Do you have a question about this product? Email us now



When you become one of Rudolf's Friends you are not only helping to support the only herd of Reindeer in Britain but will also receive a beautifully presented red foil gift pack which contains lots of goodies and a personalised certificate (on receipt of the registration card).

Gift Pack Includes:

A fully personalised certificate

Welcome Letter

A cuddly reindeer

History of the Cairngorm Reindeer Herd

Two pages of Reindeer facts

Photos of the Cairngorm Reindeer Herd, contact details etc.

A pre-paid registration card

A membership card valid for 12 months

A voucher which allows one free entry to the centre

History and Information

The Cairngorm Reindeer Herd were reintroduced from North Sweden by a Swedish reindeer herder, Mikel Utsi. On visiting the Highlands in 1947 he realised that they were full of all the food a reindeer needed such as ground, rock and tree lichens, vegetation little used by the other native animals. He brought some of his Swedish mountain reindeer to Scotland in 1952 as an experiment to show that they could live and breed happily in those surroundings. Since then the herd have enjoyed living a free and natural life in the Cairngorm Mountains ranging on around 6000 acres of hill ground, always staying above the treeline at between 450m and 1250m. All of the reindeer in the herd have names and their carers can recognise them all by sight.

The Cairngorm reindeer descend from domesticated stock so they are unique in the way they are so friendly and at ease with people while still living free and wild. The herd originally only lived in the Cairngorms but because of problems with straying, dog worrying and litter ingestion the herd numbers were never able to exceed 70. In 1990 a second site was found for part of the herd on the Glenlivet Estate by Tomintoul and the happiness and wellbeing of the herd was greatly improved when part of the herd was moved to this new site. Since then the numbers in the herd have increased to around 150 and they have all benefited from this change. The number in the herd is kept at a constant level by controlled breeding but since the herd was established several hundred reindeer have been born in Scotland.

The reindeer live out on the open hillside all year round so visitors to the herd will be able to encounter them in their natural environment. There are paddocks at the centre itself where a small group of reindeer and any reindeer who need particular attention, such as extra feeding after an illness, may be staying.

The main carers of the herd are Alan and Tilly Smith. Alan has been with the reindeer since 1978 when he was appointed head reindeer keeper by Mikel Utsi. Following Mikel Utsi's death in 1979 Alan continued to look after the reindeer, and in 1981 Tilly joined him as a summer volunteer at the centre and has never left. They took over complete running of the herd in 1989 and are aided by a small team of helpers.