Cairngorms reindeer's are UK's only free-ranging herd
24.12.2023 - 18:47
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
The free-ranging reindeer based in the Cairngorms are the only herd in the UK.
The animals were introduced to the area in 1952 after reindeers totally vanished from Britain after being hunted to extinction in the 13th century.
However, Mikel Utsi and his wife, Dr. Ethel Lindgren, looked over the Cairngorms in 1952, and saw what they believed to be the only area capable of sustaining a population of reindeer. Both knew that while plenty of historic records mentioned reindeer inhabiting the forest of ancient Britain, their local climate had changed significantly since then, reports Aberdeen Live.
The Cairngorm Reindeer site explained how on April 12, 1952, Mr Utsi "brought some of [his] Swedish mountain reindeer to Scotland as an experiment, to show that they could live and breed in these surroundings."
They were brought to Scotland on the Swedish vessel S. S. Sarek and spent their first 28 days in quarantine at Edinburgh Zoo before finally being taken to the Cairngorms.
This initial herd consisted of just two bulls and five cows, but eighteen more reindeer joined them in the years that followed. Not everyone was reportedly happy about having a reindeer herd in the region and at first, the animals had the graze in an area known as Moormore as experts deduced whether their presence would affect nearby tree growth.
In 1954, the Forestry Commission allowed 1,100 acres on Airgod-meall (Silver-Mount) to be allocated to the herd, where they continue to inhabit to this day.
The deer thrived in the area, attracting a great deal of public interest and drawing thousands to what would one day become Scotland's first national park. By the 1960s, herders had mastered crowd control in the form of their 11am trip, which began to be