Reindeer - The Cairngorm Reindeer Herd

9th January 202630th December 2025

Volunteer Blog: Anna’s Photography

I volunteered with the Cairngorm Reindeer Centre in September from the 22nd to the 26th after being accepted which I was so happy about as I have been a fan of the Centre since moving from England up to the Highlands five years ago. I fell in love with Aviemore and the Cairngorms quite early on and experienced a Hill Trip after my husband surprised me with a reindeer adoption (Dr Seuss) for my birthday and since that I have been on three further Hill Trips in varying weather but particularly enjoyed it in snow.

I love reindeer, I find them fascinating, beautiful, calm, serene and endlessly photogenic plus I have acquired a passion for wildlife in the Highlands from seals, dolphins, whales, deer and to my favourite animal which is the reindeer. I am a very keen hiker and am getting to know more of the Cairngorm hills and mountains as time has gone by and my experience grows, so the combination of being amongst my favourite Highland scenery in addition to helping out with this physically demanding and rewarding role was an absolute must for me.

I am also a photographer who specialises in landscapes, locations, scenery and mountains but not much experience of wildlife so I really wanted to explore how to capture these majestic and friendly animals.

On my first day at the Centre I was struck by the amazing images that have been taken by herders already and that are produced into postcards, calendars and prints in the beautifully presented and stocked shop which only opened earlier this year. I noticed that landscape was the preferred format for a postcard and was inspired to try and produce my own stunning image when I first went out into the Paddocks and then onto one of my many Hill Trips that week. I was blessed with great weather luckily, some lovely blue skies combined with dramatic cloud over the Cairngorm range and plenty of sun too.

Anna’s inspiration to take the perfect photo.

My first attempt was to capture the reindeer in the Paddocks first thing in the morning when the cold breath was visible from their nostrils and the trees surrounding them made the early sunlight more interesting.

My second attempt was when I was up at the top area of the hill enclosure with the other herders tending to a couple of poorly reindeer and while I had a few moments I managed to snap the other reindeer through the fence and a gate, plus an open door of the shed. There was I thinking I was clever and that I’d nailed it I went and showed Fiona back at the Centre, who has taken her own amazing photos over time that have made it on postcards. She told me very nicely that anything interrupting the view of the reindeer does not appeal to the public as they prefer to see the animals in their natural, free habitat without fences etc, great advice which I straight away took on board, even if a little crest fallen…

Tetley and Ryvita shot through the gate into the hill enclosure.

Alba waiting at the entrance to the shed.

On my other Hill Trips once we had done our jobs feeding the reindeer and engaging with the public, answering their questions or taking photos of them with the reindeer near them, I was able to walk around a bit and try to get my own images from that day, depending on which reindeer was still enough or what would strike me as an interesting shot.

I did manage to get a couple of photos through the antlers with a reindeer herder in the background which was a treat and I was very lucky one lovely day when I spotted the most amazing reindeer under the big photogenic tree with Meall a’ Bhuachaille (the hill) behind it and I took a few different pics while it was reaching up to the branches of the tree as if it was a giraffe on the African plains feeding from the high up leaves and then the same reindeer around the base of the tree with beautiful sunlight on it.

Herder Kate and reindeer Peanut taken through Caterpillar’s antlers.

Popsicle under a pine tree with Meall a’ Bhuachaille in the background.

Anna

2nd January 202630th December 2025

Catching up with Charleston and Quickstep

At the end of the summer, we begin to collect our female reindeer off the free range which allows us to give them a check over and start preparing for the rutting (breeding) season in October. How soon the reindeer make their way back to our hill enclosure usually varies per year and this year we were heading into October with two cows and their calves still somewhere out on the free range with very limited sightings of them.

We were close to mid-October when we received a very exciting call about some reindeer being spotted on the free range. Due to it being the rutting season, it meant that us reindeer herders were busy checking on reindeer in our hill enclosure and on Hill Trips meaning there wasn’t really anyone to spare to head out on to the free range. Since we had those two pairs of cows and calves still to be accounted for, we were keen to get out to the group as soon as we can.

The next day, I headed out to where the group was last seen and enjoyed a wonderful search on a quiet area of the mountainside with gorgeous weather. Lucky for me, the group of reindeer that had been seen weren’t that far from where they had last been reported. So, I headed down to them to identify who was there. Initially, I spotted girls that we had seen often through the summer period; Spy is easy to ID from afar as she is aloof and has a stunning set of antlers, Oatcake is another reindeer we had seen recently and is easy to ID on the free range as, as soon as she realizes you have food there is no getting away from her!

Spy has epic antlers and is always fairly suspicious of us!

Oatcake is one of our older girls at 16 and loves the sight of a white bag whilst she’s out free ranging.

I moved closer to the group and noticed a few other younger reindeer like Fab and Mocha, who were both looking great and catching up with the group was made even more special once I had noticed we had a cow and a calf present (a calf who was huge and in great condition). Tap and her calf (now named Charleston) hadn’t been seen for a wee while, which meant that it was great to catch up with them. Tap was also uncharacteristically sociable and was keen to eat the hand feed that I had to offer, she is usually like her sister Spy in nature- very independent!

Now that we knew who was in the herd, I grabbed a few photos and then fed the group in a spot where it would be easy for my fellow herders to find them the following day. Once Tap and Charleston were moved into our enclosure, this just left one cow and calf on the hill side which we hadn’t seen since the start of the summer.

The next day a team of herders went out to catch Tap and her huge son Charleston and brought them back to the hill enclosure.

Fast forward a week, and we were in our hill enclosure walking out to one of our breeding groups who we were due to feed. At this time our free-range reindeer were keeping close to our hill enclosure in hopes of extra food and were right outside the fence line. I personally hadn’t thought much about it as I was focused on how Jimmy (the breeding bull) would react to our arrival and it wasn’t until Fiona took account of the group that we realized our last cow and calf had made their way back to the hill enclosure on their own accord; we weren’t expecting to catch up with Pinto and her calf Quickstep that morning, which was the most welcome of surprises.

Pinto on a halter and her calf Quickstep following just behind.

Quickstep with his lovely white nose walking into the hill enclosure.

I have enjoyed heading out onto the free range a few times over the summer, getting to experience different areas that the reindeer frequent and I am constantly in awe at how much our girls move around during the summer and would love to get an inside view on their knowledge of the hill side, as it is quite common that we do not catch up with reindeer for a few months until they arrive on the door step of our hill enclosure.

Amy

26th December 202523rd December 2025

Photo Blog: December 2025

The last photo blog of the year! I’ve actually been rather rubbish at taking photos this month as it’s just been so busy (and rather dark with the shortest days of the year) but here’s a wee look at some of the pics I’ve taken on my phone over the past few weeks.

Christmas events went well with teams making us all very proud. Hill Trips have been mostly sold old for weeks (well done if you got tickets) and Christmas Fun was mostly sold out too – it’s been great to see so many people enjoying the brand-new Exhibition and folks getting to meet Santa! Meanwhile up on the hill the reindeer have all been well and unaware of the slight frazzled state of the herders down at the Centre.

Enjoy the photos and Merry Christmas! A big thank you to all who have read the blog over the last 12 months.

4th of December: Brie is having a wonderful end to 2025 free ranging in the hills.

4th of December: Another reindeer from the ‘Cheese’ year! Feta is also having a wonderful time out free ranging. She’s grown a cracking set of antlers this year.

5th of December: Ceilidh coming over to see if there is any spare food for her.

9th of December: Tub on a very soggy day.

10th of December: Moving the free ranging herd – easiest way to get them to where we wanted was just to walk up the road! Old girl Ryvita leading the way.

13th of December: The ‘Christmas Fun’ team for the day – Sherlock, Stenoa, Bond, Charleston and Quickstep.

14th of December: Leading a team of reindeer off the hill ready for their event at Landmark – Lupin and Magnum at the front.

15th of December: These boys have all been superstars on Christmas events this season – Jester, Busby and Dr Seuss.

16th of December: Disco and her beautiful mum Dante.

16th of December: Marple and her son Mosh. He’s such a cheeky wee thing!

19th of December: The herd coming in for their breakfast.

23rd of December: Salsa lying down after a Hill Trip.

Ruth

19th December 202516th December 2025

Wee calfie antlers!

With autumn being the season that the calves return to the hill enclosure, along with their mums, it’s always exciting to see them and to start to get to know them as characters. Having spent all summer with males only in the enclosure, it’s suddenly a bit overwhelming to have a sea of ‘new’ reindeer to get to know once again! The calves are the hardest to learn who is who.

Last time we saw them properly, in late spring, they were tiny and heading out to free-range in their calf coats, which are quite different in colouration to an adult reindeer’s coat. By autumn they’ve moulted, grown their new winter coat, and are many times bigger – i.e. they look COMPLETELY different! Other than very obvious colour variation and face markings, their wee antlers are the easiest way to tell them apart. The photo below shows Macchiato at 4 months old, looking about as generic as is possible for a reindeer calf – very average size and shape antlers, along with being very much the ‘normal’ body colour. Difficult to tell one from t’other, looking like this!

So I thought I’d show some of the antler shapes of calves over the years in this blog. The memorable ones tend to be the biggest ones, of which the outright winner – by a country mile – is Gandalf. However, he was born in Sweden, and many of the Swedish calves we’ve imported over the years (to increase our genetic diversity within the herd) have had very big antlers so maybe he should be disqualified my list…

But here’s a photo of Gandalf anyway. Compare those antlers to Macchiato’s in the photo above!

So… my winner for sheer height of antler is Jester, who definitely looked a bit out of proportion as a calf. He’s gone on to grow enormous adult antlers too, though tending towards wider rather than tall.

Some calves have really complex antlers – not quite as tall as Jester’s but more elaborate with several points on each. Examples include:

Murray, born in 2012. Look at that headgear!

Christie (antlers still in velvet here) – exceptional as she is female. As an adult she’s gone on to have very big antlers each year, a family trait inherited from mum Caddis and granny Haze.

Cream – these calf antlers always reminded me of water divining rods!

Duke gets a bonus point for having a forward-pointing tine at the base of one of his calf antlers – perfectly normal in an adult reindeer, but rare in a calf.

Whilst not the biggest calf antlers ever, Fez wins my ‘prettiest’ antlers award. Small and perfectly formed, with several points top and bottom. Beautiful!

But sometimes, it all goes wrong. Calf antlers, being thinner than adult antlers, are easily broken, especially as adult reindeer show no love whatsoever for anyone else’s offspring other than their own, and are all too willing to whack a calf on the head with a hoof should they get in their way. This results in antlers breaking, and this happens whilst the antler is still growing, they will sometimes fuse at the break and the calf is left with a flopped-over broken point.

One of this year’s calves, Lochi, with the classic ‘been-walloped-on-the-head-by-a-hoof’ look.

If this happens early enough in the season, the antler will, once the break is fused and healed, start to grow upright once again from the break. Here’s Fava below, who had managed to break his right hand antler not once but twice, resulting in two downward pointing bits. His antler shows a centimetre of new, upward growth from the break – and then he ran out of time to grow any more!

Antlers broken right at the base can cause a problem with obscuring vision, poor Hopscotch here had to have this disaster (above) sawn off once it had lost all feeling in the autumn, so she could see where she was going!

And sometimes, it all just goes terribly, terribly wrong…

Poor Heinz! Two broken antlers, bound in place to keep them as still as possible, waiting for the vet to arrive.

Holy Moley’s broken antler resulted in a shaved head after the vet had to remove the broken bit right at the base to prevent further damage. Some of you might remember watching her story on our Channel 4 documentary in 2020!

Hen

13th December 202515th December 2025

Learning to ID reindeer

One of the trickiest things to learn when starting out as a herder is telling reindeer apart! With over 150 reindeer in the herd, all with their own name, it can seem a very daunting task. So how do you tell a reindeer apart from all the rest?

Every herder has their own method of identifying reindeer. Most can just take one glance, and due to having spent years with the same reindeer and learning to tell them apart – instantly know who it is. But if you haven’t spent years watching the reindeer grow and change with the seasons, there are a few techniques you can use. Be warned though, you’ll constantly feel like you’re back at square one should you visit us throughout the year and try to recognise your favourite.

I’ll start with the easiest way to tell the reindeer apart – their ear tags. Each of our reindeer are tagged with a group colour and a unique number. The colour changes each year, allowing us to quickly work out how old they are. For example, yellow ear tags are for this year’s yearlings, born in 2024 and all named after hot drinks. Silver ear tags belong to the peas, beans and seeds calves of 2020, making them all five this year, and so on. The number then allows you to straight away know exactly who the reindeer is (orange tag 201 for instance, being the lovely, and very well-known Sherlock). The downside to this method is, you have to memorise over 150 ear tag colours and corresponding numbers…

The more enjoyable method is personalities. All our wonderful reindeers have their own unique quirks and traits. Whether they’re extremely greedy and can always be counted on to be front and centre for our hill trips (I’m talking about you Nile!), or if they have a more reserved character and tend to be the shy contemplator at the end of the feed line. Their personalities shine through and can be a good way for us to tell who’s nearby.

*As chilled as a reindeer can be.* Busby is good at chilling!

Now let’s talk about antlers! From little twigs on top of a calf, to magnificent displays fit for a castle fireplace once a bull has finished with them – antlers can be a great way to tell reindeer apart. After the age of three or four, when a reindeer is fully grown, you can usually count on a reindeer to grow the same set of antlers every year. The shape and size of a reindeer’s antlers is genetically inherited by their parents, and is unique to that reindeer, just like our thumb print (how cool is that?!). there are some factors that can influence this, such as the health of the reindeer, their age, if a male has been castrated or a female is caring for a calf. But generally, you can count on antlers being a very reliable way to identify a reindeer. Until they shed them of course!

Iskrem looking slightly different now the velvet has stripped.

*How many points can you count? That can help you tell who’s who*, in this case, Calippo.

*Some antlers just stand out from the herd!* Sherlock to name one!

So, their antlers are gone, and you didn’t study your list of ear tag numbers – now what do you do? Well now you have the not so fun task that no body would possibly want to do… get up close and personal with 150 cute and fuzzy faces! The longer you look at the reindeer, the more obvious the differences in their coat and face markings and the shape of their bodies becomes. With an odd white reindeer here and a brown face with a white speckled nose there, you quickly begin to use markings and patterns to learn who’s who.

*Such a tough job, studying the cute face of Lochi.*

*A darker nose and a large blade antler, you must be… Kernel.*

*A pink nose with brown splotches, who might you be?*… Spartan!

But don’t forget those changing seasons… The reindeer you think you learnt in winter are likely to be all brown by summer. So, maybe you should get memorising those ear tag numbers after all.

Daisy

5th December 20255th December 2025

Christie

Now and again it’s nice to do a blog about specific reindeer, either as a way of getting their name out there because maybe they aren’t so well known or maybe they are well known and it’s a nice way to highlight how important they have been within our herd over the years. I think Christie is pretty well known and certainly not a background reindeer. She has been a great ambassador for a family of reindeer within our herd who have always been prominent.

Her mother was Caddis who was a great big female reindeer. Christie was born in 2017 and her younger brother is Sherlock, who I’m sure lots of you have heard of. Christie was the biggest of her year in 2017 and she grew an amazing set of calf antlers with numerous points. Calf antlers usually just go straight up like twigs. She also has a beautiful speckled white face and when she’s in her summer coat going into the autumn she looks at her absolute best!

Christie as a new born calf with her mum Caddis looking over her.

Caddis in the foreground with Christie behind as a calf – early 2018.

Christie with her very impressive antlers for a calf, and her mum Caddis having a snooze together on a beautiful winter’s day.

One year old Christie with her second set of antlers in September 2018 – you can just see she’s beginning to strip the velvet.

She started breeding at 3 years old so had her first calf in 2020. Unfortunately, she lost that calf while out on the summer free range. We never knew what happened, but she went on to have five great big sons thereafter! Akubra (born in 2021), Gelato (2022), Colorado (2023), Espresso (2024) and this spring Haka (2025).

She’s certainly got a name for herself raising some of our biggest male calves each year but also coming in herself with great big antlers and in cracking condition. We do try to give cows a year off from breeding, but Christie keeps delivering the goods. Maybe next year! Sadly, we lost Gelato suddenly this summer after a digestive illness, but he won’t be forgotten – his brothers look very similar to him!

Christie with newest member of the family – Haka. Still suckling in the snow! November 2025.

Once upon a time I’d say she was quite a shy reindeer so it’s taken a few years to really get to know her properly. Her mother was so tame and bold as well as extremely greedy. I’d say Christie enjoys her food but would never be pushy for it. Sherlock, her brother, certainly followed their mothers footsteps in being extremely greedy and pushy at feeding time. It’s funny how different they can be even though they are closely related.

Christie’s gorgeous freckly nose in her summer coat.

Christie’s younger brother Sherlock (in August 2023) – a well-known member of the herd.

Christie is 8 years old now and one of our lovely mature females in the herd. We’re looking forward to the next few years and hopefully she can retire gracefully in the not too distant future! It would be great if she has a female calf in the next few years and the legacy is continued as she’s certainly done her mother proud!

Fiona

28th November 202527th November 2025

Photo Blog: November 2025

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!

Ruth

21st November 202530th October 2025

Volunteer Blog: Kathy’s Week in September 2025

Busby posing beautifully under a rainbow.

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.

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.

Spotting some free rangers on the skyline.

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.

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….

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…..

Kathy

14th November 202514th November 2025

Glacée

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 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 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…

Ruth

7th November 202522nd October 2025

Reindeer Artwork on Postage Stamps.

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.

*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.

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 20^th 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.

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*.

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.

Lotti