The Cairngorm mountains provide a unique alpine semi-tundra moorland habitat, home to many rare plants, birds and animals.
Speciality bird species on the plateaux include breeding ptarmigan, dotterel, snow bunting, golden eagle, ring ouzel, and red grouse.
Mammal species include red deer and mountain hare, as well as the only herd of reindeer in the British Isles.
They now roam the high Cairngorms, after being re-introduced in 1952 by a Swedish herdsman.
The herd is now stable at around 150 individuals, some born in Scotland and some introduced from Sweden.

The straths and glens of the national park feature a type of ancient woodland known as the Caledonian forest.
The expanse of pinewood that stretches from Glen Feshie to Abernethy forms the largest single area of this habitat remaining in Scotland, and the park as a whole holds more than half the surviving Caledonian forest.
In these forests can be found bird species such capercaillie, black grouse, Scottish crossbill, parrot crossbill and crested tit.

The entire length of the River Dee is defined as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) due to its importance for salmon, otters and Freshwater pearl mussels, and the Don supports fish such as salmon, sea trout, brown trout, eels and lamprey.
In upper Strathspey, the Insh Marshes form one of the largest areas of floodplain mire and fen vegetation in Scotland, and are important for many species of birds that breed there each summer.
Breeding species include osprey, ducks such as wigeon, shoveler and goldeneye, and waders including redshank, snipe, curlew and lapwing.
The marshes also receive winter visitors including greylag geese from Iceland and up to 200 whooper swans.

The national park is classified as a Category V protected area by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, meaning that it is an area in which people have interacted with the landscape for many years, and which is managed to sustain the habitats and landscape that have resulted from this interaction.
The IUCN defines "National Parks" as areas conforming with Category II of its classification system (q.v.
the Hardangervidda National Park), however Scotland in general lacks such areas, as thousands of years of human activity, including agriculture, historical deforestation, overgrazing by sheep and deer, and extensive 20th century afforestation with introduced tree species (particularly conifers), have resulted in landscapes which are best described as semi-natural.

Within the national park there are many areas that have additional protection via other conservation designations: there are 19 Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas  and 46 Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
Nine of Scotland's national nature reserves are located within the park: Abernethy, Corrie Fee, Craigellachie, Glen Tanar, Insh Marshes, Muir of Dinnet, Invereshie and Inshriach, Glenmore, and Mar Lodge Estate.
The Cairngorm mountains provide a unique alpine semi-tundra moorland habitat, home to many rare plants, birds and animals. Speciality bird species on the plateaux include breeding ptarmigan, dotterel, snow bunting, golden eagle, ring ouzel, and red grouse. Mammal species include red deer and mountain hare, as well as the only herd of reindeer in the British Isles. They now roam the high Cairngorms, after being re-introduced in 1952 by a Swedish herdsman. The herd is now stable at around 150 individuals, some born in Scotland and some introduced from Sweden.
The straths and glens of the national park feature a type of ancient woodland known as the Caledonian forest. The expanse of pinewood that stretches from Glen Feshie to Abernethy forms the largest single area of this habitat remaining in Scotland, and the park as a whole holds more than half the surviving Caledonian forest. In these forests can be found bird species such capercaillie, black grouse, Scottish crossbill, parrot crossbill and crested tit.
The entire length of the River Dee is defined as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) due to its importance for salmon, otters and Freshwater pearl mussels, and the Don supports fish such as salmon, sea trout, brown trout, eels and lamprey. In upper Strathspey, the Insh Marshes form one of the largest areas of floodplain mire and fen vegetation in Scotland, and are important for many species of birds that breed there each summer. Breeding species include osprey, ducks such as wigeon, shoveler and goldeneye, and waders including redshank, snipe, curlew and lapwing. The marshes also receive winter visitors including greylag geese from Iceland and up to 200 whooper swans.
The national park is classified as a Category V protected area by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, meaning that it is an area in which people have interacted with the landscape for many years, and which is managed to sustain the habitats and landscape that have resulted from this interaction. The IUCN defines "National Parks" as areas conforming with Category II of its classification system (q.v. the Hardangervidda National Park), however Scotland in general lacks such areas, as thousands of years of human activity, including agriculture, historical deforestation, overgrazing by sheep and deer, and extensive 20th century afforestation with introduced tree species (particularly conifers), have resulted in landscapes which are best described as semi-natural. 
Within the national park there are many areas that have additional protection via other conservation designations: there are 19 Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas  and 46 Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Nine of Scotland's national nature reserves are located within the park: Abernethy, Corrie Fee, Craigellachie, Glen Tanar, Insh Marshes, Muir of Dinnet, Invereshie and Inshriach, Glenmore, and Mar Lodge Estate.
Cairngorms National Park