Show low W ma IF 04 RICA il K ta F MILLION 40 k rort K r 1 y F A x va L UX al A HERD OF MUSK OXEN BUFFALO BY ELMO SCOTT WATSON there came from IN washing ashing ton the news that the herd of but falo in yellowstone national park had grown so large that it would be necessary to reduce it in order to insure proper winter grazing for the remainder of the herd which now numbers more than 1200 animals so the national park service of the department of the interior which Is custodian of the buffalo and other wild game in the park announced that it would give away free to the first applicants buffaloes on the condition that these animals must not be killed but must be used for exhibition or propagation purposes it was only a few years ago that america awoke to the fact that the buffalo had joined the class of vanishing americans and that unless the necessary steps were taken this noble animal would be extinct of the mill ons had once roamed the plains of the great west only a pitiful remnant remained in a few public parks and in the hands of private owners in breeding was weakening the stock and it seemed only a matter of a few feW years before the buffalo must go the way of the passenger p geon and other birds and animals which had been ruth lessly and wastefully slaughtered fortunately however public sentiment was aroused in time and steps were taken which guaranteed the preservation of the animals for the future this latest announcement from government officials indicates that the buffalo no longer need be as a vanishing american because recent years have seen a decided increase in the number of buffaloes now alive although their numbers will never be anywhere near the num nuin bers hers which once inhabited this continent the protection which the government has given to the survivors and its encouragement of their propagation in a scientific manner may mean that buffalo meat may again become a part of the regular american diet but more interesting than the possibilities sug by the increasing number of buffalo Is the action taken by the government in our great est territory alaska for guarantee ng the future neat meat supply of america americas s millions up there more than reindeer now roam the froyen of the north and it is estimated that by 1935 this number will be increased to almost 6 in fact within the last two decades the raising of reindeer has grown to such proper eions that now it is second only in importance to the fishing industry reindeer were introduced to alaska in 1891 in that year sixteen were brought from siberia at the instigation of dr sheldon jackson when doctor jackson was sent to aliska alaska by the gov to establish schools among the natives he found his wards threatened with starvation as a result of the slaughter by white men of the game animals on which the natives had depended for food he ile conceived the idea of replacing the fast disappearing game with reindeer the principal domestic animal of lapland and sl st beria the climate and vegetation of which re that of alaska returning to the states and unable to interest congress in the venture doctor jackson sought contributions from the public he obtained 2148 2 with which the first animals were procured in siberia at the same time siberian herdsmen were brought over to care for them in 1892 more reindeer were imported con gresa gress then became mildly interested and small appropriations made possible importations through the next ten years until in 1902 when the kussian russian government put an embargo on fur N v ther exportations from siberia 1280 animals bad been talen into alaska the siberian herdsmen proved incompetent as teachers for the esk esl mos and for a time the was threatened with failure it was then that doctor jackson went for advice to prof ras mus D anderson of mad son wis who while to denmark had vis ted the reindeer herds of lapland doctor jackson s early inter est had been aroused by a report on the industry there made by the professor in pursuance of professor anderson s advice lapp herders were engaged to replace the sl st belans as instructors to the eskimos each vias mas lent animals from the government herd for a period of years at the end of which an equal number of reindeer were required to be returned to the government the lapps were permitted to retain the increase the eskimos were apprenticed to the lapps for a period of four years at the end of the first year each was given six reindeer at the end of the second eight at the end of the third year ten and ten more at the end of his fourth year of training with normal increases each man roan a herd would be almost head by the time he had completed his apprenticeship he ile was well aped to start in business for him self today more than two thirds of the reindeer of alaska are owned by natives of whom some have been trained in their care the effect of this training on the eskimos Is one of the most important results of the enter prise within less than a generation the rein deer industry has advanced the natives of alaska through one entire stage of civilization from the primitive to the pastoral from nomadic hunt ers to civilized men independent responsible assured of support tor for themselves and an unity to acquire wealth they have bank ae ac k 4 W ft BULL q V DING UP BUFFALO HERD IN PARK abir 9 jr V t F M 44 THE counts purchase american clothing and food have adopted improved methods of sanitation and in some instances have built frame houses from imported lumber between 1918 and 1925 more than pounds of reindeer meat was shipped to the united states from alaska two hundred thou sand pounds were shipped in 1923 while by 1925 the export had increased to pounds the export for 1927 was expected almost to dou ble bie that of 1925 the amount depending on ship ping facilities reindeer meat sells in nome for 15 to 20 cents a pound it can be delivered at seattle tor for 15 cents a pound and with increased shipments and improved methods of handling even this price can be reduced while hile ahe only reindeer on this continent now are in alaska and the territory s production Is restricted by pasturage to 4 head there are millions of acres in canada where ten times as many can be fed and vast stretches tn in northern europe and asia where reindeer have been raised for centuries but never on an ex scale where ten times as many can be grazed as in canada ta all reindeer could be supported bv by alaska canada and eu rasia assuring a substantial contribution to the world worlds s supply of food and a utilization of what otherwise would be waste land cut but the reindeer ignot Is not the only animal which the government Is propagating in the great natural game preserve of alaska A more recent experiment Is with musk oxen which have been introduced into alaska ip in the hope mat they may become established reestablished re there in 1927 the legislature of the territory of alaska pet cloned congress for an appropriation for establishing an experimental herd of musk oxen at the reindeer exper ment station of the united states cal survey near fairbanks under the lea dersh p of representative L 3 D edinson of iowa and senator peter norbeck of south dakota a bill providing for that purpose was finally passed in 1990 and s ened by president hooi hoon er with this monea mone the department of agrical ture went to work A I 1 erd of 34 oxen was obtained in greenland in the fall of that year was shipped from greenland to norway and then to new ew york by aboaf then they were sent by railway express from new york to seattle wash then by steamship to seward alaska and from seward to fairbanks banks they were taken by railroad finally completing their long jour ney early th s car ear at fairbanks they have been placed in a large enclosure where they are under the care of men acquainted with the lecul ar problems of feeding breed ng and man argement of these animals under alaskan condl eions evidently the first musk oxen to be captured and transported alive from their native haunts were taken on an island near greenland around 1899 1809 these were shipped to norway and later sold for exhibition at a park at woburn coburn eng land the first to reach this country were delivered at isea york in 1902 and were ex hib bib ted at the new york zoological park A number of others were imported during sue beeding years it is the hope of the biological survey of the department of agriculture that the musk oxen may be successfully domesticated and that their numbers may be increased to utilize a large part of the vast feeding resources of alaska which are largely wasted if the experiment succeeds and the musk oxen increase it may mean a valuable source of supply of meat and valuable robes as well as other products musk oxen are the most truly arctic of all the large mammals in north america according to paul G red agton chief of the un ted states biological survey at the time of the earliest exploration of the arctic musk oxen inhabited the vast territory north of the great tran scon tin forest roaming from the northwestern shores of hudson bay to the mackenzie river and over most of the arctic islands and north ern greenland they formerly existed in some numbers in northern alaska there seems to be no authentic records of their occurrence within the territory s nee its exploration by europeans european though some of the natives state that their grandfathers killed them in the region south of point barrow and their skulls and other bones are still occasionally picked up on the tundra it seems probable that the relatively small areas north of the tree limit could not support sufficient numbers to withstand the demands made on them by the surrounding natives musk oxen also d sapp eared long ago from northern europe and asia fortunately they have per aisted to the present time in limited numbers in northern canada eastern greenland and some of the arctic islands though they are much reduced from their former numbers the cana dian than government for the past several years has been making vigorous efforts to preserve the remnant of these animals having established several reservations for them one of the most important of which Is the thelon sanctuary east of great slave lake in northwest ries ties there about 25 musk oxen still exist where adequate range had been set aside for them and the most effective protection possible Is being afforded in the hope thit that they may not only maintain themselves but also increase ma serially teri ally in numbers in appearance musk oxen resemble somewhat a small sized buffalo or bison to which they are probably more nearly akin than to any other american animal there Is a d hump on their shoulders although it Is not so con developed as in the bison and the head is carried high when the animal Is on the alert their general color Is dark brownish black with a lighter brown or cream color on the back and the legs are much I 1 ahter colored both sexes in the musk ox have horns which in the mature bulls are massive coming to gether at the forehead and descend ng on each side of the head and then turning sharply up ward and ending in sharp po ants the horns in the female are sim lar but more slender these weapons are exceed angly effective against the wolf wol f which is the musk ox s only natural enemy in their ord nary movements tl e animals are usually slow and del berate but they can de celop antoni ng peed especially when at tacked the animals tend to group themselves into herds and in defending themselves ies against the attacks of the wolves they bunch up in close formation with heads ranged outward forming an irregular circle when attacked they paw the ground bellow and with lowered heads make quick dash ng charges for short d stances and then return into in to formation tl TI e young and immature animals are thus defended from at tack by the stronger and more aggressive adults the meat of these animals Is reported to be of excellent quality simi ir dr to beef or buffalo meat when properly dressed at the right season of the year the fact that the musk oxen for merla roamed the treeless coastal plains of alaska and the information obtained in range investigations conducted by the biological sur vey offer abundant evidence that the forage there Is su table for their use animals kept in cap have fed read ly and thrived on hay bay and carrots and other root crops hence their do mastication Is particularly de desirable as a means of provid ng a meat producing animal that can utilize the natural forage and the kinds of cul ti bated foods that can be produced in abundance in alaska cl matic matle cond eions in alaska are such that the agricultural development of the terri tory must depend upon production of special types of in mals adapted to such environment the present attempt to reintroduce musk oxen into alaska and to domesticate them with a view to restocking suitable ranges ap pears to be timely and as they will subsist largely on range forage d efferent from that con fumed ba b reindeer and are adapted to live under d efferent and exceed angly rigorous cond blons they should supplement well the present rapid development of the reindeer industry the tend ency of the anim ils to bunch up during feed ing and not to wander far away from their estabi hed ranges should make male them readily herded and managed and well adapted to ban tiling conditions that will be necessary on the great alakl alaskan an ranges Q by western newspaper aalon |