First reindeer calf of 2019 born on Cairngorm Mountain

Among the heather of the Cairngorms, a little reindeer calf finds its feet as mum watches on.
The first-time mum gave birth on the Cairngorm Mountain on Wednesday. PIC: Cairngorm Reindeer Centre.The first-time mum gave birth on the Cairngorm Mountain on Wednesday. PIC: Cairngorm Reindeer Centre.
The first-time mum gave birth on the Cairngorm Mountain on Wednesday. PIC: Cairngorm Reindeer Centre.

Pictured is one of three calves born on Cairngorm Mountain in the past two days.

The calf, which has yet to be named, was born on Wednesday morning by staff from the Cairngorm Reindeer Centre. It was one of two delivered yesterday with another born on Tuesday.

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The expectant mums, who are pregnant for seven-and-a-half-months- live in the centre's 12,000- acre enclosure with the reindeers giving birth naturally on the hill.

Fiona Smith, manager of the Cairngorm Reindeer Centre, which manages a herd of around 150 reindeer, said: "The calves are very sweet, you forget how much until you see a new one."

The calves are let out on the free range with their mothers during the summer months.

"We don't feed them unless we see them and we might go out a few times a month just to check how they are getting on. It is quite a big process between being born and reaching five to six months. We don't name them until September. It is really about survival of the fittest as nature takes its course."