The muskox is right out of the ice age, one of the oldest species on the continent. Although closely related to goats, it looks like a cross between a cow and a wooly mammoth.

Muskox are famous for their defensive position, drawing into a circle to ward off threats. That defense worked well against wolves, but not so well against guns. By the beginning of the 20th century, muskoxen were extinct in Alaska.

But now they are back. There's a thriving herd in Fairbanks, descendants of 34 muskoxen captured in Greenland. The animals were dog-sledded to the coast, taken by ship to Sweden, a bigger ship to New York, a train to Seattle, a boat to Seward, and another train to Fairbanks. That's the long way to go home. Talk about Planes, Trains, and trucks.

Muskoxen have always been important to Natives, not so much for their meat as for their wool, qiviut, which is soft enough to make cashmere feel like steel wool. The downside is that it is expensive - a scarf was $350.00 from the co-op in Anchorage. But it is so warm! Anyone who gets cold easily would find this a great investment in being warm. I laid a scarf around my shoulders and instantly was too hot.