A man has been taken to hospital after being gored by a reindeer in the Cairngorms.

The attack was the second on a hillwalker in the area on the same day.

Both incidents took place near the Reindeer Centre at Glenmore, which is home to a 100-strong herd of the animals.

A spokeswoman said it had not experienced any such problems in the past.

Reindeer were reintroduced 50 years ago

Male reindeer, which are known as bulls, had not previously been thought to pose a threat to humans.

The first incident took place on Saturday morning above the Coire Caes car park.

It is believed that the bull thought it was being threatened when the animal and its herd of females encountered a group of hillwalkers.

The bull charged and slightly injured a male walker before his companions scared away the animal.

Police said it was possible that the same animal was involved in the attack on Saturday afternoon.

Underwent surgery

Two brothers were out walking in the same area when a bull charged one of them and gored his right leg.

The injured walker was taken by RAF helicopter to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, where he underwent surgery.

A police spokesman said no further details were available on the incidents.

Allan and Tilly Smith, who run the UK's only reindeer herd, were not available for comment.

Their firm sends out teams of reindeer in horseboxes for Christmas promotion work across the country.

However, no incidents have been reported involving the Reindeer Company in the past.

Rutting season

The attacks took place in the middle of the rutting season.

Male reindeer are no longer dominant after they shed their antlers following the autumn rut.

Female reindeer sprout antlers in winter to protect their vital feeding grounds from the bulls.

Reindeer became extinct in the UK about 8,000 years ago, but were reintroduced to the Cairngorms in 1952.

The herd was taken over by the Smiths 24 years ago.