Baby Blue becomes first reindeer born in England since Ice Age

By Daily Mail Reporter

Blue, weighing 8lb, is the son of mother Prancer and father Rudolph. The calf is the first reindeer to be born to a small herd located in a 750-acre Cornwall estate


Meet Blue, the baby son of proud parents Prancer and Rudolph and believed to the first reindeer born in England for 10,000 years.

The 8lb calf was born to a small herd located in a 750-acre Cornwall estate.

While reindeer existed in Britain during the last Ice Age 10,000 years ago they gradually retreated north and disappeared from these shores as the climate warmed up. Now they are only found in Scandinavia, Russia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland.

The five females and male in the grounds of the Trevarno Estate near Helston were brought over from Scandinavia two years ago as part of Christmas celebrations taking place in the grounds.

They have since acclimatised to their new surroundings and 8lb Blue - named after the estate's bluebell fields - was born on May 1.
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The tiny deer edges along between one of the handlers on the estate and his mother Prancer


However Blue might not be the youngest for long as a further three calves are expected later this month.

Reindeer handler Ellie Pearce said: 'It was incredibly exciting waiting for the first birth. I arrived in one morning and there he was on the hay looking absolutely beautiful.

'Since then he's put on a pound a day and he's become incredibly friendly and inquisitive.

'He can actually outrun me already but he doesn't tend to stray far from his mother as she is very protective.'

The calf, which currently stands at little over a 1ft tall, is being fed by his mother but is already developing a taste for grazing in a specially designed pen.

He will soon be introduced to the rest of the herd and allowed to gaze in front of visitors to the 750-acre estate which dates back to 1246 and houses 70 acres of historic gardens as well as the National Museum of Gardening.

Trevarno's general manager Richard Cox said: 'We're obviously delighted with the new addition. He really is a gorgeous little fellow and everyone here has fallen in love with him.'

The only place where reindeer roam wild in Britain is in the Cairngorms in Scotland, where they were brought over from Scandinavia in the 1950s.


source: dailymail