RV Alaska 2011: DAY 34: THE MUSK OX FARM

Today Nancy and I toured "The Musk Ox Farm" in Palmer which is home to a unique domestication project that began in 1954 with the vision to provide an economic supplement to remote Alaska communities. The Musk Oxen are large hairy, hoofed animals that are survivors of the Ice Age. They were hunted out of Alaska by 1865 and were reintroduced in the 1930's from herds in Greenland. Today there are over 2,000 wild Musk Oxen in Alaska. Musk Oxen were domesticated by selective breeding, starting in 1964 with young animals captured on Nunivak Island. We saw the offspring of these animals during our visit today. An adult Musk Oxen stands about four feet tall at the shoulder and weighs from 400 to 700 lbs. however, we did see one bull today that weighed approximately 1,000 lbs. The Eskimo word for Musk Ox "Oomingmak" means "the bearded one". Qiviut is the Musk Oxen's protection against the harsh Arctic winters. It grows all over their body close to the skin and is covered by a log outer coat of course hair. On the farm, a herder takes the animal into a stall and combs off the loose qiviut; an adult Musk ox sheds an average of 5 lbs of qiviut per year. After it is spun into yarn the yarn is sent to Eskimo villages in southwestern and western Alaska where native women hand-knit it into scarves and caps. Their products are sold through the "Oomingmak Musk Ox Producers' Co-Operative" and all share in the profits. Nancy purchased a qiviut scarf; it's one of the rarest fibers in the world, eight times warmer than sheep's wool and finer than cashmere.