We went to a large animal reserve at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. The facility, Bonanza Creek, Long term Ecological Research had muskoxen and caribou held in captivity in their natural habitat, for research purposes. We first looked at caribou who are a close relative of the reindeer. We had a bag of lichen which is a treat for the caribou so the animals came over to the fence to get the goodies. They look a lot like reindeer but have slightly longer legs and thinner bodies.
Caribou at the Bonanza Creek, Long term Ecological Research Center, University of Alaska at Fairbanks.
Eventually a reindeer came close enough for us to get a picture.
Reindeer at the Bonanza Creek, Long term Ecological Research Center
Much of the research done on the animals involves studies about food digestion and replacement foods because these animals will experience climate change and their current diets will change. For example, one of the grasses they eat in the spring is very efficient form of energy because it is small and packed with a lot of nutrients for its size. As climate change is progressing, this grass is growing faster and so now in the spring when caribou eat the grass it is larger and not as efficient nutritionally. They need to eat more to get the same amount of nutrition.
My favorite animal of the day was the muskoxen. It looks similar to oxen but is more closely related to the sheep and the goat. It is almost round with fur and had the cutest face.
Muskoxen at Bonanza Creek, Long term Ecological Research Center
The first thing the researcher told us about these animals was that she had been combing them and how big a job it was. I was surprised by this because they are living in their natural habitat and in the wild muskoxen do not typically have hairdressers. The muskoxen have two layers of fur; the long hair you see exposed on the animal and a layer of short hair which is a couple inches thick and is a very fluffy layer that keeps the animal warm in the sub zero temperatures. This inside fur is very desirable because it can be woven into yarn and produces very warm clothing. In the wild, this inside fur will be shed in the spring so the animal will not overheat. At the research center, they comb out the hair so they can sell it for $75 per skein. This income they receive from the fur will allow them to buy feed for all the animals for the following year. We had the opportunity to feel the fur of the animal before and after the inside fur was removed.
The grooming stall for muskoxen at the Bonanza Creek, Long term Ecological Research Center