How reindeer got to America
In the 1890s, the idea of raising domesticated reindeer took root
in Alaska, leading to a herd being imported to replace dwindling
numbers of free-ranging caribou as a regional food source.
Leaving Europe
February 4, 1898
The herd of 539 reindeer sails from Norway on the Manitoban, with 72 Indigenous Sami herders, 418 sleds, and 500 tons of lichen to feed the reindeer for three months.
Bossekop,
Norway
Arrival in Alaska
February 28, 1899
Only 114 reindeer and
15 herders reach their
final destination.
SIBERIA
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
Alaska
(U.S.)
Circle
Haines
PACIFIC
OCEAN
CANADA
North
America
New York
Reindeer on the rails
February 27–March 8
The herd arrives in
the U.S., then travels
by train across the
country.
Heading north
March 16–28
The herd’s health
deteriorates as its
lichen runs low.
Seattle
UNITED
STATES
Christine Fellenz, NGM Staff.
Sources: U.S. Senate, “Report on Introduction of Domestic
Reindeer into Alaska,” 1898; National Park Service
How reindeer
got to America
In the 1890s, the idea of raising
domesticated reindeer took root
in Alaska, leading to a herd being
imported to replace dwindling
numbers of free-ranging caribou
as a regional food source.
Leaving Europe
February 4, 1898
The herd of 539 reindeer sails from
Norway on the Manitoban, with 72
Indigenous Sami herders, 418 sleds,
and 500 tons of lichen to feed the
reindeer for three months.
1
Reindeer on the rails
February 27–March 8
The herd arrives in the U.S., then
travels by train across the country.
2
Heading north
March 16–28
The herd’s health deteriorates
as its lichen runs low.
3
Arrival in Alaska
February 28, 1899
Only 114 reindeer and 15 herders
reach their final destination.
4
1
Bossekop,
Norway
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
Alaska
(U.S.)
Circle
4
Haines
CANADA
New York
North
America
2
3
Seattle
UNITED
STATES
PACIFIC
OCEAN
Christine Fellenz, NGM Staff.
Sources: U.S. Senate, “Report on
Introduction of Domestic Reindeer
into Alaska,” 1898; National Park Service