A herd of reindeer in a mountainous landscape

Reindeer were only successfully reintroduced into Britain in 1952, although previous attempts had been made over the preceeding two centuries by various landowners in the North of England. Indigenous reindeer had not existed in England for about 850 years and had been hunted to extinction in Scotland in the 13th Century. It seems most likely that Howitt would have taken his inspiration from a print or book illustration. He was fascinated by exotic animals and is known to have studied the animals in the Menagerie at the Tower or London.