Who's an endearing little chap, then? Baby Blue becomes first reindeer born in England since Ice Age
He won’t be much use to Santa until he’s tall enough to see over the bluebells.
But already, this reindeer calf is a very important little fellow.
Blue is thought to be the first reindeer born in England for more than 2,000 years.
His father Rudolph and mother Prancer – yes, really – live on the Trevarno Estate near Helston, Cornwall.
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
The tiny deer edges along between one of the handlers on the estate and his mother Prancer
DEER SPECIES AND THE UK
Reindeer are widespread in Lapland and Scandinavia but are not indigenous to the UK although they existed here at the end of the last Ice Age 10,000
years ago.
Our two principal indigenous species are roe and red deer. There are a further four species which have begun to populate the countryside over the last 1,000 years and these are fallow, sika, muntjac and Chinese water deer.
Fallow deer were introduced by the Romans and then reintroduced by the Normans when they arrived in 1066.
The other three species were brought over by zoos and aristocrats for their country estates but eventually escaped.
They arrived as part of a small herd imported from Scandinavia which was set free on the 750-acre estate in 2008 to make Christmas feel more authentic for tourists.
Though the climate is not ideal for them, they seem more than happy enough to breed.
Blue was born on May 1 weighing 8lb and was quickly joined by a second calf from another mother.
Two more are expected this month, bringing the total at Trevarno to 14.
Blue, who was named after the estate’s bluebell fields, is just one foot tall and still sticks close to mother.
But Ellie Pearce, the estate’s reindeer expert, said: ‘He’s become incredibly friendly and inquisitive.’
The only place where reindeer roam wild in Britain is in the Cairngorms in Scotland, where they were reintroduced in the 1950s.
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.
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However Blue might not be the youngest for long as a further three calves are expected later this month.
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.
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.'
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