320 ANTSrUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1942 



which carried them to Bergen, Norway. They were placed in spe- 

 cially constructed crates which permitted the animals to stand or to lie 

 down in comfort. Grasses and hay taken in the locality of their 

 capture provided suitable food. 



On September 6, 1930, the herd of 34 animals, half of them calves, 

 the remainder yearlings and 2-year-olds, was shipped from Bergen 

 and 10 days later arrived in the port of New York. From there 

 they were removed to Athenia, N. J., where for 33 days, in accord- 

 ance with Federal regulations, they were held in quarantine. This 

 procedure was necessary to be assured that such diseases as foot-and- 

 mouth disease and rinderpest were not present in the herd. During 

 this interval two experts from the Biological Survey were placed 

 in charge of the animals, and American-grown alfalfa hay became 

 their main food. About 5 pounds of hay an animal were consumed 

 daily along with considerable water, the latter probably caused by ex- 

 cessive heat on the Atlantic seaboard and, in addition, to thirst 

 caused by the great environmental change. 



At the end of the quarantine period, the animals, still in their 

 individual crates, and well supplied with hay and water, were loaded 

 into steel express cars for their 5-day trip to Seattle. At this point 

 they were again placed aboard a boat for the week's journey to 

 Seward, Alaska; then in freight box cars, they made the rail trip 

 northward to College, near Fairbanks. They arrived at this desti- 

 nation on November 4, and on the following day, near the campus of 

 our most northerly institution of higher learning, the University of 

 Alaska, were released into a 7,500-acre pasture — part of the Biolog- 

 ical Survey's cooperative reindeer experiment station. This was to be 

 their home for the following 6 years — years of care, study, and ex- 

 periment. All the musk oxen reached College in splendid condition. 



Accidental injuries reduced the herd to 32 animals shortly after it 

 was placed in the pasture. These, however, soon responded to han- 

 dling and could be driven easier than reindeer when it was desired to 

 corral them. While under observation at this point, it was found 

 that in sj^ring and fall the animals fed chiefly on grasses and sedges, 

 in summer on shrubs, and in winter on cured grasses, sedges, and, to 

 some extent, on lichens. By 1932, the herd was further reduced, 2 of 

 the animals falling victims to bears. 



In April 1934, the first of the calves were born, and in May and June 

 additional calving took place. There were nine 5-year-old cows at 

 this time and seven of them gave birth to calves. Four cows that were 

 4 years old did not breed. Of the original 34 animals brought to 

 Alaska, 10 had died by 1934, leaving 24 of the original herd and 5 new 

 calves, a total of 29. Additional calving during the spring of 1935 

 brought the herd to 32. 



