LARS - Robert G. White Large Animal Research Station

Qiviut raffle to support the Large Animal Research Station!

LARS is raffling off a couple of qiviut items. Qiviut is the soft, valuable underwool of muskoxen. We comb it off our muskox at LARS each spring and then sell it as yarn and knit products.

Now is your chance to win qiviut of your own. We are raffling off TWO prizes-
1) Muskox mug and 2 skeins of qiviut (winner gets to pick color of the skeins!)
2) LARS hoodie and a handknit qiviut smoke ring/cowl

HOW TO BUY TICKETS- Tickets are $20 each and are only sold in-person at the LARS gift shop (2220 Yankovich Rd). The gift shop is open every day from 9:30am-4pm. You can choose to buy tickets for the cowl/hoodie prize or the yarn/mug prize (or buy tickets for both). The winner will be drawn at 4pm on June 6 (at the end of the LARS Birthday Bash event). Winners need not be present to win. Prizes can be shipped within the US. Tickets can be bought from now until June 6.

Contact [email protected] or stop by our gift shop with questions. Alaska Gaming Permit #154

Like if you wish you could be a muskox in a pond



Photo credit- Katie, student employee

LARS is open for the summer season 😄

Our front gate will be open daily from 9:30am-4pm for the summer. Tours are at 10am, 12pm, and 2pm. No reservations needed for groups less than 10 people- we recommend arriving about 15 minutes early to secure tickets for your desired tour time.

Come meet our muskoxen, reindeer, and wood bison and learn all about them from our LARS tour guides.

Questions? Contact [email protected] or 907-474-5724
or visit our website https://www.uaf.edu/lars/outreach-education.php

Photo credit- UAF Photo

That Friday feeling 😋

Photo credit- Thomas, Animal Care Tech

LARS Birthday Bash is coming up soon 🎈

Join us on Saturday, June 6 from 10am-4pm to celebrate last year's muskox and reindeer calves' first birthdays AND the arrival of a new wood bison herd!

See our event page for more details- LARS Birthday Bash 2026

Both humans and animals have been soaking in the springtime sun at LARS lately ☀☀

From now until about August, the reindeer at LARS will have velvet on their antlers, which is the brown fuzzy stuff you see on Emerald's antlers here. Antlers are bone, so the velvet helps to bring blood and minerals to the antlers so they can grow throughout the summer.

Want to see some fuzzy reindeer antlers for yourself? Stop by next week for a tour! LARS will open for the summer on Tuesday 5/26.

We welcomed over 200 students to LARS last week for end-of-year field trips! 😄

Students got to see and learn about muskoxen, reindeer, and wood bison while visiting LARS. We were so impressed with their thoughtful questions and observations. We didn't get any photos, but check out this post to see what the students did for the other half of their field trip to LARS with the International Arctic Research Center, Education Outreach

Interested in bringing students to LARS this summer or fall for a field trip? Contact [email protected] to learn more.

You're invited to Beanie and Tuque's 1st Birthday Party! 🥳

Our LARS Birthday Bash is Saturday, June 6 from 10am-4pm. This event will happen at LARS (2220 Yankovich Rd). There will be activities, animal viewing, food trucks, local organizations, a qiviut raffle, and more!

We'll have the reindeer and muskox calves that you met at last year's Birthday Bash on display so that we can celebrate their first birthday. There won't be new calves this year (LARS didn't breed last fall in accordance with our herd management plan), but we'll have fun surprises and treats planned for our yearlings throughout the day. We're also celebrating the arrival of a new wood bison herd to LARS.

This event is FREE and open to all. Minors must be accompanied by an adult. For more information, or to make an accommodation request at least five days in advance, contact [email protected] or 907-474-5724.

Photo credit- Katie, student employee

It's a suns out tongues out day for Luna!

Luna is a female muskox and you can tell by looking at her horns. The horns meet flat across her head, whereas male muskox horns are much thicker in the middle where they meet.

Photo credit- UAF photo