz, Lochi, and Foxtrot’s nose!
September 2025 was a month of ‘firsts’ for me…my first solo road trip, my first holiday in Scotland and my first time meeting a reindeer…
It was also my first time as a volunteer reindeer herder and it was Earl Grey who peered at me through the pine trees as I entered the Paddock with Lotti – my first, rather beautiful, slightly curious, white-nosed reindeer!
Lotti was showing me around and demonstrating the poo picking technique to me. Poo picking is a regular feature of the life of a volunteer and not only is an essential task to maintain the Paddocks, but also is a relaxing way to spend the first hour of the morning…the birds twittering around you, an occasional red squirrel, a few ducks clearing up stray food and the reindeer waiting patiently to be fed.
Kathy’s poo picking equipment!
There were plenty of jobs to be done in between trips – mixing feed, sweeping floors, keeping the outside areas presentable, cleaning wellies, clearing up inside….. Each of these jobs done by a volunteer means that a herder has more time to spend on herd management or administration of the herd records and the adoption programme.
Was I fit enough for the role? Not really …I puffed up the hills on the Hill Trips…but I managed, and the team made sure I was ok. I was able to choose how active I wanted to be and felt empowered to fill my day the way that I chose. I chose the Hill Trips as often as I could. The day to day life on the hills is so different to my usual routine, and by the end of the week I noted how differently I felt about myself and my life. I was proud of my strong shoulders and legs; I appreciated the feel of wind through my hair and rain on my face; I hadn’t once worried about what I was going to wear or how I looked; and my use of social media had reduced…well, perhaps not much, but my Instagram feed just featured cute reindeer faces, passing on the joy to my family and friends, who feared they had lost me forever to the Cairngorms.
The Hill Trips are just a small part of what the herders do and while they are telling visitors about the reindeer, they are also observing the herd for signs of illness or counting the herd to see if anyone has been missing for too long.
And when the visitors have gone, the herders spring into action, coordinating their movements through a never ending stream of WhatsApp chat. One herder might have to do a long trek to locate some free rangers, another may have to harness a couple of deer to be swapped to the Paddock for a few days, and a small team may be needed to round up the herd for regular worming treatment.
Magnum looking smart in his short coat. Kathy and Busby. Spotting some free rangers on the skyline.Looking down at the hill enclosure.
One day Lotti asked if I’d like to help bring a couple of reindeer down the hill for a short stint in the Paddocks. And handed me the lead! The joy of me leading a gently plodding Jester was captured by Daisy as we crossed Utsi’s Bridge. Jester was very willing to follow me… most of the time. And in less than a week I was leading Cowboy down. He responded well to a teeny wobble of the lead and the occasional encouragement from Andi behind.
Kathy with Cicero. Reindeer herders Lotti and Caz with Kathy.
One day I sat on the hill while a couple of the herders were tending to a calf. As I looked at the incredible view, an entire rainbow emerged and I felt quite overwhelmed – I couldn’t believe where I was and what I was doing. I felt a warm breath on my neck. It was Magnum. He touched me gently with his antlers and circled me. I know that he was probably just checking to see if I had some food, or maybe he thought I was a tree to help strip his velvet…but his appearance at that moment will be a memory I treasure. If I had a favourite….
Enjoying one of many rainbows.Kathy and rainbow!Kathy and Magnum behind.
Most evenings I was too pooped to do much more than put on my pjs and watch a film, but one evening I was invited to join the team and family at Reindeer House for the calf naming ceremony. The new calves were 3 months old and were to be named on a dance theme this year…and so, over a feast of nachos, brownies and chocolate-covered satsumas (absolutely delicious) the A4 page of names was whittled down to a handful that suited the pretty little creatures. Boogie and Morris and Haka…Rumba and Foxtrot and Mosh…Each matched to their personalities or named in a pattern that fitted with their parent.
The week I spent with the team at Cairngorm Reindeer will stay with me forever. The team are amazing and I feel privileged to have seen first hand the care they give the reindeer.
On the morning that I left Aviemore, I took a coffee and croissant to the side of Loch Morlich. I listened to Radio 6 and texted Lauren Laverne to say how appropriate her choice of “Enjoy Yourself (It’s Later Than You Think)’ by Prince Buster was, as I’d just completed a week of volunteering with the reindeer herders. “Kathy…please write a book” was Lauren’s on-air response. Well, perhaps this is Chapter One…..
It’s nice to do a blog about an individual reindeer every now and again. Naturally it often ends up being an older reindeer, or someone with bags of in-your-face character. However this week’s blog is all about a three year old female called Glacée who up until recently didn’t really stand out in the herd that much.
Glacée looking pretty epic in September 2025.
Glacée was born in 2022 and her mum, Dante, happens to be a reindeer who I have a big soft spot for. Dante is mega! She’s a big girl, who grows large antlers. She has an independent nature, she’s not super greedy or pushy but if we work with her gently, she’s reliable and catchable. In 2022, Dante had her second daughter, who later was named Glacée. (As of 2025 Dante now has four daughters – Mangetout, Glacée, Amazon and a new calf for 2025 named Disco!).
Dante and Glacée as a calf in the hill enclosure before going out to free range.
As usual, Glacée was born in the hill enclosure and after a few weeks, she and Dante headed for the hills. By the end of August it was time to bring them both back into the hill enclosure so we could start getting wee Glacée used to visitors, teach her what a bag of food is, and train her to walk on a halter.
We found Dante and Glacée in an area quite far away from the hill enclosure, too far away to simply walk them back in. However, we couldn’t get anywhere near Glacée to catch her, she was a very timid calf. So, us herders took it in turns to go out and feed Dante with the intention of slowly getting Glacée used to being around us so we could get close enough to catch her. What a chore – getting to walk in a beautiful area to find and chill out with two lovely reindeer! After a few trips out to see them both, Dante decided she would actually just bring herself home, and one morning we found her on the ‘ski road’ here on Cairngorm, where Fiona simply walked them in! They spent the autumn in the hill enclosure where Glacée quickly grew in confidence around people.
Glacée as a four month old calf enjoying being out free ranging in the hills. This was taken on one of my missions to make her tamer so we could catch her and bring her home.Glacée and her mum Dante in December 2022. Now a friendly wee lass, growing in confidence.Glacée back out free ranging in the early 2023.
As a yearling and a two year old, Glacée blended into the background a bit. She is ‘normal coloured’ and grows nice but relatively simple antlers. She had an independent streak so wasn’t super ‘in-your-face’ greedy but she always remained reliable when catching her out.
Glacée at the front of the herd in March 2024, at almost two years old.
In May 2025, aged three years old, Glacée had her first calf – a wee girl who we later named Ceilidh! Just like her three years earlier, Ceilidh was born within the hill enclosure and spent the summer out free ranging. Glacée and her calf came back into the enclosure in late August. This process was slightly easier than when Glacée herself was a calf as they were in walking distance from the enclosure and Lotti and Mel had a wonderful morning bringing them home.
Glacée’s new born calf – what a cutie!Glacée and Ceilidh on the free range in June 2025.At the end of July 2025 they both have changed a lot.Glacée and Ceilidh back in the hill enclosure in September and already getting quite bold.
Since Glacée has been back in the enclosure we’ve noticed a real change in her behaviour – she has turned into a complete beast! She’s got bags of attitude and confidence and spends a lot of her time chasing other reindeer around, including some older girls I was quite surprised to see her dominating. This can be quite distracting whilst trying to give a talk to our Hill Trip visitors, with her charging around in the background! She certainly like her own space! She’s only three years old so it will be interesting to see how she develops over the next few years. I can imagine her being one of the big dominant cows in the herd. Time will tell…
Recently, when researching something else, I came across series of beautiful, Mongolian, postage stamps highlighting the Tsaatan people’s lifestyle throughout different seasons. After a quick Google I found loads of other beautiful stamps from many different reindeer herding nations across the world. I thought people might enjoy having a look through some of the beautiful reindeer artwork displayed on some of the stamps.
Mongolian postage stamps:
The Mongolian stamps that I found portray images of the Tsaatan people (also known as the Dhuka), a group of indigenous, nomadic reindeer herders who live in the depths of the Taiga in northern Mongolia. The Tsaatan are one of the few indigenous reindeer herders who ride their reindeer.
Mongolian stamp showing an image of a Tsaatan camp.Mongolian stamp showing an image of Tsaatan schoolchildren riding their reindeer.Mongolian stamp showing an image of Tsaatan migration.
I also found this much older Mongolian stamp from 1961. Note how it also shows reindeer being ridden.
Mongolian stamp from 1961.
Norwegian postage stamps:
I found a whole range of Norwegian postage stamps from this first one from 1914 advertising Norwegian trips (Norwegenfahrten) with a particular shipping company along with some others with beautiful illustrations.
Norwegenfahrten (Norwegian Trips).Norge Noreg.Tromso by post.Norwegian stamp from 1963 showing a reindeer.
Russian postage stamps:
Russia is home to many indigenous reindeer herders from the Sami who inhabit the Kola peninsula in the northwest of Russia, to the Chukchi who live in the northeastern part of Siberia (with many other indigenous herders living in between). I found just a few Russian stamps showing reindeer including one showing reindeer racing.
Russian stamp – Reindeer racing.Russian stamp – Reindeer and calf.
South Georgian postage stamps:
For about 100 years, reindeer resided in South Georgia and this is reflected in some of their stamps. The reindeer were introduced in the early 20th century as a food source for whalers. After the end of whaling with the lack of humans or predators the number of reindeer increased to the point there were too many for the land, so the decision was made to eradicate the south Georgian reindeer between 2013 and 2015.
Stamp from South Georgia.
Falklands postage stamps:
In 2001 a group of roughly 50 reindeer were translocated from South Georgia to the Falkland Islands and some of their stamps in the years following celebrate the reindeer through the different seasons.
Falkland Islands – Reindeer in Winter.Falkland Islands – Reindeer feeding on tussock grass.Falkland Islands – bull in the rut.
USA postage stamps:
North America is home to the Caribou which is the same species as reindeer, but haven’t been domesticated. They are found in Canada and Alaska. Here they are celebrated in this beautiful stamp.
