Reindeer/Caribou at the
Agate Inn
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Wander through the grounds at the Agate Inn and visit our reindeer
(domesticated caribou). Bring along a few dandelions and they won’t want you to leave! You will be surprised by how friendly and soft
Reindeer are. When they think no one is watching they play a variety of reindeer
games, including what looks like king of the hill. Reindeer joined the Agate Inn on June 2, 1999. Their names were chosen from the 59 names submitted by our guests. We walked through a herd of 300 Reindeer at the Reindeer Farm in Palmer to select our first deer. We started with two, and the herd slowly expanded to fill our sled team. |
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Crystal is very friendly. She followed us the entire time we wandered through the herd, so we just couldn’t leave her behind. She will eat just about anything from your hand and she loves to play, especially with her very own football.
Silver is a bottomless pit. He spends most of the year bulking up for the fall mating season. Fall is a noisy time in the reindeer pen when Silver starts calling for his mate.
A
boy, Jade, was the first
baby reindeer born at the Agate Inn on April 2, 2001.
Brother
Mica arrived on the scene April 17, 2002.
Little sister Garnet joined the boys on April 11, 2003.
And brother Granite made his arrival on
April 23, 2004.
Copper completed the Agate Inn reindeer family on April 7, 2005.
More on Crystal & Silver's growing family is available in our Reindeer Diary.
Reindeer History
In Europe, caribou are called reindeer, but in Alaska and Canada only the domestic forms are called reindeer. All caribou and reindeer throughout the world are considered to be the same species (Rangifer tarandus), but there are 7 subspecies. There are approximately 950,000 wild caribou in Alaska. Caribou are the Reindeer’s wild counterparts.
Reindeer were domesticated in northern Eurasia about 2000 years ago. Today, reindeer are herded by many Arctic peoples in Europe, Asia and North America including the Sami in Scandinavia and the Nenets, Chuckhi and others in Russia. Reindeer were introduced into Alaska and Canada during the 19th century, but most attempts failed. Captain Healy observed the Chuckchi’s herds in Siberia. After Healy’s account of the Siberian reindeer herds, in 1892 Reverend Sheldon Jackson, the General Agent of Education in Alaska, visited Siberia. Jackson wanted to help the natives in western Alaska secure a reliable source of food. Over the next few years he transported 1300 reindeer to Teller, Alaska.
| Reindeer and Caribou are the only members of the deer family where the males and females both have antlers. These majestic animals drop their antlers each year and then grow a new, larger set. Male reindeer tend to lose their antlers in early December. Female reindeer usually keep their antlers until spring. While the antlers grow, they are covered with a soft furry skin, "velvet". The antlers are very sensitive, spongy and full of blood and tissue during the velvet stage. When the antlers harden in July and August the Reindeer quickly rub the velvet off. |
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Reindeer and caribou have unique hairs which trap air providing them with excellent insulation. These hairs also help keep them buoyant in the water. They are very strong swimmers and can move across wide rushing rivers and even the frozen ice of the Arctic Ocean. The feet of these animals are broad and flat with deeply cleft hooves. Their foot structure allows them to navigate the winter snows and the summertime spongy arctic tundra. Tendons snap across a bone in the foot, producing a clicking sound as the animals walk.
| Reindeer are vegetarians, feeding on grasses, mosses, leaves, and lichens. Female caribou eat 9 to 18 pounds of various lichens a day. In winter, the foraging animals dig deep holes in the snow in search of the precious food and will even defend their find. One of the so-called reindeer lichens, called cauliflower heads, is dyed and sold as trees for architect’s models. Our reindeer especially love dandelions, fireweed and pieces of apple. |
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| Join us at feeding time to experience reindeer
slobber first hand….literally! For more reindeer information, check these websites: |
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