Walking with Reindeer in Alaska

Of course we signed up for a walk with some reindeer. Who wouldn’t?

The Running Reindeer Ranch in Fairbanks, Alaska, offers two hour sessions where visitors get to learn all about the ranch and reindeer, look at and walk with reindeer, touch and pose for pictures.

The reindeer walk freely as the group walks along, so they were ambling in the woods beside us as we walked with our guides on the ranch’s property.

Glamour shot with a reindeer. Check out the crazy antler! One tine is growing along her nose!

“Excuse me, ma’am, do you have any treats in that bag?”

The ranch’s origins came about from 12-year-old Robin haranguing mom for various pets. A horse? Goats? Sheep? No, no, no, none of these are suited for the cold Alaska temperatures. But a reindeer? Sure, mom said, as long as you pay for it –– because surely Robin would not be able to raise the funds for a reindeer, right?

You can guess that Robin did indeed raise the money for a reindeer –– only to realize that they are herd animals, and you can’t have just one. No worries, dad (who lived elsewhere) said, I’m so proud of you, I’ll match the money you raised!

How could mom say no now? So reindeer joined the family in 2007. One thing led to another, and today you can walk with reindeer, do yoga with reindeer, or even get married with reindeer! The herd numbers around ten, from youngsters to the herd elders.

Reindeer are actually just domesticated caribou, though regionally they may be called one or the other. The rack of antlers on their head is grown annually, falling off each year, and then regrowing bigger and better the next year! Both males and females grow antlers, though male antlers are generally twice as big as females’.

Domesticated reindeer may live up to 20 years, about a third longer than those in the wild.