0:02

2.6 million years ago, during the Pleistocene

0:04

Epoch, the saber-toothed and woolly mammoth roamed

0:06

across the North Pole. And

0:08

so did another prehistoric creature. It

0:11

was this colossal, horned, barrel-shaped,

0:14

shaggy-haired animal, weighing up to

0:16

a thousand pounds. But

0:23

unlike the saber-toothed and the woolly mammoth, this

0:26

handsome beast is still very

0:28

much alive. I'm

0:31

Dylan Thurris, and this is Atlas Obscura, a celebration

0:34

of the world's strange, incredible, and

0:36

wondrous places. Today,

0:38

we're taking you to the Musk Ox

0:40

farm in Palmer, Alaska. It's

0:42

where a huge group of Musk

0:45

Ox now live pretty comfortably. In exchange

0:47

for their room and board, they

0:49

offer up some of the finest wool in the

0:51

world. When

0:56

was the last time I took a road

0:58

trip? How many national parks could I hit

1:00

in two weeks? What about hotels? Wait,

1:02

hey, Erica. How much am I spending on

1:05

travel? When your questions about

1:07

life turn into questions about money, there's Erica,

1:09

the virtual financial assistant to help you spend,

1:11

save, and plan smarter. Only from Bank of

1:13

America. What would you like the power to

1:15

do? Erica is only available in the English language.

1:17

You must download the latest version of the mobile banking app only available

1:19

on select mobile devices. Be recorded and monitored for

1:22

quality assurance. Message and data rates and additional terms may

1:24

apply. Bank of America and A, member FDIC. If

1:27

you're looking for a place where

1:29

the wide open skies and the

1:31

towering mountains inspire you to

1:33

find an untapped part of yourself, you

1:36

might want to take a trip to Wyoming. It's

1:39

a place where bold, curious spirits forge

1:41

their own way on all types of

1:43

adventures. There is

1:45

no shortage of iconic, expansive landscapes

1:47

out there. You can

1:49

discover breathtaking hikes, stunning state

1:51

parks, authentic Western culture,

1:54

and other historic sites, along

1:56

with the tales of famous outlaws like

1:58

Butch Cassidy and Pine And years like

2:00

Buffalo Bill Cody. The

2:02

truth lies west. Discover.

2:05

Yours at travel I owe me.com.

2:12

So. To start, we should set the record straight.

2:15

The. Name Musk Ox is

2:17

really misleading. So Musk

2:19

Oxen total misnomer have

2:21

no mosques. Are. Not

2:24

ox. That's.

2:26

Mark Austin He's the executive director

2:29

of the Musk Ox Farm. It's

2:31

the nonprofits that these musk ox

2:33

live out, and it's one of

2:35

the few places in the world

2:37

attempting to raise domesticated mosques. And

2:40

the animals got their name because they

2:42

do look a bit like oxen, but

2:44

in reality they're not related at auction

2:47

at all. They're closer to sort of

2:49

gigantic mountain goats are enormous sheep. The

2:52

farm currently has a heard of

2:54

about eighty musk ox which they

2:57

raised for their fancy woman called

2:59

Tv It and the process of

3:01

domesticating one of the world's few

3:03

remaining ice age megafauna. this animal

3:05

that is both very very big

3:07

and very very strong. Isn't.

3:10

Easy. You. Know for any

3:12

animal to go from wilde to

3:14

floppy ears and spots hallmarks of

3:16

domestication could take hundreds and hundreds

3:19

of years. So. We

3:21

don't. Fool ourselves into thinking

3:24

that this is gonna happen anytime

3:26

overnight. So we we acknowledge that

3:28

we are in process and bad

3:30

as or mission as stated coming

3:32

from the beginning and that's where

3:34

we can. That's why we continue

3:36

to work with you today. Marks

3:39

as it took. Thousands. Of

3:41

years for cows to become truly domesticated

3:43

silk. The musk ox is at the

3:45

start of a long journey, but because

3:48

it's wall is so valuable, the forest

3:50

founder had this idea that musk ox

3:52

might eventually be a good way for

3:55

rural Alaska and families help support themselves.

3:57

People living in these coastal areas. Rich

4:00

culture, abundance of food. but the world

4:02

is changing and that there was I

4:04

need to bring in cash dollars that

4:07

we're not abundant in the far north.

4:10

So how do you go about

4:12

domesticating a thousand pound musk ox?

4:15

You. Start when they're much, much smaller. So.

4:19

When they are born in the

4:21

first. Twelve hours, Twenty

4:23

four hours. We we do very

4:25

little the interact we will. I'm.

4:28

Vaccinate as very born with will then

4:30

move them from a pen where they

4:32

were born into com a maternity pants

4:34

are farm staff will be them in

4:36

their from the very beginning Gabi I'm

4:39

in oak just clean enough pick them

4:41

up poop after them so there's a

4:43

there's a general presence of just having

4:45

from san for around them. They

4:48

also give all of the mascots. Individual

4:51

names and each year

4:53

there's a theme we've

4:55

got. I Am Peppers,

4:57

Ginger Sage, Party Rule,

4:59

Paprika and it as

5:01

as as for Spice

5:03

Girls, The. Farm

5:05

also has musk ox aimed for I did

5:07

or I check points for national parks for

5:09

trees for gemstones due to the idea. Ah,

5:13

Marks has each. Musk Ox also has

5:15

its own personality in the like going

5:17

out on the playground and saying let's

5:20

like to hang out with Billie. I

5:22

would say like to hang out with

5:24

bombings and you know they're all gonna

5:26

be different. There's there's some that are

5:28

incredibly friendly and serious. There's some that

5:31

are just as soon be left alone.

5:34

And then. Of course, there

5:36

are the troublemakers. I.

5:41

Came back from an airport run couple years

5:43

ago in there is a by. Pulled into

5:46

the the parking lot here and I saw

5:48

eyes reflecting on the top of a hill

5:50

and somewhere that should never have them. And

5:52

so one of them had found a way

5:55

to get up over fencing, go and walk

5:57

about. and she she lowered about four or

5:59

five hours. To go with her

6:01

own issues, I came back with like

6:03

doesn't do that so still do that

6:05

though though. Climb senses though. Are you

6:08

like stand up so you know they're

6:10

They're constantly running and playing with no

6:12

sitting. We got balls. All kinds of

6:14

enrichment things out there from play with.

6:18

Cover the room. The farm staff work so hard

6:20

to get the animals familiar with them is so

6:22

that it when it comes time to harvest their

6:24

wall. The musk ox are used to being around

6:26

people and being handled by them. And

6:29

the must act Naturally said, there will.

6:31

There are caveats, ah each year and

6:33

that means that unlike seep. They.

6:35

Don't need to be shared if left

6:37

alone will just fall off. so in

6:39

the spraying you you'll start noticing it.

6:42

you know he's or middle patch will

6:44

start to rise to the surface of

6:46

the guard here. That's. When

6:48

the farm staff brings the musk ox into

6:50

the barn. Ply. Them with

6:52

their barley and corn treats. And

6:55

starts brushing. And. What

6:57

we've found bomb best is a

7:00

steal to hear Picked afro picked

7:02

it allows us to can penetrate

7:04

below the the guard hair which

7:07

is always going to stay on

7:09

get an unattractive he led the

7:11

starting to. The

7:13

said, naturally and you can get on

7:16

an easy start working up and swinging

7:18

an entire seat of this Asa a

7:20

musk ox when you're when it's really

7:22

releasing really nicely. And

7:25

the Qb it is valuable stops.

7:27

It's not quite worth it's weight

7:29

in gold, but it's worth a

7:31

fair bit. And an average adult

7:33

musk ox might produce somewhere around

7:35

four pounds of caveat each season,

7:38

and we'd lose about. Fifty

7:40

percent in processing. So.

7:43

That gets it about sixty four hundred dollars.

7:46

Per. Animal a few turns all

7:48

into garments and were able to

7:50

sell all those. Even. Sell

7:52

the farm doesn't actually cover the

7:55

cost of caring for all the

7:57

animals. if if we were not

7:59

a non profit, we wouldn't

8:01

be able to do what we do. It's

8:03

expensive. If we didn't have education, if we

8:05

didn't have retail, if we didn't have donors,

8:09

we wouldn't be operating. You

8:12

can visit the Musk Ox farm. Like

8:14

Mark mentioned, there is a whole educational

8:16

program. There are tours and of

8:18

course there is a gift shop

8:20

where you can go and get

8:23

your own kiviet, Musk Ox hair

8:26

sweater. What could

8:28

be a more fashion forward move

8:31

for this winter. Our

8:37

podcast is a co-production of Atlas Obscura

8:39

and Witness Docs. This

8:41

episode was produced by Baudelaire Seuss.

8:44

The production team includes

8:46

Doug Baldinger, Chris Naka,

8:48

Camille Stanley, Willis Ryder

8:50

Arnold, Sarah Wyman, Manolo

8:53

Morales, Gianna Palmer, Tracy

8:55

Samuelson, John Delore, Peter

8:57

Clowney. Our technical director

8:59

is Casey Holford. This episode was mixed

9:01

by Luce Fleming. Our

9:04

theme in end credit music is by Sam Tindall

9:06

and I'm Dylan Thoress wishing you all the

9:08

wonder in the world. I'll

9:10

see you next time. Witness

9:22

Docs from Stitcher. The

9:30

world isn't wide enough for those with

9:33

an insatiable desire for discovery. The

9:35

all-new 2024 Lincoln Nautilus Hybrid

9:37

SUV offers the power and

9:39

freedom to explore further and

9:41

deeper than ever before. Intuitive

9:44

smart features ensure they are always connected

9:46

to the road ahead. Inside,

9:49

a thoughtfully designed cabin immerses

9:51

you in a universe that is

9:53

all your own. The larger-than-life panoramic

9:56

display spans the entire width of

9:58

the cabin. customizable

10:00

and interactive. Drivers

10:02

can even personalize their backgrounds with a

10:05

series of nature inspired themes. This

10:07

vehicle signals the arrival of

10:10

an exciting new chapter for Lincoln. Discover

10:12

more about the 2024 Lincoln Nautilus at lincoln.com.

10:17

Spectrum One is a big deal. You

10:19

get Spectrum Internet with the most reliable

10:22

Internet speeds, free advanced Wi-Fi for enhanced

10:24

security and privacy, and a free Spectrum

10:26

Mobile Unlimited line with nationwide 5G included.

10:28

All while saving big. For the big

10:30

speed, big reliability, and big savings you

10:33

want, get Spectrum One. Just $49.99 a

10:35

month for 12 months. Visit

10:38

spectrum.com/bigdeal for full details. Offer subject

10:40

to change. Valid for qualified residential

10:43

customers. Only service not available in

10:45

all areas. Restrictions apply.