A visit to the Musk Ox Farm

Tuesday, June 5, dawned bright and beautiful. Blue sky. Sometimes I forget what it is when we have so many cloudy days. Okay, maybe not so many this year so far. In my mind, if there is even one cloudy day, it seems like it's too many.

I followed my usual schedule of hitting the zumba studio, to make up for what I would eat during the day. Hobbs and I then hauled onto the Alaska version of a slab and hightailed it north. It was a great ride to the Valley to visit the Musk Ox Farm near Palmer.

We parked in the lot, and there were only a few other vehicles. Being retired and able to visit places in the middle of the day, in the middle of the week is awesome.



Hobbs and me.  You can see some of the musk ox in the background.

The tour of the farm isn't long, but it was so nice. We learned about the musk ox, an ice age survivor, their arrival to the Valley and the trials of trying to put domesticated herds in other areas. They have a soft wool called qiviut which is given to and used by the Alaska natives to make hats, scarves and other items.

Look at that face.

We also learned about breeding and the most interesting fact which is that a musk ox is nothing more than closely related to a goat!!! Who knew.

All hair.

This herd is 60 years old, with currently about 60 animals, from bulls to calves. The babies here now are a month or so old, and their little spindly legs and shaggy coats make you just want to hug them.

Shaggy, shaggy, shaggy.

You wouldn't want to during the rutting season as they have a musky smell (although they have no musk gland) that isn't that pleasant to humans; hence the name musk ox.

All animals love Hobbs.

They're still a cute animal to me. I've put my name on a list to be a musk ox socializer. Hopefully I'll get a call. This means I'd go to the farm and help do touchy/feely things with them. Sounds like my kind of volunteer job … animals. I'm so looking forward to it.

They're a bit more standoffish to me.  Oh well.