Gestation period given as 217 days or 240 cbys' lierd buck + doe ratios 
Dpt 
at 1:20, but 1:44 hasINoved successful. 
ANTLERfS: Fawns shed  t 12 montl+s of age; new 1ro.tdh coiplete in 3 moths.

Does shed few days after fawning; bucks shed after rutting season oubsides.

POPULATIONS: nerds showed 40. annual incre! se during first 10 years in Alaska.

By 1905 numbered 10,241 and 10 million were predicted in 30 years. But by

1922 kafter 30 years) population nu-bered 200,000 - half that number had
been 
Larvested. Annual gross increbse now 33% (herd profit 27,). By 1934 the 
annual increase was of 205. by 1929 a million reindeer estintted to be in

Alaska. 
bex ratio in 1905 (natural? at least no general slaugliter as yet). 
fawns 50:50 in total of 2,978 
A dults 37:64 in total of 7,263 
jV 'Gig: i rctic tundra, mainly beyond treeline and where no agriculture
is 
practica&o tlul-e herds naturally loose so they (lld not browse bet *,heir
range 
as under Lapp close-herdinS. Seasonal shift from lichen range in vinter to

browse and nushrooms in spring to sea coast in summer. This sumr.er coastal

habit avoids insects and provides salt in diet. In 1895 Lapland carried 1

23 reindeer per square mile and Alaska was thought to have 400,000 square
miles 
of ra nge w ith c apacity for 10 million animals. Lomen .1ros. reiterated
this in 
1919 but Biology Survey Lab in 1922 estizated Alaska's capacity as 4 million.

Twelve years later they have not altered this figure although the following"

requirements have been found:   fall raTe - 10  cres per reindeer 
winter range - 20         "   . 
su.rer range - _   "   " 
or     35   "    "            per year 
1UTRITIOr: (1) The longer antlers, faster growth md closer herding male 
bigger mineral demands than in caribou. This leads to carnivorous fabits,

ez.ting of amtlers off each others heads as well as consuning shed antlers.

(2) Lichen analysis by rtt asnay aethods indicates total absence of vitamin
B, 
scarcity cf vitamin A in tall lichens, and of Din sort lichens.  "rotein

content of short lichens 2.6 x thivt of tall ones which ,mae up the bulk
of the 
diet. 
(3) Daily reurcirment air dry weight of forage for confined animals 
250 lb. caribou - 10 lbs. or 1 3/4 tons per year 
500 lb. musk ox i 1O lb. 
1200 lb. moose   _ 35 lb. 
(4) Clip quadrat studies show lichen stands proluce 5-7 tons per acre dry
weight 
annually. 
MONO0.ICS:  it peak 20,000 hides and 2L million lbs. of meat were shipped

annually to Mirkets in the U. 8. but by 1929 the decline had begun and has

continued since that ti,-ae. This has been dae to loss of raarkets, cattleaens

lobby preventing federal government from buying cut white 171ners and restoring

the industry to the natives. b;hite monopolies d maketing facilities has
led 
to insoluble labor problems, herd detredation and depletion. A lost cause
in 
Congress since 1939.