Tag: Hobnob

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Volunteer Blog: Emm’s is Back! March 2026 – Part 1

The first few minutes of my stint working in March started with a bang! Daisy Kate and I got in the reindeer van to go to the hill enclosure. As Daisy drove away she forgot the drain pipe was on the ground outside Reindeer House and she drove over it and there was a loud bang and it sounded like the van floor was coming out. Daisy said “oh, no, we haven’t started well and this is going to go in Emm’s blog.” Lol. Well it has Daisy but I know you are the blog wrangler now and that it might be edited out. Lol.

Editors note: I could never cut anything from your blogs Emm. But I think what we should really be asking ourselves is who put that drain there in the first place?!…

Foxtrot, just as excited as the rest of us to have Emm back!

In March, the reindeer are normally free-ranging and we do hill visits on the free-range. When I got there, the reindeer were in the hill enclosure. The reason for that they were having their vaccinations. I helped in the shed in the hill enclosure by being a helpful set of hands, holding things. Every reindeer had their temperature done too. The reindeer who were there and who are normally free-ranging on the Cairngorms at this time of year are the females and the 10-month-old calves. 

Arta, Earl Grey and Hobnob in the handling pen of our reindeer shed.

After the vaccinations, I went with Kate to Tilly’s farm. On the way we passed Kate’s house so she could quickly grab her lunch for work she had forgotton. I met her lovely cat called Kenji. We had our lunch in Tilly’s farmhouse, and I saw Tuva, Tilly’s lovely Border Terrier. We then went to the reindeer who were at the farm who were mainly males but a few females too and herded them into the shed. The female reindeer and the 10-month-old calves were being vaccinated and with the male reindeer having their temperature done. I helped by putting headcollars on them and holding them. They were all so good. I saw my 2 adopted reindeer called Scully and Zoom. I even saw Scully’s 10-month-old calf called Rumba. It was really nice seeing them all. With Kate we took the reindeer onto the hill area on the farm and fed them.

Feeding the male reindeer at the farm.

Tilly showed us the sheep and we went to get some food for the pigs which was barley and then Tilly fed the pigs and showed them to us. Some of the pigs had 1 month old piglets who were so cute. We filled some water containers for the pig’s water. The next job was to fill some bags with sugarbeet, an ingredient we use in the reindeer food mix, and put the bags into the back of the reindeer van. Whilst we were filling up the sugarbeet bags in the barn, the Red Deer who were in there were very interested in what we were doing and one was putting its head through the fence to try to get some. It was great to see all the different animals as well as the reindeer at the farm and we got around the farm on a quad bike which Tilly drove which was very exciting!

The lovely piglets at the farm.

The next morning, the reindeer were still in the hill enclosure. They stayed in there for a few days so we could keep an eye on them. I led them to a different part of the hill enclosure and called them. Andi and Amy herded them from the back. They were at the top ridge of the hill enclosure when we got there. We called them down and fed them their breakfast.

On the last day of the reindeer being in the hill enclosure, we did the hill trip at the very top of the top corridor in the hill enclosure. It was the first time I have ever done a trip in the top corridor. It was so windy and cold. After the hill trip, Andi and Kate and I sent the reindeer back on to the free-range. It was so lovely to see how excited they were as they went back into the hills.

Seeing the females back onto the free-range.

I wrote about Vienna in my last blog when I was up in October from my last visit. She was feeling sad and not wanting to interact with us and the other reindeer and wanted to be alone and not be in the herd. The vet was keeping an eye on her. But I am so glad to say she is much better and happier and back to her normal self now.

In the paddocks next to the new reindeer centre, a lot had changed since my last visit. Santa’s bothy with a log burner inside was up and running. There was a new fence up in the paddocks and a new stone wall plus a new big wooden reindeer with Roman’s antlers on it’s head! Very impressive.

We were getting the paddocks ready for an open day for the local businesses around the area planned for the weekend. I helped my herding friends by doing some landscaping in the paddocks with them. They brought me woodchip to spread across the bottom area of the paddocks and did lots of runs from trailer whilst I raked the new woodchip across the bottom area. I felt very proud of myself because I had never done this before. I also picked up twigs, stones and rocks from the ground and helped by building a cairn putting soil and mud into the new stone wall. The herders put some more fencing up in the paddocks and we moved things from the paddocks and tidied things away.

The new woodchip looking lovely in the paddock – fantastic job from Emm and the team.

The reindeer were back on the free range which is very exciting. They can wander anywhere with no fences holding them back. Fiona, Daisy and I went to find the reindeer to bring them down to the nearest visit spot. They were near the footpath so we called them and they jumped over a burn and came wandering over to us. It was very exciting because there was lots of snow. It was so special seeing the reindeer in the snow, seeing their adaptions working in their natural weather and environment. Some of them walked in a line stepping in the same footprints to save energy just like me, Daisy and Fiona. We gave them their breakfast. In some places the snow was knee deep and I fell in two snow holes and Daisy got the evidence on video! Even more snow was falling too.

Waltz leading the herd in the snow on a wintery morning.

A little later, with Amy and Alicia, I did another hill visit in the snow. People were in awe of the reindeer in the snow and it was so lovely to see their faces as they were so happy to see the reindeer in their natural environment. It continued to snow hard so I had ski googles just in case there was a blizzard. Alicia went to find a missing walkie talkie leaving me and Amy talking to people on the hill visit. Amy then led some of the visitors off the hill to the footpath as they were unsure where to go and I stayed with the reindeer in the snow.

Hobnob keeping Emm company in the beautiful snowy hills.

When Amy got back, we began to move the reindeer to a different spot. Amy led and called them and I herded them from the back. The reindeer were being so slow. Each time they would move and then stop. I kept going up and down herding them trying not to fall in snow holes and bogs again! The reindeer were all spread out by this time as we took them up and over a hill and then down a very steep slope. I followed by sliding down it on my bottom on the snow in my waterproof trousers, like a slide. It was great fun. When I told Amy what I did afterwards, she said “that’s what waterproof trousers are for”.

There was a burn to cross at the bottom and the reindeer jumped over it and then it was my turn. I managed to jump over it without incident then up the very steep slope on the other side, across the ski road and then up another hill. The reindeer were still being slow and some of the reindeer were trying to go to the left (the wrong way) so Alicia came as back up for me. Alicia led Christie and Ryvita on head collars with both Amy and I herding at the back like sheep dogs. Christie and Ryvita did their job leading the reindeer to the top of the next hill with Alicia and we then fed them while Alicia went to get the reindeer van.

At this stage Fiona called Amy  to make sure we were ok and it had just turned 3 o’clock. We had been herding them for 2 hours and it was way past our lunchtime. Time flies when you are having fun! We went back to the Reindeer Centre and had our lunch and Amy surprised me with the star herders’ badge for doing so well. I felt very proud of myself.

Emm repping the badge given to star herders!

Stay tuned for the part 2 of Emm’s March visit, coming soon!…

Emm

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Choosing Reindeer Names

As most readers know, we name reindeer on a theme each year. For example, in recent years we’ve had ‘Teas and Coffees’, ‘Rivers of the World’, and ‘Ice Creams and Lollies’ to name just a few. This old blog goes into the themes themselves a lot more.

The majority of the time the calves are given a name within the given theme more or less at random. There’s hundreds of examples of this but to give you one – in 2022 Caterpillar (‘Bugs and Beasties’) had a female calf that we called Popsicle (‘Ice Creams and Lollies’) for no reason other than it fitted the theme and we thought it a suitable name for a sweet female calf.

But sometimes we try to be a bit clever, linking names within the theme to their mother or other family member. This can help us remember who is related to who… or just confuse us completely!

Often, we use an alliteration, for example Brie (‘Cheeses’), had a calf who we named Beret (‘Hats’), who went on to have a calf called Brew (‘Teas and Coffees’). You’ll also notice a French link between Brie and Beret!

Beret and her mum Brie free ranging on Cairngorm. An alliteration and a French link.
Beret in 2024, with her daughter who we later named Brew.

Gazelle (‘Horned and Antlered Animals’), now aged 17, is long retired from breeding. She has three surviving sons whose names all begin with an ‘A’ – Aztec (‘Ancient Civilisations’), Athens (‘European Places’), and Adzuki (‘Seeds, Peas, and Beans’).

Aztec – one of the greediest reindeer in the herd. A trait inherited from his mum Gazelle. He tends to grow quite small antlers.
Athens, also very greedy, who tends to grow very wide antlers.
Adzuki, perhaps the least food-obsessed of the three brothers, who tends to grow very tall antlers.

Emmental (‘Cheeses’) has been a great breeding female over the years – all her offspring have names beginning with vowels just like her – for example Olmec (‘Ancient Civilisations’), Iskrem (‘Ice Creams and Lollies’), and Ob (‘Rivers of the World’).

Emmental and her son Iskrem enjoying the free range.
Ob and older brother Iskrem, both with matching white noses.

Sadly, we lost old girl Ibex (‘Horned and Antlered Animals’) in the spring at a grand old age of nearly 17. She had a female calf in 2020 who we named Flax (‘Seeds, Peas, and Beans’) as both their names ended with the letter ‘x’.

Ibex and Flax, mother and daughter, out free ranging together.

Flax has gone on to have three calves so far, her first in 2023 we named Nile (‘Rivers of the World’), the second in 2024 we named Camomile (‘Teas and Coffees’) and the third was another male born this spring. All going well, he’ll get named in early September, so we’ll see if we select a name that rhymes with his older siblings!

Flax and Camomile.
Nile, big brother to Camomile.

Pagan (‘Ancient Civilisations’) was a notorious reindeer in our herd who sadly died very suddenly and unexpectedly in 2023. We were all incredibly fond of her despite her bossiness – she was a real character. We managed to name all of her offspring on a Halloween/witchy theme as best we could. Pumpkin (‘Seeds, Beans, and Peas’), Witch (‘Hats’), Zap (‘Ice Creams and Lollies’), and we named Pagan’s last calf who we hand-reared Winnie. Winnie’s name doesn’t fit the theme that year because she had to be named before the theme was even selected but we went for Winnie (or Winifred), after the witch.

Zap – Pagan’s son looking a bit scruffy during the moult. This was the most ‘witchy’ ice cream name we could come up with. We imagined a witch’s wand might make a zapping sound when used!
Winnie’s gorgeous nose.

Sometimes the link can be a little more intellectual, surprising I know! Suebi (‘Ancient Civilisations’) had twins in 2023. Her female twin was hand-reared from the age of just three days old (alongside Winnie) and therefore was given the name Alba long before the theme was even chosen. However, the male twin was named in the ‘River of the Worlds’ theme. The Suebi people were a large and powerful group in the Roman era. They originated on the river Elbe, in what is now north east Germany – so this was the perfect name for Suebi’s son. We think the names Alba and Elbe also go very well together.

Suebi and her twins – May 2023.

And finally, sometimes the link is just a bit silly! Hobnob (‘Cakes, Biscuits, and Biscuits’) had a calf in 2020 when the theme was ‘Seeds, Peas, and Beans’.  We named her female calf Mushy, after mushy peas. Why did we select the name Mushy for Hobnob’s calf you may ask? Simply because if you dunk a hobnob into a cup of tea, it goes mushy.

Hobnob and her daughter Mushy.

Ruth

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Photo Blog: April 2025

April has been a glorious month! The first half of it was wall-to-wall sunshine for what felt like weeks on end. The reindeer were on the move quite a lot so it meant some big walks getting them each morning keeping us all fit. By the middle of the month we brought some of our (hopefully) pregnant reindeer into the enclosure so it’s been a busy time with reindeer everywhere: on the free range, in the enclosure, in the Paddocks, and of course over with Tilly at the farm. The Paddocks was very busy during the holidays with visitors and even though the Exhibition isn’t ready yet we’ve got a wee quiz for kids, lots of information boards to read, and of course four beautiful reindeer on display! Hopefully everybody who visited had an enjoyable time.

Very excitedly we’ve also had our first calf of the season!! A lovely wee boy who is doing incredibly well. Hopefully the May photo blog will be packed full of calves!

5th of April: Solero is looking fantastic at the moment. She’s in excellent condition and is just beginning to grow her antlers.
5th of April: Whilst customers are allowed to bring dogs into the shop in the new Centre, staff have to keep dogs next door at Reindeer House. This is Elsie and Ginger waiting patiently for us at 5pm telling us it’s time to go home!
6th of April: Winnie leading the free ranging herd.
7th of April: Feta and her son Earl Grey looking great on a beautiful spring day.
9th of April: Lotti and I had a wonderful morning retrieving the free roaming herd. They were quite high up, above the cloud.
9th of April: Almost three-year-old Lolly and her mum Oatcake hanging out together.
9th of April: Moving the herd down to the Hill Trip location. This photo makes me laugh! Unfortunately I didn’t notice the photo-bomber until afterwards and my ID isn’t good enough to work out who it is.
9th of April: Sherlock and his ridiculous antlers! He looks like he should be in June, not April, with the size of those antlers!
10th of April: Lapsang relaxing after a Hill Trip.
10th of April: Shannon cooling her feet down in a bog.
12th of April: Scully has spent the winter free ranging at our second site. She’s now back in the enclosure and is in excellent condition.
14th of April: Colorado is a going to be two on the 1st of May. He’s a very handsome boy!
15th of April: Amazon is such a beauty! She will turn two on the 3rd of May.
16th of April: Turtle coming in to say hello and see what’s in my white bag! She can be a little fiesty so I wasn’t entirely sure whether she was about to tell me off or not – on this occasion she didn’t thankfully!
18th of April: Hopscotch and Juniper eating from the same pile of food – mother and her almost 5 year old daughter!
23rd of April: Dante looking beautiful and just beginning to grow his antlers.
24th of April: Sheena and I caught up with some of the free rangers. This is Nuii leading the way.
24th of April: Sika looking great for almost 17, and Hobnob behind will be 16.
25th of April: Fab being inquisitive.
25th of April: Two brothers, Espresso and Colorado, hanging out together.
28th of April: The first calf of the year!! Already very bold and coming over to say hello to Lotti!
29th of April: Mississippi and her mum Holy Moley came into the enclosure by themselves to check in, after being out free ranging in the hills. Always a joy to see the free rangers wander in!
30th of April: Sorbet, Vanilla, and Hopscotch on another beautiful day!

Ruth

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The Old Girls

All of the reindeer in our herd are great, of course. But the reindeer we usually shout about are the big breeding bulls, the sweet little calves, a trusty Christmas reindeer or a female who stands out from the rest. In today’s blog I’m going to chat about some of our old girls. They have bred some wonderful calves over the years and guided the herd around the vast Cairngorm Mountains teaching the younger females along the way. Now they are too old to breed so now they live their life on the free range for about 90% of the year as there is no reason for them to be in our mountain enclosure which we use for management purposes such as calving or the rutting season. The 10% they do come into our enclosure is for routine vaccines and check-ups.

These old girls are: Fern (aged 17), Sika (16), Sambar (16), Gazelle (16), Ibex (16), Pavlova (15), Oatcake (15), Ryvita (15) and Hobnob (15). Although they don’t look quite as spritely as they did a few years ago, equally, they don’t look like they’re going anywhere in the near future.

Fern – September 2024. Look at all that yummy lichen beneath her feet. She knows all the best grazing spots in the hills. Officially the oldest reindeer in the herd.
Sika was in our enclosure for a short while in the autumn. Here she is licking her lips at the sight of a white bag! She’s very shy, but in more recent years has discovered what a white bag contains, although she remains one of the few reindeer who are uncatchable whilst out in the hills!
Sika leading the free range herd in April 2024 – what a life!
Catching up with Sambar whilst she free ranges in August 2024. She’s a sweet-natured lass and it’s always a joy to see her!
Cameron on a retrieval mission – bringing home 16 year olds Gazelle and Ibex. They’re looking good for old girls and have moulted most of their old winter coats and are in their short summer coats.
Gazelle in September 2024 – looking very smart and in good condition. She’s the mother of 3 of our wonderful ‘Christmas reindeer’ – Aztec, Athens, and Adzuki!
Ibex also looking fab in September 2024! She is a granny of Nile and Camomile thanks to daughter Flax.
Hobnob and daughter Mushy – January 2024. Hobnob is a mother and granny, so her good gentics are in the herd for hopefully many years to come.
Sika and Hobnob in December 2024, free ranging together.
Oatcake in January 2024. We’re hoping Oatcake may become a granny in the spring, thanks to her daughter Lolly! Fingers crossed.
Pavlova in January 2024, look at her epic antlers!
Pavlova in May 2012 being followed by her newborn calf who we later named Torch. Torch is a fantastic mum thanks to Torch’s son Morse, who we used as a breeding bull, Pavlova’s genetics will live on in our herd! Torch’s daughter Sunflower is now also a breeding female too.

The oldest reindeer we’ve ever had in the herd got to 19 years old and Fern is only 4 months from her 18th birthday so she’s doing amazingly. She’s such a sweet old lady and a firm favourite amongst us herders. Then there are 4 others hot on her heels at only 1 year younger. 2008 must have been a pretty special year with strong genetics to have this many getting to such a good age. Then we have 2009 when we named the reindeer after cakes biscuits and puddings and we still have four females from that year. Ryvita recently has been acting granny as a couple of months ago she landed herself with a small herd of young females who where on the free range with her but I’m sure she kept them all in check. She was certainly boss, and quite right too!

Ryvita being Ryvita in December 2024, breaking into our feed bag!
Old girl Ryvita with a herd of younsters including Solero, Shannon, and Mochi.

Considering reindeer live on average 12-14 years these cows are doing just great! I always think if a reindeer gets to over 10 years old they are doing well as they live such a harsh life especially in the middle of winter. Winters in Scotland aren’t quite as harsh as those across the world where other reindeer herds live so I suspect as a result we have a higher average age in our herd.

So cheers to the old girls in our herd. What a wonderful bunch of reindeer you are and thanks for being the role models to the youngsters following in your hoof prints.

A special mention goes to the lovely Okapi, who sadly passed away recently. She got to 16 years old and spent the vast majority of her life free roaming in the hills. She was always delighted to see a feed bag and was one of our reliable girls we could always catch out and help us move the free ranging reindeer around. She’ll be missed!

Fiona

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Amy’s Photo Blog

Much to Ruth’s despair I am not the best herder when it come to taking pictures of our days on the hill and I most often forget! So, I’ve accumulated a blog of some pictures that I’ve snapped over the last year and will have to apologise in advance as the reindeer sometimes aren’t the main focus.

10th January 2024 – Sheena and Ruth on the winter free range looking towards the Northern Corries (waiting for reindeer) where we enjoyed the most beautiful winter sun.
Borlotti on the same day (10th of January).
Morven again on the same day, it was a good un!

As some of you guys will know through the winter our Hill Trips head out to see the reindeer whilst they’re out on the mountains “free ranging” and part of our job in the morning is to hike out to the herd and move them closer so our visitors don’t have to walk as far. Here’s a few pictures from a couple of those outings.

Over this week, the reindeer were frequenting the same spot so there were a few mornings we walked out to the same spot looking for the herd. Moments before the first image, Ruth and I were at a loss as we were sure that we should have been in the spot that the reindeer were meant to be and still couldn’t see them.

Retrieval mission of the free rangers for the Hill Trip. I was amazed here at how comfortable the reindeer were on such a steep icy slope in crazy winds – 8th of March 2024.
Free range retrieval mission for the Hill Trip – Merida walking towards the camera – 13th March 2024.

There is quite a large jump now to the next picture which was taken in August. During the end of the summer, we keep an eye out for cows and calves that are coming down off the mountain after free ranging. The next picture was taken whilst we were moving a small group closer to our hill enclosure.

15th August 2024 – Cows and calves are returning from the summer free range like Flax and Camomile here.
It’s not all about reindeer we try to get creative for birthday cards too! Ginger posing to be incorporated in Sheena’s birthday – 25th of August 2024.

At the end of the summer, we also try to catch up with the older cows too, who often are found in smaller groups. During this “free range” mission I was able to catch up with retirees Hobnob and Fern.

28th of August – Hobnob looking good with lots of lichen beneath her feet!
28th of August – Fern, the current oldest reindeer in our herd at 16.5 years old!

Kernel was one of the first bulls to strip his velvet which was a gruesome sight. In the second picture you can see Kernel and Jimmy having a ‘play’ spar with freshly stripped antlers. You can also see how quickly the velvet falls off the antlers as the first picture was taken in the morning and the second on the afternoon Hill Trip of the same day.

31st of August – Kernel beginning to strip the velvet.
Later the same day – Kernel and Jimmy sparring mid Hill Trip.
1st of September – Enjoying some time with the dream team Alba and Winnie after one of our Hill Trips. Here’s Winnie looking lovely as ever.
1st of September – and here’s Alba with a mucky nose!
5th of September – Holy Moley in the process of stripping her velvet and has decided to accessorise.
12th of September – Like mother, like son. Helsinki and Irish enjoying a snooze after one of our Hill Trips.
14th of September – I headed out to see if any other cows and calves had joined up with a group of females that we were monitoring out on the free range, and found Florence and her son, Cuppa. They were the last pair to come back into our enclosure after free ranging.
11th of October – The rut has started, and we have Kernel here with some of his girls. At the front is Glacée.

Amy

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Photo blog: February 2023

It’s the last blog of the month, so here we have a selection of photos I’ve taken during February. The early part of the month was all about crossing jobs off the to-do list ready for us to re-open to the public on the 11th of February for the busy half-term holidays. The second part of the month has been all about locating the reindeer and moving the herd into a suitable position for our Hill Trips each morning, the Hill Trips themselves, and afternoon talks in the Paddocks. Plus all the usual shop and office work. As always, the holidays are over in a blur, but here are some photos of our beautiful reindeer, giving a small taster of February for you all.

6th of February – Mushy and her mum Hobnob looking alike. This pair are never too far apart.
6th of February – Feta posing beautifully!
7th of February – Andi doing a absolutely superb job of introducing our lovely reindeer to our followers on a Facebook live video.
8th of February – almost 16-year-old Fly leading the herd.
8th of February – Lotti and the white bag being followed by three old girls – Okapi, Lace and Sika.
11th of February – Open day!! These are our beautiful reindeer selected to be in the Paddocks for a short spell over February half-term. From left to right we have Pip, Camembert, Fern, and Florence.
12th of February – being “sheep dog” at the back of the herd whilst Hen leads them from the front. Moving the herd in place for the 11am Hill Trip.
12th of February – Beret posing beautifully, hard to believe she’ll be two in the spring!
13th of February – what a lovely day for a Hill Trip! Walking along at the back of our excited visitors.
13th of February – Beanie, being Beanie!
15th of February – acting sheep dog again. A windy and wet morning to retrieve the herd and deposit them in the right place for our visitors.
20th of February – Gelato, Christie’s calf, being cute.
20th of February – leading the herd to the correct location just in time! We made it to the visit location at bang on 11am, giving us 10 mins to spare before the Hill Trip arrived. I had the trusty white bag over my shoulder for bribery at the front of the herd and Lisette is “sheep dog” at the back in the red jacket.
20th of February – Paddock swap day! Pip, Camembert, Fern, and Florence went back in the hill, and were replaced with (from left to right) Kipling and her calf Tub, Feta and Hopscotch. They’ll spend the next 7 days in the Paddocks before heading back up the hill after the holidays are over.
21st of February – my favourite part of a Hill Trip – watching our visitors peacefully mingling with the herd after the hectic hand feeding session if over!
21st of February – a close up of Fly’s head. She cast her antlers earlier in the winter and has already developed velvety pads. Spring is coming!
21st of February – Suidhe just checking in with her calf Solero.
22nd of February – snow again! Rocket and his mum Gloriana.
22nd of February – Morven on the left with her two daughters Pinto and calf Mochi!

A final point – if you are wondering where all the young bulls and Christmas reindeer are in the photos, they spend the winter free ranging in a different herd that Tilly and other colleagues at the farm mostly look after. I’ve not been to visit them myself this month hence why it’s just photos of our beautiful girls and some male calves that you’ll find in this month’s blog.

Ruth

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Mini-me Reindeer

Like any new reindeer herder, when I first started in May 2017 I quickly had to learn lots of reindeer names. A daunting task when we have around 150 in the herd! But it is very important as knowing their names means we can look after their welfare better by spotting when somebody is acting unusually and learning how best to handle each and every reindeer. Each reindeer is an individual with their own personality quirks, just like us humans!

Learning all their names can be very daunting to begin with!

I would frequently ask for help from Fiona, Hen and Andi in particular. “Who’s this one again?!”… most of the time they would give me very helpful clues and tips, so I slowly began to learn subtle markings or personality traits. For example, Oatcake has a white ‘O’ above her right eye, Feta has a short face, Wapiti is missing the very tops of her ears, and if you just see a reindeer bottom walking away from you it could well be Enya!

But sometimes they would say “oh they just look so like their mother/father/granny/sibling”. I used to find this very unhelpful! I don’t know their mum!! But, a few years down the line, I am finding I’m doing this myself. So, here’s a blog with a very small selection of some of our lovely reindeer who I think look very similar to a relative.

Beret and her mum Brie – both have white noses, similar antler shape and are both small in stature! August 2021.
Beret and Brie again in their winter coats – still confusing me in January 2023!
Soon to be 15 year old Sika on the left and her almost 4 year old daughter Bordeaux on the right in January 2023. Both have exactly the same facial expression when stood near a herder with a white bag.
I think mum Hobnob and daughter Mushy have very similar head shapes – December 2021.
Hobnob and Mushy also cast their right antler in sync – January 2022.
It’s something about their eyes and head shape but Peanut and mum Roule look very similar to me. February 2022.
Roule on the right, and her daughter Peanut on the left.
It’s not just the girls! Poirot and his son Sunny have very similar facial expressions and I can’t help but seeing Poirot in young Sunny sometimes! October 2022.

There’s plenty more but perhaps I’ll save that for another blog in the future.

Ruth

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Sleeping Reindeer

Following on from the blog last week, with lots of silly photos of reindeer yawning (click here to see that) I thought I’d post a blog show-casing the various sleeping postures of reindeer!

It does seem like the perfect time to post this blog as with the busy Christmas season now over, and the Reindeer Centre shutting on Monday the 9th of January until Saturday the 11th of February, most reindeer herders are generally looking in need of a decent sleep too!

So, for no other reason than hopefully to make a few folk smile, here comes lots of photos of snoozing reindeer…

Here’s the loveable Celt (mid-moult) sleeping directly on his nose. A popular sleeping posture for many reindeer! July 2021.
An arty picture of Stenoa, also having a kip on his snozzle – October 2021.
This is Clouseau demonstrating the curled in a ball method of sleeping, right next to a visitor’s feet – July 2022.
Here’s Kipling in the ball position – March 2022.
Hobnob is using the ball technique in December 2022 during a blizzard.
During a Christmas event in Langholm, December 2021, Bond opted for the ball technique.
Another sleeping position is with a head on one side and an antler flat on the ground. Dr Seuss is displaying this beautifully here – September 2022.
Here’s Spartan demonstrating the head on one side technique – August 2021.
Busby found a nice comfy tussock here to use as a pillow – December 2021.
Dr Seuss snoozing again, this time using a mossy pillow to make sure he’s extra comfortable – October 2021.
Another position is the completely flat-out, and in this case soaking up as much sun as possible! Here is Texel and her calf (now named 99) in early June 2022.
Busby in the middle of this group of dozing reindeer is also displaying the flat-out method! Meanwhile, his mum Hopscotch (closet to the camera) is choosing to sleep on her nose. December 2022.
Sunny often used the flat-out method in our kitchen by the washing machine – May 2022.
At an event in Aberfeldy, Sunny opted for the flat out method again, whilst his team mates are mostly using the ball strategy! December 2022.
Legs out with a head curled back was Sunny’s preferred napping choice here – July 2022.
Morse (closest to the camera) is also choosing the legs out, head curled back method for his post-Hill Trip nap in this picture. Meanwhile, Spider (middle) is in the ball position and Spartan (back) is on his chin – August 2021.
And the grand finale – my ultimate snoozy reindeer photo! Topi having a wee nap on Fiona’s shoulder mid-parade on Christmas Day 2017.

Ruth

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Naming Themes

It is now officially calving season!! As I write this blog it is the last day of April, and we already have two new calves in our ranks. All the calves will be named in September, as is always the case. In fact, every Cairngorm reindeer has a name, and this follows a designated theme each year. Whilst we have not yet decided on the theme for the 2022 calves, we will often be asked about previous themes. In this blog I’ll describe previous themes. Feel free to leave your ideas for themes in our comments section.

2021: Hats (blue coloured tag) – e.g., Fez, Sombrero, Trilby.

2020: Peas, seeds & beans (grey) – Chickpea, Mushy, Sunflower.

2019: European cities & towns (brown) – Berlin, Kiruna, Florence.

2018: Detectives, inspectors & spies (orange) – Marple, Bond, Poirot.

2017: Poets & authors (hot pink) – Dr. Seuss, Kipling, Christie.

2016: Ancient civilizations (green) – Spartan, Celt, Inca.

2015: Scottish hill races (white) – Ochil, Morven, Scolty.

2014: Bays, seas & oceans (purple) – none remaining alive.

2013: Cheeses (yellow) – Brie, Camembert, Feta.

2012: The year ‘2012’ was the theme (black) – Olympic, Diamond, Torch.

2011: Games & pastimes (red) – Jenga, Scrabble, Origami.

2010: Bugs & beasties (blue) – Caterpillar, Spider, Ladybird.

2009: Cakes, puddings & desserts (pink) – Strudel, Pavlova, Hobnob.

2008: Antlered & horned animals (orange) – Moose, Gazelle, Ibex.

2007: A theme centred around all things ‘Green’ (green) – Fern, Fly.

2006: Popstars (silver) – Elvis, Enya, Lulu.

2005: Countries (yellow) – Malawi.

Three white-nosed reindeer: Beanie (2021), Dr Seuss (2017) and Spartan (2016).
Fly named in 2007’s “green things” theme – so she’s named after a greenfly!
Jester (2021), Ochil (2015), and Feta (2013).
Oatcake (2009) and Scully (from the X-Files, 2018).
Okapi and Addax – both named after other “horned or antlered animals” (2008).
Mum and daughter pair, Hobnob (2009) and Mushy (2020). Sometimes we try to be clever and match the calf’s name with his or her mum’s name. In this cash Mushy (named after mushy peas) was linked to Hobnob (the cakes and biscuits year), because hobnobs go mushy when you dip them in tea!

So, there you have it, that is a list of the naming themes (with the corresponding tag colour and some examples of reindeer names) that are currently in circulation with our reindeer. Now, when you visit again you may have a better idea of how old the reindeer you are feeding may be. Although, as you can see, some colours are repeated which can cause confusion. For example, if you see an orange tag, you may not know if this reindeer was born in 2008 or 2017. Well, each reindeer also has a number on their tag and this number corresponds to the reindeer name on our systems. It is a legal requirement to have a tag on any animal that is transported within the U.K., so we’ve made it work for us with specific colours and numbers that help us identify the reindeer if required.

Juniper (2020) showing off her grey ear-tag.

It is worth noting that we also have just under 10 male reindeer still with us that were born in Sweden between the years of 2009 and 2011 and brought to Scotland to provide new genetics for our herd. These older boys were named individually and not within a theme. Spike, Caesar, Houdini, Bovril, and Hook are some examples of these boys’ names, and they have a range of numbers and colours in their ear tags.

Bovril (photo from 2020) was used as a breeding bull here on Cairngorm for several years after being imported from Sweden in 2011. He was named by Fiona, just because she likes the name!

It is not just ‘the Swedes’ that have names that don’t fit into a theme. Occasionally we will get reindeer where a nickname from early on in their life appears to stick and stay with the reindeer. Holy Moley, our television superstar, had such an eventful initial few days to her life that one herder exclaimed ‘holy moley!’ after being informed of events (she fell down a hole in a boulder field). Svalbard is another example. He was supposed to be called Meccano to fit in with the 2011 naming theme of Games & pastimes, but that name never stuck due to him looking incredibly alike a Svalbard reindeer (small and dumpy). Hamish is a final example of being an exception to the naming rule. Hamish was born in 2010 and unfortunately wasn’t being fed by his mother. This led to him being bottle-fed by the herders for the first part of his life so that he could grow into a big, strong Scottish reindeer and as such was given a big, strong Scottish name…Hamish.

Hamish in 2019 – still a big strong reindeer and character in our herd.

Previous themes, prior to 2005, yielded some great names. We have been naming the reindeer after a theme since 1971. It has gotten to the point where a lot of the more obvious themes have been chosen by now. Some examples of previous themes are: Musical instruments & genres (2000), Colours (1999), Sweets & chocolate bars (1998), Fruits & nuts (1992), Wines & whiskies (1991), Herbs & spices (1988), Scottish islands (1987), Fish (1984), Trees (1982 & 1971), Mountains (1980), Weather (1975 & 1996), and Birds (1972). Before 1971, Mr. Utsi and Dr. Lindgren (the original owners of the Cairngorm Reindeer Herd) named the male reindeer after Scottish places (e.g., Aviemore) and the female reindeer had human names (e.g., Mary).

If you have ever visited the Paddocks and Exhibition you may have noticed the timeline of naming themes, starting in 1971.

In our office we have a folder with naming theme suggestions collected throughout the years. I have just had a look through it and some of the suggested themes are: Vegetables, Ice creams & lollies, Mushrooms & toadstools, Condiments & spreads, Indian foods, Teas & coffees, Cocktails (as you can see, we enjoy our food and drink here), Disney side-kick characters, Mountain ranges, Sea creatures, Gods & goddesses, Rivers of the world, and Dances. Who knows what themes 2022 and beyond will bring? Once we decide, the theme and each reindeer name are revealed to adopters in the autumn newsletter.

Ben

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What’s in a name?

People who see our photos on social media without knowing much about us must wonder why some of our reindeer have such strange names. Where’s Dasher and Dancer? Prancer and Vixen? And Rudolph??? Where on earth have ‘Pavlova’, ‘Caterpillar’ and ‘Clouseau’ come from?!

Santa’s lesser known reindeer: Hopscotch, Kipling and Hobnob???

We’ve been naming the reindeer on a theme each year since the early 70s. As well as making life a bit easier for us coming up with 15 – 30 brand new names each year (where would you start otherwise?!), it has a very practical application in that it helps us remember the individual age of each reindeer, based on their moniker. For farmers naming animals is often done using words starting with a certain letter of the alphabet each year, but different themes is our chosen method.

Up until the early 70s Mr Utsi named his reindeer mainly just with human names, both English and Swedish in origin. However, in 1971, the calves were instead given names of different trees, such as Spruce, Larch and Alder. In 1972 it was birds: Raven, Wren and Hawk. And Tit (teehee).

Themes need to be chosen to have enough ‘good’ names; those not too long, not too complicated, not double-barrelled and either unisex or enough names suitable for a rough 50:50 split of male and female names within the theme. This rules out some ideas pretty quickly.

Camembert – no prizes for guessing her naming theme!

Over the years however, all the ‘obvious’ themes have now been done. Rivers; Butterflies; Countries; Sweeties – we’ve been there and done that. We do our best to never reuse a name as each reindeer is their own character and we feel they deserve an individual name, but also because it can cause confusion on the database if there’s more than one of the same. We do accidentally slip up however – I’m well aware that both Juniper and Frost in the herd are not the first of their kind. I think Lady holds the record – the Lady that I knew when I first started here turned out to be Lady the Third when I looked closely at the database…

So now we have to think outside the box, hence our slightly off-the-wall themes of later years. This year the calves are named after ‘Seeds, Peas and Beans’. We did ‘Police and Detectives’ recently. And before that ‘Ancient Civilisations’.

To an extent we try not to use themes that are too commercial, hence ‘car makes’ or ‘football clubs’ aren’t options. Something else we don’t do, or not nowadays at least, is to allow other people to name reindeer in our herd. This is quite a popular request, and most often comes from people wishing to name a reindeer in memory of someone in their family who really loved visiting the reindeer, or had some special connection with the herd for one reason or another. While this would seem a lovely tribute, sadly reindeer don’t live forever and we don’t want people to be too invested in a certain reindeer, only for it to pass away unexpectedly. Sod’s law is a big factor here – allow someone to name a reindeer in this manner and you can almost guarantee it will be the one to pop it’s clogs a week later… However, we like to accommodate people if possible, so we have in the past, in exceptional circumstances, allowed someone else to choose the theme (from a shortlist). We did it this year in fact – ‘Seeds, Peas and Beans’ was chosen in memory of a gentleman to whom gardening had been a very important part of his life.

While all the staff here are involved in naming the calves each year, the Smith family, who own the reindeer herd, have the final say in all names. And themes they don’t like won’t make the grade. Hence don’t bother asking us if ‘Game of Thrones’ will ever be the theme – I can tell you right now that it won’t. I did make a bid for ‘Sean’ for this years’ theme (think about it) but sadly it was out-ruled.

Just a gang of detectives… Sherlock, Poirot and Morse

Of course there end up being lots of exceptions to the rules and reindeer often end up with really random names, but I think some details of these can wait till a future blog (which I’ve now written!).

Hen

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