AILO (reindeers in Lapland.)

AILO

The herd of deer must walk a long journey to get to the valley to give birth to their young. but Ailo's mother couldn't wait any longer; she left the herd to give birth to Ailo. lot's of pressure came to Ailo's mother over not being able to look after him. So, as soon as Ailo was born, she went. An eagle came  swooping nearby and Ailo's mother changed her mind, going back to care for Ailo until he was old enough.

The next morning Ailo woke up, his first encounter apart from his mother, a squirrel. The forests is full of dangerous predators, fortunately the squirrel is not one of them. Ailo's mother soon left for the open, Ailo following. They followed the tracks of the herd

Ailo was born only three days ago, and so every step was a challenge, especially for Ailo, having short stubby legs, walking in high snow. After some time of walking, a small river presented a new challenge, though Ailo is not one to give up. Through a bit of a struggle, ailo made it to the other side and went on following his mother.

The herds tracks have disappeared through the days of snowing, fortunately Ailo's mother knew the way by heart, so they continued. They walked to the top of a steep hill, in sight the valley. They walked down, but where is the heard? They waited some time and finally at last they were here. Ailo now had a family, and  some friends and as soon as the herd was to leave they would all be one. but until then they still have to struggle against the cold.

So far it has been three days in the valley, the herd has started to leave. Spring has come, and the herd is looking for new territory. They walk on, hours passing by like minutes, night falls the herd goes to sleep. Ailo and the herd are woken up by a large roaring sound, a huge tree devouring machine approaches. The herd escapes, walking on tired through the night and day but must continue.

It has been a few weeks since the herd left the valley, Ailo is curious but must be careful because there are wolverines and arctic foxes. Luckily the arctic foxes don't hunt yet, they are pups and must stay with their mother to learn.

It is finally summer in Lapland, ailo is older, his coat has darkened and he has finally started growing antlers. Things are looking good so far, he is with the herd and its a nice summers day. Ailo encounters a mosquitos for the first time. They were buzzing all around his ears and he hated it, so he ran and ended up downhill into a river and on the other side, away from the herd. He  tried getting back to the herd  but it was slippery, so again Ailo was alone and lost from the herd for a long time.

Ailo has been on  his own for a while now and is surviving. By know the herd has already left for the high lands. unfortunately, the arctic foxes are already  in the highlands so the herd has to be carefully.

It is autumn and Ailo is still alone in the lowlands where mosquitos are. The herd is now in the highlands and protected from mosquitos, though not from predators so they have to be careful. Ailo is currently 5 months old. His antlers are bigger than before, though Ailo is not an adult.

Mating season is coming up. Males hold up competitions and fight. One day when Ailo is an adult and has bigger antlers, when mating season comes along he can join the tournaments too but for now Ailo is just a child. Ailo has finally caught up with the herd and continues with them, walking on. Ailo is still learning and getting stronger, but so are other predators.

Wolves use techniques for hunting passed on from generation to generation to perfection.        the wolves are secretly following the reindeer to hunt for lunch. Ailo sees the wolves and is worried. Soon the rest of the herd realize, too. The reindeer are being chased down and attacked, they are scared and start running. Soon  Ailo is alone, a wolf trailing behind him, hungry and vicious, snarling at him. Ahead of Ailo is a river, he crosses it as fast as he can, past the river. But ailo knows he's not alone it's too quiet. He continues running when somehow  the wolf caught up with him. Suddenly Ailo and the wolf meet eye-to-eye. from a short distance. Thankfully Ailo gets away and is safe. the wolf  has been called by it's mother. the herd has lost one deer.

Ailo is lonely and cold. Hours passing by, as he walks. Meanwhile, a Wolverine is following. The wolverine trails him. Patience a wolverines key weapon. The wolverine anticipates Ailo's every move. Ailo knows something's wrong, he knows he's not alone but he doesn't know which direction the threat is coming from. The wolverine in the meantime sets up  an ambush up ahead. But ailo stops  walking, he hears a sound, a sort of bellowing sound. Ailo knows what that sound is. He runs towards the sound, the wolverine confused follows. Ailo stops, there's  fence, there's reindeer but where is his mother? Ailo understanding leaves. as soon as ailo left, the wolverine went to the fence, waiting for food of the reindeer to provide its next meal.

Ailo smells his mothers scent' it was too good to  be true, but this time it really was his mother. Ailo felt so good to be reunited with his mother after so long.

Ailo and his mother are keeping on. it is now winter and, trapped by the freezing cold, they could die. the wolverine's are still around,  death is not an option so Ailo and his mother continue walking, through the deadly cold night. Ailo and his mother luckily catch up with half of the herd. they are trying to get to safety away from the wolverines. One mistake would mean certain death  and lunch for the wolverine, Ailo and his mother begin to run to escape to safety along with the rest of the herd without injury. The wolverine had become distracted by a female wolverine, the reindeer were lucky this time. Ailo is safe for now

the young arctic fox is now an adult and has its winters coat, which is completely white.

It is now night. More of the herd has joined, the herd is now complete. The herd now walks on, continuing to struggle all the way to daylight and beyond. A crow leads the  foxes to the reindeer a chase ensues and the reindeer outrun the arctic foxes, this time the herd was lucky and just too fast. The herd continues walking. Time has passed and Ailo is nearly a year old. Soon his mother will leave to give birth to another young. Ailo is still growing, continuing his story. With a big journey ahead of him, he continues to live and strive

  -the end-