Antlers and horns

Sunday, July 15, 2007

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA — We have reached Alaska’s unofficial capital, human population 300,000, moose population 1,500 — within the city limits! The tourist literature says swamp donkeys roam around this city in much the same way elk invade the city of Banff, nibbling flowerbeds and halting traffic.
We were enjoying other horned and antlered creatures today in Palmer. We had hoped to stay two nights there, but the campground could not guarantee us a space, so we moved on. That meant driving our whole rig into town so I could get to church, which was a bit awkward, but we managed. We got to see a bit of the town that way, anyway. There are cottonwood trees on many streets, which right now are dropping great globs of fluffy seed material on people’s lawns and in ditches, looking much like patches of snow.
Our first destination after church was the musk ox farm on the east side of town. The farm itself was lovely, with well-kept lawns and tidy red buildings at the end of a tree-lined road. Seeing agricultural areas around Palmer was a change from the landscape we’d encountered through most of the rest of Alaska.
Our tour leader took us out to the fenced paddocks where these wooly creatures were grazing. There were a number of babies that had been born this spring. This herd is the only domesticated herd in the world. The musk ox as a species is the same as it was 600,000 years ago, and the herd we saw had been reintroduced to the area from Greenland in the 1930s. They are well adapted to the wintry regions they normally live in, with soft, smooth hairs of fur that resist matting and so are able to stay fluffy and keep the creatures warm. They also have spiral-shaped bones inside their nostrils that filter the icy air and warm it up as they breathe. And they are well-armed by the thick, curled horns on their heads. Because of their penned lifestyle, the animals at this farm had the points cut off their horns for their safety and that of their handlers.
Our guide told us that these creatures are not oxen, nor do they have musk glands, but probably got their names from looking a bit like oxen and from living on the muskeg where they were first discovered.
Native people (Alaskans call them Eskimos) harvest the ultra-fine, soft qiviut by combing the coats of the musk ox, and spin it into yarn which knits up into scarves and tuques that are much lighter and warmer than sheeps’ wool. The knitting patterns they use are distinct to each community. There were items on display and for sale, but I think they were quite expensive, because they were kept in glass cases. We got to touch some samples and they were as soft as cashmere.
Our next destination was a reindeer farm on the Old Glenn Highway on the other side of the Matanuska River. The paddock was full of them, and next to it was a sleigh much like the one Santa hitches them to at Christmas time! They are small animals with splayed hooves that allow them to walk on snow easily, but also can be cupped like paddles to help them swim across open water. Their coats are made of coarse hollow hairs that increase their buoyancy as well. We were allowed to mingle with them and touch their velvety antlers, which are warm from the blood vessels inside them. Our guide gave us cups of pellets to feed them, and we had to hold out our hands flat so their soft lips could nibble off them! In no time we were surrounded by snuffling reindeer looking for a snack! We were supposed to hide the cups under our arm or in a pocket if they got too pushy. I tried to feed one sad-looking female that had lost her baby, and at first she shied away, but I did get to give her some later on. It was an amazing experience. I was pleased afterward to see a sink with soap and water where you could wash the reindeer slobber off your hands.
At the same farm there was a herd of elk, and the contrast in size between the two kinds of animals was remarkable. In addition, the reindeer were humble-looking and gentle, while the elk, especially the ones with majestic racks of antlers, looked aloof and proud. A buffalo and two moose on the property rounded out the horned and antlered set!
After these two interesting stops, we headed on toward Anchorage, which was only 40 miles away. Much of the highway was four-laned, a treat we had not enjoyed since Alberta. Our campground is very citified and densely packed, but we’ll be able to look at the city tomorrow without traveling far.