Hello Everyone,
Visitors to Alaska find Palmer 42 miles northeast of Anchorage, in the Matanuska Valley. For its first 20 years, the town was a railway depot for Alaska Railroad’s Matanuska branch. In May 1935, Roosevelt’s Federal Emergency Relief Administration selected 200 families from northern Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin to colonize this valley and increase agricultural production in the far north. They founded the town of Palmer.
During the first year, these families cleared the forests and built houses and barns. They planted crops pioneered at the area’s USDA Agricultural Research Station which in 1931 became the Matanuska Experiment Farm. They faced hardships ranging from floods and homesickness to disease and mismanagement.
Within a few years, Palmer flourished and became the center of an agricultural valley known for such massive crops as 70-pound cabbages. One colony farm now specializes in reindeer and elk while another concentrates on musk oxen for fiber production. Both offer regular tours during the summer months and early fall. The Musk Ox Farm provides tours by reservation throughout the winter months.
REINDEER FARM
In the 1950's, Tom Williams’ parents purchased land from the original colonists, the Nelsons, and developed a dairy farm where Tom, as a teenager, spent time milking cows. He decided he wanted to operate a domestic moose farm. Since this was not allowed in Alaska, he founded a reindeer farm instead. Set on 160 acres, the Reindeer Farm is now run by the third generation of his family. The house and barn still stand.
During the 1890's, only caribou (wild reindeer) lived in Alaska. Between 1892 and 1902, 1280 reindeer were brought from Russia. By 1929, 600,000 reindeer lived in Alaska. The state’s herd now numbers more than a million.
Williams brought his first herd of 19 reindeer from Northern Canada in 1987. In 1990, he imported 165 more. The herd has numbered as high as 200 but now consists of around 120 animals. The farm also has 35 Rocky Mountain elk; 20 horses; Dolly, the bison; and various farm animals. His daughters handle the tours, healthcare, and more.
Tours run daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. from May 1 to early September. For the rest of September, visitors can tour Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. Admission is $9 for adults, $7 for children ages 3-11, and free for those age two and under.
Three Saturdays in October are devoted to the Family Fun Event. During this occasion, admission is $10 per person for everyone three years old and older. During “Christmas on the Reindeer Farm,” held December 23 and 24 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., admission is $8 for everyone ages three years old and older. The farm also offers several shows where they take the reindeer to other sites during this season.
The one hour tour starts with a ten to fifteen-minute lecture to learn about the reindeer’s physical characteristics and lifestyle. Everyone is handed a cup of food and then allowed to enter the reindeer yard to feed, pet, and photograph them.
After visiting the reindeer pen, visitors walk a short path to the elk pens. They are allowed to feed those animals as well. Guests are allowed to bring their own lunches and have them at the picnic tables. Most people stay about an hour though visitors can stay as long or as short as they like.
The farm also offers four horseback trail rides daily at 10:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. Rides are $60 per person. The season for these runs May 1 through the end of August with the starting date contingent on weather.
The Reindeer Farm address is 5561 S. Bodenburg Loop in Palmer. Its telephone number is (907) 745-4000.
REINDEER CHARACTERISTICS
Reindeer are members of the deer family called Cervidae and part of a larger group of mammals called ungulates (mammals with hooves). The five groups of Cervidae in North America are elk, moose, caribou, white-tailed deer, and mule deer. Reindeer are the same species as caribou except reindeer are domesticated while caribou are wild.
They are the only Cervidae species where females and males grow antlers. Male antlers measure up to 51 inches while female antlers reach 20 inches. Male antlers bulge out while female antlers bulge in. Antlers are like fingerprints as they are unique to each animal.
Unlike horns, antlers fall off annually, one side at a time, and grow back every year. Males usually shed theirs in December while females keep theirs until their babies are born in May. All baby reindeer shed their first set of antlers in the spring. So it’s likely that all of Santa’s reindeer are females.
Reindeer start regrowing their antlers as soon as they drop them off with the majority of the growth taking place during the summer months. The growth of reindeer antlers is based on genetics and on how much they eat.
The term “in velvet” is used to mean the period during the antler growth. At this time, skin, blood vessels, and soft fur cover the antlers. When the velvet dries up, reindeer rub it off against rocks or trees leaving a hard, bony core.
Both sexes rely on antlers as protection against predators. Females employ theirs to clear away the snow to find food. Males use theirs to attract females and when rutting (fighting for dominance) to establish breeding order. Reindeer breed in October and November resulting in one baby after eight months of gestation.
They come in a myriad of colors. Reindeer have a dark coat during the summer and a very white coat during the winter. Their coat consists of two layers of hair. The undercoat consists of fine, soft fiber. The top layer has long, hollow, air-filled guard hairs which hold in the reindeer’s body heat and make reindeer more buoyant when they cross lakes or rivers.
Their hooves adapt to the season. In the summer, their footpads become spongelike making them ideal for the wet and soft tundra. During the winter, their pads shrink and tighten, exposing the hoof’s rim. This allows for better traction on snow and ice.
Reindeer have a tendon in the rear of their back legs. It stretches and snaps as they walk creating a clicking noise. This tendon helps them to run and prevents them from being able to kick backwards or sideways like a horse. They also use the sound to find each other in blinding snow storms.
Researchers at the University College London discovered reindeer are the only mammals that can see ultraviolet light. This enables them to see objects such as white fur better in snow.
They do have predators - golden eagles, gray wolves, brown bears, Arctic foxes, mountain lions, coyotes, and lynxes. Healthy adults in large herds are usually safe. Like all wild animals, reindeer calves, the old, weak, ill, and injured reindeer are susceptible.
In the wild, they eat 30 varieties of leaves, stems and grasses. Lichens are their favorite food in the winter. The average reindeer eats 9 to 18 pounds of vegetation a day. At the farm, they are fed reindeer hay, grain, grass and pellets made half of barley with one fifth sawdust for fiber. They also feed on fish and soy meals, molasses, vitamins, minerals, and salt. They have four stomachs and chew their cud.
Reindeer have no front teeth on the top. Instead of being used for biting, the upper jaw acts as a chopping block for the sharp bottom teeth. If they had top front teeth, it would also get in the way of them eating lichen and moss in the wild. Their back teeth are for grinding.
Clement C. Moore’s poem “A Visit from Saint Nicholas” introduced reindeer to the world in 1823. The poem describes them as tiny. The Svalbard subspecies weigh about half as much and are at least a foot shorter in length than the average reindeer. They are the only species of reindeer considered tiny. In movies, Santa’s reindeer are full-sized while in animations they’re usually a cross between a regular deer and a reindeer.
In the poem, the reindeer were named Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, and Cupid. Dunder and Blixem became Donner and Blitzen when their names changed from Dutch to German. Robert L. May introduced Rudolph in 1939 in his children’s book in verse for Montgomery Ward. It was titled Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
It is possible for reindeer to have red noses. According to the Smithsonian, this is because of a result of densely packed blood vessels near the skin's surface. They have 25 percent more capillaries in their noses than humans. Their noses are adapted to help warm the cold air they breathe before it enters the lungs and to condense water in the air to keep their mucous membranes moist. Their acute sense of smell helps them find food in the snow.
ELK FACTS
Elk are the second largest Cervidae in North America. Only the moose is larger. Adult males weigh between 600 and 1,000 pounds while females weigh between 450 and 600 pounds. They live between 10-15 years in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity. They’re more aggressive than reindeer.
The Shawnee Indians called elk, Wapiti, which means a white rump. This is because of their white rump patch. Depending upon the season, an elk’s coat color is any shade from tan to reddish brown with their necks usually lighter than the rest of their bodies. Bulls tend to be lighter colored than cows.
Elks appear almost entirely the same in color year round. In the spring, they molt their winter coats. By July, they have a single layer summer coat. Their winter coat consists of two layers. One consists of thick, long guard hairs while the other is a woolly undercoat.
Females don’t have any antlers. Male elk are known for their large antlers. Elk antlers grow based on how old they area. They add a new point to their antlers each year. The number of points on each antler should correlate directly to the animal's age.
Antlers start growing each spring from bony bumps on their heads. They begin as layers of cartilage which change to bone in four to five months. Like the reindeer, the antlers during this growth are covered with a thin skin and velvet covered with short hairs and containing thousands of blood vessels. Once the velvet is gone, the antler’s grooves and ridges depict the paths of these veins. Antlers can grow up to one inch a day. These are shed every spring.
Elk are herbivores. An average animal eats about three pounds of food a day for every 100 pounds it weighs. They do have sharp incisors, for biting, in only their lower jaw. Molars for smashing plants are on both jaws. Teeth are used for telling the animal’s age since a cross section of an elk’s tooth has annual growth rings. At the farm, they eat reindeer pellets, grass, and beer mash.
They, like all Cervidae, have four part stomachs. After eating, the animal regurgitates the food back into its mouth. This is known as cud. It then chews this cud more thoroughly. After the food is completely chewed, it is swallowed again. The cud passes through the large part of the stomach, where up to 15 pounds of food can be stored, into a second chamber for more digestion. Water is squeezed out in the third chamber and absorbed into the elk’s body. Finally, in the fourth chamber, food is broken down so the intestines can absorb it.
Each elk has two ivory teeth in the very back of their mouth. One is located on each side. These are round, smooth, and beautiful when polished. The Indians cherished them and used these ivory teeth to make necklaces.
Elk have sensitive senses which allow it to adapt to its environment. Their big ears allow them to hear any noises. For a wider range of vision, they have eyes on the sides of their head. They don’t see objects as well as humans but are very good at detecting movement. Their sense of smell is also very keen to detect food and danger.
They mate during the fall when bulls fight each other to gain control of a harem consisting of 15 to 60 cows. Gestation period is 8-1/2 months with calves born from mid-May through early July. Cows breed at three years of age, bulls at four.
Male elk are known for their bugle call. This allows them to warn of danger, challenge other bulls, and to attract female elk. The cows and calves also make distinct sounds.
Elk have long muscular legs allowing them to usually outrun predators such as mountain lions, wolves, and bears. However, they can also die from hunting, starvation, disease, and harsh winters.
MUSK OX FARM
Today the 75-acre Musk Ox Farm provides 45-minute, guided tours for a look at some of the 80-plus animals on the farm. Visitors learn there are separate pens and pastures depending on the animal's age and sex. It’s the largest captive herd of musk oxen in the world. This is one of Palmer’s Old Colony farm locations.
They’ll see educational exhibits about the animal’s physical characteristics and skeleton, farm history, how the farm takes care of animals, and the use of Qiviut (musk oxen underwool) in the Native Alaskan textile industry. The gift shop features an opportunity to purchase 100% Qiviut fiber, yarn, and such garments as smoke rings, hats, and scarves.
The majority of garments have been dyed various colors. In 1999, Oomingmak introduced a new garment line called Tundra and Snow blending 80% Qiviut with 20% silk. Some of the yarn is in natural color while others are bleached white.
Qiviut is shed each spring. It’s eight times warmer than wool and extremely lightweight. It is softer than cashmere, not scratchy, and won’t shrink in any water temperature. It can be hand-washed in any mild detergent and lasts for many years. Qiviut is a musk ox adaptation that allows them to endure temperatures down to 80 degrees F below zero.
The farm is open to visitors daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. during the summer season which always starts on Mother’s Day. The farm ends its tours in mid September. Admission prices are $11 for adults, $9 for seniors ages 65+, and $5 for children ages 5-17. It’s located at 12850 E. Archie Road. The phone number is (907) 745-4151.
On Mother’s Day, Moms receive free admissions and flowers. It’s also the time to see baby musk oxen. In August, they hold their annual Running with the Bulls while in October, the farm has their Oxtoberfest.
QIVIUT - FROM MUSK OX TO KNITTED PRODUCTS
The last musk ox seen in Alaska was in 1864. The animals were reintroduced from Greenland in the 1930's. They started gaining a foothold in the 1940's and 1950's. At the same time, coastal Alaskan villages were looking for ways to bring income to their peoples.
In 1954, John Teal, gathered his first set of calves from Canada’s Thelon Game Sanctuary to his home in Huntington Center, Vermont and started the Institute for Northern Agricultural Research. It later became known as the Musk Ox Project in Alaska. With funding from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and assistance from the University of Alaska, the Project started Alaska’s domestic oxen farm in Fairbanks in 1964. The herd grew annually as did their amount of Qiviut harvested and spun into yarn.
The Project started in 1968 workshops that taught Alaska native women how to knit patterns into Qiviut garments. Within a year, they formed Oomingmak, Musk Ox Producer’s Cooperative. By 1979, more than 200 Alaska natives supplemented their subsistence lifestyle with cash income from this project. In 1984, the Farm incorporated as a nonprofit corporation. It moved to the Matanuska Valley, near Palmer, in 1986. It’s the only active project domesticating musk oxen on agricultural land.
The Cooperative thrives today with more than 250 women involved. Each village has a signature pattern derived from traditional aspects of village life and native culture. Sometimes they’re derived from ancient artifacts or beadwork designs.
Qiviut, the farm’s crop, is shed naturally between April and the end of May. It’s collected on the farm by combing, starting in mid April. Animals are brought into a combing stall where a long toothed hair pick is used. Depending on the animal, combing sessions last from ten minutes to an hour. Anywhere from a few to nine pounds of fiber are gathered with an average of four-and-a-half pounds.
The farm uses a stanchion squeeze for weighing and animal care. Sometimes they will comb an animal in there because staff can remove panels and comb them from several different angles at the same time. Animals may loiter in the chutes, waiting their turn, but are never left in a squeeze.
After the combing, the Qiviut is put into breathable fabric bags until all animals are combed. It is then weighed and divided between the farm and Oomingmak, the Co-op headquarters at 604 H Street in Anchorage.
The farm’s fiber is sent to the Qiviut mill to be washed, dehaired, carded, and spun into yarn. The finished yarn is shipped back for sale at the farm and on their online store. Some is used by local fiber artists. A small amount of fiber is kept on hand for the farm’s spinners as well as small sample bags for visitors.
The Oomingmak Qiviut is shipped to knitters who work at home at Eskimo villages throughout Alaska. These are found in such villages as Mekoryuk, Bethel, St. Mary’s, and Tununak.
After the Cooperative receives knitted garments by mail, they’re checked over for quality and entered into the inventory. At that time, the member is paid for her work. Then the knitted items are washed, blocked, labeled, and packaged. Besides the farm, products are sold at headquarters.
MUSK OXEN
Musk Oxen are misnamed. Only the musk deer produces true musk. They resemble but are not oxen. They’re more closely related to goats and sheep. Like reindeer, they are herbivores who have a four-chambered stomach.
They are arctic animals dating to the Pleistocene Era when they wandered across the Bering Land Bridge to North America. The Pleistocene was known for its Ice Ages. At that time, they were in the company of Saber-toothed cats, Mastodons, and Mammoths. They are currently found in remote areas of Greenland, Alaska, northwest Canada, and Siberia. There is also a small herd in Norway.
Musk oxen come in two subspecies: The Canadian Barren Ground musk ox, which is larger, and the White-faced Greenland musk ox. Cows are smaller than the bulls of both species. The two subspecies can interbreed which occurs at the Musk Ox Farm.
They are vegetarian and chew their cud. They’ll eat grasses, mosses, lichens, and wood plants including dwarf willows, dwarf elders, and dwarf birch. At the farm, grain and hay are added to their diet. As they’re huge grazers, they rotate from pasture to pasture. To survive on less food until spring, musk oxen slow their breathing, heart rate, and digestion in winter. Like all livestock farms, veterinary care, vaccinations, and medications are provided.
Musk Oxen have two layers of fur. The Qiviut is dense and thin. It extends into the nostrils to keep them warm. The outer coat of coarse guard hair reaches almost to the ground. It sheds water, keeps insects away, and protects the Qiviut. The musk ox tail is hidden by these guard hairs. Their hump is an extension of their vertebrae.
Both bulls and cows have horns that they keep for life. These are composed of keratin similar to the human substance making up hair, nails, and skin. Their thick skulls and horns are also useful against their main predators which are bears and wolves. Their teeth continuously grow to compensate for wearing them down through grazing.
At the end of summer, in the wild, all males enter the fall rut in preparation for the breeding season. Two will engage in a display designed to intimidate the other. It includes pawing at the ground, walking stiff-legged, and swinging their massive horns. They will face-off and back up 100 feet before charging together at speeds of around 35 miles per hour. They then engage in head smashing up to a dozen times before one bull quits and submits to the other. Fortunately, the bulls have very thick horn bosses protecting their skulls during dominance fights.
During the breeding season at the farm, which occurs in late summer and fall, bulls don’t compete for mates. Instead the farm staff selects a bull and cows to be bred. They designate a pasture for the bull and his harem. They breed for genetic diversity, domestic traits, and Qiviut production where applicable. Not all animals are bred.
At the farm, harems are formed consisting of one bull and a selected group of cows. After breeding from August into September, the animals are left in a harem for approximately four weeks. The cows then move to the pasture for their eight-month gestation. From the third week in April until the beginning of May, calves are born with a full coat of Qiviut. All calves born the same year are given names from the same theme.
Both cows and bulls have horns with pointed curving tips. The horns also serve as protection against predators. In the wild, the herd stands in a circle when they’re attacked by wolves. The adults align themselves side by side with their horns and muscled necks facing out and their rears and young calves protected inside the ring.
Visitors to Alaska find Palmer 42 miles northeast of Anchorage, in the Matanuska Valley. For its first 20 years, the town was a railway depot for Alaska Railroad’s Matanuska branch. In May 1935, Roosevelt’s Federal Emergency Relief Administration selected 200 families from northern Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin to colonize this valley and increase agricultural production in the far north. They founded the town of Palmer.
During the first year, these families cleared the forests and built houses and barns. They planted crops pioneered at the area’s USDA Agricultural Research Station which in 1931 became the Matanuska Experiment Farm. They faced hardships ranging from floods and homesickness to disease and mismanagement.
Within a few years, Palmer flourished and became the center of an agricultural valley known for such massive crops as 70-pound cabbages. One colony farm now specializes in reindeer and elk while another concentrates on musk oxen for fiber production. Both offer regular tours during the summer months and early fall. The Musk Ox Farm provides tours by reservation throughout the winter months.
REINDEER FARM
In the 1950's, Tom Williams’ parents purchased land from the original colonists, the Nelsons, and developed a dairy farm where Tom, as a teenager, spent time milking cows. He decided he wanted to operate a domestic moose farm. Since this was not allowed in Alaska, he founded a reindeer farm instead. Set on 160 acres, the Reindeer Farm is now run by the third generation of his family. The house and barn still stand.
During the 1890's, only caribou (wild reindeer) lived in Alaska. Between 1892 and 1902, 1280 reindeer were brought from Russia. By 1929, 600,000 reindeer lived in Alaska. The state’s herd now numbers more than a million.
Williams brought his first herd of 19 reindeer from Northern Canada in 1987. In 1990, he imported 165 more. The herd has numbered as high as 200 but now consists of around 120 animals. The farm also has 35 Rocky Mountain elk; 20 horses; Dolly, the bison; and various farm animals. His daughters handle the tours, healthcare, and more.
Tours run daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. from May 1 to early September. For the rest of September, visitors can tour Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. Admission is $9 for adults, $7 for children ages 3-11, and free for those age two and under.
Three Saturdays in October are devoted to the Family Fun Event. During this occasion, admission is $10 per person for everyone three years old and older. During “Christmas on the Reindeer Farm,” held December 23 and 24 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., admission is $8 for everyone ages three years old and older. The farm also offers several shows where they take the reindeer to other sites during this season.
The one hour tour starts with a ten to fifteen-minute lecture to learn about the reindeer’s physical characteristics and lifestyle. Everyone is handed a cup of food and then allowed to enter the reindeer yard to feed, pet, and photograph them.
After visiting the reindeer pen, visitors walk a short path to the elk pens. They are allowed to feed those animals as well. Guests are allowed to bring their own lunches and have them at the picnic tables. Most people stay about an hour though visitors can stay as long or as short as they like.
The farm also offers four horseback trail rides daily at 10:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. Rides are $60 per person. The season for these runs May 1 through the end of August with the starting date contingent on weather.
The Reindeer Farm address is 5561 S. Bodenburg Loop in Palmer. Its telephone number is (907) 745-4000.
REINDEER CHARACTERISTICS
Reindeer are members of the deer family called Cervidae and part of a larger group of mammals called ungulates (mammals with hooves). The five groups of Cervidae in North America are elk, moose, caribou, white-tailed deer, and mule deer. Reindeer are the same species as caribou except reindeer are domesticated while caribou are wild.
They are the only Cervidae species where females and males grow antlers. Male antlers measure up to 51 inches while female antlers reach 20 inches. Male antlers bulge out while female antlers bulge in. Antlers are like fingerprints as they are unique to each animal.
Unlike horns, antlers fall off annually, one side at a time, and grow back every year. Males usually shed theirs in December while females keep theirs until their babies are born in May. All baby reindeer shed their first set of antlers in the spring. So it’s likely that all of Santa’s reindeer are females.
Reindeer start regrowing their antlers as soon as they drop them off with the majority of the growth taking place during the summer months. The growth of reindeer antlers is based on genetics and on how much they eat.
The term “in velvet” is used to mean the period during the antler growth. At this time, skin, blood vessels, and soft fur cover the antlers. When the velvet dries up, reindeer rub it off against rocks or trees leaving a hard, bony core.
Both sexes rely on antlers as protection against predators. Females employ theirs to clear away the snow to find food. Males use theirs to attract females and when rutting (fighting for dominance) to establish breeding order. Reindeer breed in October and November resulting in one baby after eight months of gestation.
They come in a myriad of colors. Reindeer have a dark coat during the summer and a very white coat during the winter. Their coat consists of two layers of hair. The undercoat consists of fine, soft fiber. The top layer has long, hollow, air-filled guard hairs which hold in the reindeer’s body heat and make reindeer more buoyant when they cross lakes or rivers.
Their hooves adapt to the season. In the summer, their footpads become spongelike making them ideal for the wet and soft tundra. During the winter, their pads shrink and tighten, exposing the hoof’s rim. This allows for better traction on snow and ice.
Reindeer have a tendon in the rear of their back legs. It stretches and snaps as they walk creating a clicking noise. This tendon helps them to run and prevents them from being able to kick backwards or sideways like a horse. They also use the sound to find each other in blinding snow storms.
Researchers at the University College London discovered reindeer are the only mammals that can see ultraviolet light. This enables them to see objects such as white fur better in snow.
They do have predators - golden eagles, gray wolves, brown bears, Arctic foxes, mountain lions, coyotes, and lynxes. Healthy adults in large herds are usually safe. Like all wild animals, reindeer calves, the old, weak, ill, and injured reindeer are susceptible.
In the wild, they eat 30 varieties of leaves, stems and grasses. Lichens are their favorite food in the winter. The average reindeer eats 9 to 18 pounds of vegetation a day. At the farm, they are fed reindeer hay, grain, grass and pellets made half of barley with one fifth sawdust for fiber. They also feed on fish and soy meals, molasses, vitamins, minerals, and salt. They have four stomachs and chew their cud.
Reindeer have no front teeth on the top. Instead of being used for biting, the upper jaw acts as a chopping block for the sharp bottom teeth. If they had top front teeth, it would also get in the way of them eating lichen and moss in the wild. Their back teeth are for grinding.
Clement C. Moore’s poem “A Visit from Saint Nicholas” introduced reindeer to the world in 1823. The poem describes them as tiny. The Svalbard subspecies weigh about half as much and are at least a foot shorter in length than the average reindeer. They are the only species of reindeer considered tiny. In movies, Santa’s reindeer are full-sized while in animations they’re usually a cross between a regular deer and a reindeer.
In the poem, the reindeer were named Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, and Cupid. Dunder and Blixem became Donner and Blitzen when their names changed from Dutch to German. Robert L. May introduced Rudolph in 1939 in his children’s book in verse for Montgomery Ward. It was titled Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
It is possible for reindeer to have red noses. According to the Smithsonian, this is because of a result of densely packed blood vessels near the skin's surface. They have 25 percent more capillaries in their noses than humans. Their noses are adapted to help warm the cold air they breathe before it enters the lungs and to condense water in the air to keep their mucous membranes moist. Their acute sense of smell helps them find food in the snow.
ELK FACTS
Elk are the second largest Cervidae in North America. Only the moose is larger. Adult males weigh between 600 and 1,000 pounds while females weigh between 450 and 600 pounds. They live between 10-15 years in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity. They’re more aggressive than reindeer.
The Shawnee Indians called elk, Wapiti, which means a white rump. This is because of their white rump patch. Depending upon the season, an elk’s coat color is any shade from tan to reddish brown with their necks usually lighter than the rest of their bodies. Bulls tend to be lighter colored than cows.
Elks appear almost entirely the same in color year round. In the spring, they molt their winter coats. By July, they have a single layer summer coat. Their winter coat consists of two layers. One consists of thick, long guard hairs while the other is a woolly undercoat.
Females don’t have any antlers. Male elk are known for their large antlers. Elk antlers grow based on how old they area. They add a new point to their antlers each year. The number of points on each antler should correlate directly to the animal's age.
Antlers start growing each spring from bony bumps on their heads. They begin as layers of cartilage which change to bone in four to five months. Like the reindeer, the antlers during this growth are covered with a thin skin and velvet covered with short hairs and containing thousands of blood vessels. Once the velvet is gone, the antler’s grooves and ridges depict the paths of these veins. Antlers can grow up to one inch a day. These are shed every spring.
Elk are herbivores. An average animal eats about three pounds of food a day for every 100 pounds it weighs. They do have sharp incisors, for biting, in only their lower jaw. Molars for smashing plants are on both jaws. Teeth are used for telling the animal’s age since a cross section of an elk’s tooth has annual growth rings. At the farm, they eat reindeer pellets, grass, and beer mash.
They, like all Cervidae, have four part stomachs. After eating, the animal regurgitates the food back into its mouth. This is known as cud. It then chews this cud more thoroughly. After the food is completely chewed, it is swallowed again. The cud passes through the large part of the stomach, where up to 15 pounds of food can be stored, into a second chamber for more digestion. Water is squeezed out in the third chamber and absorbed into the elk’s body. Finally, in the fourth chamber, food is broken down so the intestines can absorb it.
Each elk has two ivory teeth in the very back of their mouth. One is located on each side. These are round, smooth, and beautiful when polished. The Indians cherished them and used these ivory teeth to make necklaces.
Elk have sensitive senses which allow it to adapt to its environment. Their big ears allow them to hear any noises. For a wider range of vision, they have eyes on the sides of their head. They don’t see objects as well as humans but are very good at detecting movement. Their sense of smell is also very keen to detect food and danger.
They mate during the fall when bulls fight each other to gain control of a harem consisting of 15 to 60 cows. Gestation period is 8-1/2 months with calves born from mid-May through early July. Cows breed at three years of age, bulls at four.
Male elk are known for their bugle call. This allows them to warn of danger, challenge other bulls, and to attract female elk. The cows and calves also make distinct sounds.
Elk have long muscular legs allowing them to usually outrun predators such as mountain lions, wolves, and bears. However, they can also die from hunting, starvation, disease, and harsh winters.
MUSK OX FARM
Today the 75-acre Musk Ox Farm provides 45-minute, guided tours for a look at some of the 80-plus animals on the farm. Visitors learn there are separate pens and pastures depending on the animal's age and sex. It’s the largest captive herd of musk oxen in the world. This is one of Palmer’s Old Colony farm locations.
They’ll see educational exhibits about the animal’s physical characteristics and skeleton, farm history, how the farm takes care of animals, and the use of Qiviut (musk oxen underwool) in the Native Alaskan textile industry. The gift shop features an opportunity to purchase 100% Qiviut fiber, yarn, and such garments as smoke rings, hats, and scarves.
The majority of garments have been dyed various colors. In 1999, Oomingmak introduced a new garment line called Tundra and Snow blending 80% Qiviut with 20% silk. Some of the yarn is in natural color while others are bleached white.
Qiviut is shed each spring. It’s eight times warmer than wool and extremely lightweight. It is softer than cashmere, not scratchy, and won’t shrink in any water temperature. It can be hand-washed in any mild detergent and lasts for many years. Qiviut is a musk ox adaptation that allows them to endure temperatures down to 80 degrees F below zero.
The farm is open to visitors daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. during the summer season which always starts on Mother’s Day. The farm ends its tours in mid September. Admission prices are $11 for adults, $9 for seniors ages 65+, and $5 for children ages 5-17. It’s located at 12850 E. Archie Road. The phone number is (907) 745-4151.
On Mother’s Day, Moms receive free admissions and flowers. It’s also the time to see baby musk oxen. In August, they hold their annual Running with the Bulls while in October, the farm has their Oxtoberfest.
QIVIUT - FROM MUSK OX TO KNITTED PRODUCTS
The last musk ox seen in Alaska was in 1864. The animals were reintroduced from Greenland in the 1930's. They started gaining a foothold in the 1940's and 1950's. At the same time, coastal Alaskan villages were looking for ways to bring income to their peoples.
In 1954, John Teal, gathered his first set of calves from Canada’s Thelon Game Sanctuary to his home in Huntington Center, Vermont and started the Institute for Northern Agricultural Research. It later became known as the Musk Ox Project in Alaska. With funding from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and assistance from the University of Alaska, the Project started Alaska’s domestic oxen farm in Fairbanks in 1964. The herd grew annually as did their amount of Qiviut harvested and spun into yarn.
The Project started in 1968 workshops that taught Alaska native women how to knit patterns into Qiviut garments. Within a year, they formed Oomingmak, Musk Ox Producer’s Cooperative. By 1979, more than 200 Alaska natives supplemented their subsistence lifestyle with cash income from this project. In 1984, the Farm incorporated as a nonprofit corporation. It moved to the Matanuska Valley, near Palmer, in 1986. It’s the only active project domesticating musk oxen on agricultural land.
The Cooperative thrives today with more than 250 women involved. Each village has a signature pattern derived from traditional aspects of village life and native culture. Sometimes they’re derived from ancient artifacts or beadwork designs.
Qiviut, the farm’s crop, is shed naturally between April and the end of May. It’s collected on the farm by combing, starting in mid April. Animals are brought into a combing stall where a long toothed hair pick is used. Depending on the animal, combing sessions last from ten minutes to an hour. Anywhere from a few to nine pounds of fiber are gathered with an average of four-and-a-half pounds.
The farm uses a stanchion squeeze for weighing and animal care. Sometimes they will comb an animal in there because staff can remove panels and comb them from several different angles at the same time. Animals may loiter in the chutes, waiting their turn, but are never left in a squeeze.
After the combing, the Qiviut is put into breathable fabric bags until all animals are combed. It is then weighed and divided between the farm and Oomingmak, the Co-op headquarters at 604 H Street in Anchorage.
The farm’s fiber is sent to the Qiviut mill to be washed, dehaired, carded, and spun into yarn. The finished yarn is shipped back for sale at the farm and on their online store. Some is used by local fiber artists. A small amount of fiber is kept on hand for the farm’s spinners as well as small sample bags for visitors.
The Oomingmak Qiviut is shipped to knitters who work at home at Eskimo villages throughout Alaska. These are found in such villages as Mekoryuk, Bethel, St. Mary’s, and Tununak.
After the Cooperative receives knitted garments by mail, they’re checked over for quality and entered into the inventory. At that time, the member is paid for her work. Then the knitted items are washed, blocked, labeled, and packaged. Besides the farm, products are sold at headquarters.
MUSK OXEN
Musk Oxen are misnamed. Only the musk deer produces true musk. They resemble but are not oxen. They’re more closely related to goats and sheep. Like reindeer, they are herbivores who have a four-chambered stomach.
They are arctic animals dating to the Pleistocene Era when they wandered across the Bering Land Bridge to North America. The Pleistocene was known for its Ice Ages. At that time, they were in the company of Saber-toothed cats, Mastodons, and Mammoths. They are currently found in remote areas of Greenland, Alaska, northwest Canada, and Siberia. There is also a small herd in Norway.
Musk oxen come in two subspecies: The Canadian Barren Ground musk ox, which is larger, and the White-faced Greenland musk ox. Cows are smaller than the bulls of both species. The two subspecies can interbreed which occurs at the Musk Ox Farm.
They are vegetarian and chew their cud. They’ll eat grasses, mosses, lichens, and wood plants including dwarf willows, dwarf elders, and dwarf birch. At the farm, grain and hay are added to their diet. As they’re huge grazers, they rotate from pasture to pasture. To survive on less food until spring, musk oxen slow their breathing, heart rate, and digestion in winter. Like all livestock farms, veterinary care, vaccinations, and medications are provided.
Musk Oxen have two layers of fur. The Qiviut is dense and thin. It extends into the nostrils to keep them warm. The outer coat of coarse guard hair reaches almost to the ground. It sheds water, keeps insects away, and protects the Qiviut. The musk ox tail is hidden by these guard hairs. Their hump is an extension of their vertebrae.
Both bulls and cows have horns that they keep for life. These are composed of keratin similar to the human substance making up hair, nails, and skin. Their thick skulls and horns are also useful against their main predators which are bears and wolves. Their teeth continuously grow to compensate for wearing them down through grazing.
At the end of summer, in the wild, all males enter the fall rut in preparation for the breeding season. Two will engage in a display designed to intimidate the other. It includes pawing at the ground, walking stiff-legged, and swinging their massive horns. They will face-off and back up 100 feet before charging together at speeds of around 35 miles per hour. They then engage in head smashing up to a dozen times before one bull quits and submits to the other. Fortunately, the bulls have very thick horn bosses protecting their skulls during dominance fights.
During the breeding season at the farm, which occurs in late summer and fall, bulls don’t compete for mates. Instead the farm staff selects a bull and cows to be bred. They designate a pasture for the bull and his harem. They breed for genetic diversity, domestic traits, and Qiviut production where applicable. Not all animals are bred.
At the farm, harems are formed consisting of one bull and a selected group of cows. After breeding from August into September, the animals are left in a harem for approximately four weeks. The cows then move to the pasture for their eight-month gestation. From the third week in April until the beginning of May, calves are born with a full coat of Qiviut. All calves born the same year are given names from the same theme.
Both cows and bulls have horns with pointed curving tips. The horns also serve as protection against predators. In the wild, the herd stands in a circle when they’re attacked by wolves. The adults align themselves side by side with their horns and muscled necks facing out and their rears and young calves protected inside the ring.
The Reindeer Farm
A Visitor Enjoying Feeding the Reindeer
Eric, Our Guide, Enticing the Reindeer With Something Tasty
One of the Alpha Bulls
Practicing for Rutting
A Huge Shed Rack
Dolly, the Bison
Eric Trying to Interest the Elk
An Alpha Bull
Trying to Impress the Cows With His Rack
Called Wapiti Because of Their White Rumps
Note the Darker Fur on My Neck
One of the Musk Ox Exhibits at the Farm
Their Hump is an Extension of Their Vertebrae.
Musk Ox Farm Pens
Mother to Baby Talk
Now You Understand How I Keep Warm
Chilling Out in My Pen