Reindeer

 

Reindeer

Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The first time I saw reindeer I was so surprised at the size of them. I had expected them to be much larger, probably because of childhood years imagining them pulling a sleigh through the cold midnight skies. They range from 85 cms (2' 8") for a female to 150 cms (4' 9")for a male at the shoulder.

As we approach Christmas Eve, the traditional time for spotting flying reindeer, I looked more closely at these lovely creatures. Wild herds once roamed freely across Scotland until the 13^th century but were hunted to extinction.

There is a free-ranging reindeer herd of around 150 animals in the Cairngorms National Park. The deer were introduced to Scotland in 1954 by a Swedish Sami reindeer herder, Mikel Utsi.

With their built-in snowshoes, which are effective on snow, but less so on ice, these beautiful animals have eyes that adjust to the harsh light reflected from snow. Reindeer are the only deer in which females can grow antlers and the shape and style of the antlers varies in different subspecies.

They may not have red noses but they do have many blood vessels in their noses which ensure that their brains are constantly supplied with warm blood to keep them active.

The following short video clip explains a little more about their lives.

https://youtu.be/pKRIm_-RvA0?si=xqUl1U1C88Ub0eAB