Day 28
Tuesday, July 5
Fairbanks, Day 5

 
 





The Sun was shining and we had blue skies when we got up this morning. This is the first day in a long time that it didn't rain at least some. Today was also a free day - no scheduled activities. Jenna and Bet went to get a haircut and I did a couple of loads of laundry. It helps to push the start button on the dryer; otherwise the clothes don't dry. Just as I got the clothes back to the trailer Jenna called. She decided to get a color job along with the haircut so Bet left her there. I went to pick her up and got a haircut myself.

We ate a little lunch and went to the University of Alaska LARs - Large Animal Research Station.   They have musk ox and caribou on the 120 acre station. They study the animals for diet, development, and reproduction. They breed the animals there and they remain there their whole life. The musk ox is as old as the sabre-toothed tiger but it almost became extinct during the early 20th century. The only remaining herds were in Canada and Greenland.




 


Musk oxen were brought from Greenland to Alaska where they have been bred and herds have been re-established in the Arctic, Alaska, Russia and Norway. It was interesting to hear how they have adapted to life in the extreme cold. Their hair consists of two distinct coats - an outer coat that keeps out the wind and moisture and an inner coat that serves as an insulating coat to keep out the cold. The inner coat is discarded each spring and it is the most valuable - worth about $25 an ounce. A single sweater knitted from this yarn would cost about $1000. Females live 15-20 years and males live about 12 years. The difference is due to the heat butting the males do to each other while trying to establish dominance during mating season.





 

They showed us a skull from both a male and a female - the male's skull was much thicker and his horns were 4-5 times thicker than a females. The extra horn and skull helps protect them from the heavy head butting. The LARS had two baby musk ox that were born this spring and they have an orphan musk ox that came to them from the herd in the Arctic. They gain about 1 lb. each day.

Caribou and Reindeer are essentially the same animal. (The big difference is that reindeer can fly.) Actually reindeer are domesticated while caribou are not. It is illegal to own caribou, but you can own reindeer. (That's why Santa has reindeer.) They had 3 male caribou that came up to the fence to be fed. One was about 8 years old, one was 5 and the other was 1. Their antlers were in full velvet.




 

The guide told us that both male and female caribou have antlers, and that antlers signify status within the herd. The male's antlers fall off in the fall, but the female retains her antlers all winter. There was also a female caribou and a 2 month old baby. The baby gains about 1 lb. per day for the first 100 days. The female becomes dominate during the winter because they still have antlers. Therefore, they get more food during their pregnancy. When the male regrows his antlers starting in early spring, they grow about 1" each day.

After coming back to the trailer Robert and I worked on the front jack and hitched the trailer to the truck for tomorrow's trip. We took Lucy for a walk and some of our group were playing cornhole, so we stopped and visited and played a little bit. Dinner time came so Jenna fixed dirty rice, peas and sourdough bread. Pretty good eatin'. After dinner we took our chairs down to the river for a little sittin' time. About 20 of our group ended up down there for a little cussin' and discussin'. Before we knew it, it was 10:00 but the sun was still shining bright. It is only dark here about 3 hours each night. Tomorrow we head out for Denali. I'll let you know about that tomorrow. Til then - Happy Trails!!