Not just for Christmas

Reindeer are in their element in winter in general and at Christmas in particular. Hayley Fletcher travelled to the Cairngorms to meet Scotland's free roaming herd

Of the thousands of people who visit the barren slopes of the Cairngorm mountains to ski, trek and climb, few would dispute that it is just about the coldest place in Britain.

Yet it is precisely because of such extreme temperatures that the lower slopes have become a permanent home to the United Kingdom's only free-ranging herd of reindeer.

The herd was first introduced to Scotland by Mikel Utsi, who had spent much of his early life herding reindeer in the arctic tundra, his homeland in northern Sweden.

He moved to England following the Second World War (in which he was awarded the Freedom Medal), and whilst on a visit to the Cairngorms he was reminded of the reindeer pastures of his youth.

With the knowledge that reindeer had been unsuccessfully introduced to Scotland in the late 18th century, Utsi knew that to establish and maintain a living, breeding herd would be a challenge.

Finding that the region was rich in both lichen and mosses – food sources vital to the reindeer diet – Utsi pressed on with his dream, bolstered by his belief that reindeer could also provide an excellent alternative source of meat in post-war Britain.

In 1952 through sheer determination, patience with governmental ‘red tape' and a passion for his animals, his plans came to fruition.

Of transporting the eight mountain reindeer from Sweden, Utsi wrote:

“Sarek, the wise, mysterious reindeer ox born on Mount Sarek's slopes in Arctic Sweden, was three years old when he came with me on th...

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• By : Hayley Fletcher
• In : Outdoor Scotland
• Issue : 12
• Page : 36
• Words : 1,398