Alaska's famed reindeer dies after masked figure sprays him with unknown liquid: Reports

A community in Alaska is in mourning after a beloved reindeer died just weeks after a masked person sprayed him with a suspicious liquid, in an act authorities have not yet been able to decipher, multiple reports have suggested.

Anchorage's famous reindeer Star VII, who led parades and cultural events as an unofficial mascot of the city, was put down last Tuesday following deteriorating health, just weeks after he was sprayed and hurt by a masked figure, the New York Times, KTUU and the Anchorage Daily News reported.

According to reports, trouble began in January when someone tampered with the chain-link fence to Star’s enclosure near downtown Anchorage. Shortly after, Star fell sick and began to losing weight, concerning Star's owner Albert Whitehead, who assumed Star’s rumen, the bacteria-filled stomach that helps reindeer digest food, may have been disturbed, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

Soon after, on Feb. 20, security footage captured a masked figure jump into Star's enclosure in the darkness of the night and let the 8-year-old male reindeer out onto the streets of Anchorage.

Security camera captures masked intruder tampering with Star's enclosure

The footage, shared by the Anchorage Police Department on social media, shows a person wearing dark clothing opening Star's enclosure and leading him onto the streets. Whitehead, 84, told the Anchorage Daily News the intruder used heavy-duty bolt cutters to get into the locked enclosure.

Police were able to track down the animal and returned him to Whitehead.

However, the following night, another masked figure in a similar getup approached the animal and sprayed him on his face with an unknown substance.

Whitehead witnessed this unfold on his surveillance cameras and rushed out to confront the man, yelling at him to stop and "leave the reindeer alone!," the caretaker told the Anchorage Daily News.

"I said, 'What are you doing?'" Whitehead told the media outlet. "And he said, 'I’m trying to help Star.'"

Whitehead said he chased after the intruder but lost him a few blocks away.

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Anchorage Police Department investigating incident

The Anchorage Police Department told the Times it did not know how many people were involved in hurting Star and had no leads on who was responsible. However, the department said it assumes that the same person who let Star out of the enclosure was the one who later sprayed him with the liquid. A detective is working on the case, police told the media outlet, and is seeking the public’s help in identifying the person.

An update on the investigation was not immediately available and the Anchorage Police Department did not immediately respond to Paste BN's request for more information.

In the days that followed, Star was diagnosed with pneumonia, respiratory distress and rumen issues and fell so ill that Whitehead considered euthanizing him to relieve him of his misery. However, a treatment program from a veterinary clinic helped Star’s condition improve, and Whitehead believed Star would be able to recover fully.

Star the reindeer's owner: 'We feel extremely sad'

Unfortunately, two weeks later, things took a turn for the worse and Star’s condition deteriorated again.

"We feel extremely sad," Whitehead told the Times. "They hurt an unknown animal for some unknown reason. I just don’t understand why people would do that."

Whitehead told the Times that the exact cause of Star's death would not be known until a necropsy has concluded. While it is not yet known what was in the aerosol spray can, the caretaker told the Anchorage Daily News the spray could have been some kind of cleaning spray or an insecticide. Whitehead also told the Times he thought the can contained air freshener but did not confirm that.

Will there be a Star VIII?

Star is part of a long Anchorage tradition that started in 1960 by Ivan and Oro Stewart, the owners of a downtown camera store, who decided to keep a reindeer as a pet. Over the years, the Stewarts keep a series of reindeers, each named Star, and the animals became an Anchorage tourist attraction. As the name suggests, Star VII was the seventh reindeer in the line of succession. Whitehead, who was a family friend, took over the tradition in 2002, according to Anchorage Daily News.

Whitehead told KTUU that Star VII was not just a reindeer.

"Star represents what Alaska is to a lot of people," Whitehead said.

In the wake of Star's death, Whitehead and his partner Martha Anderson have received support from across the country with people expressing their grief over Star's death, KTUU reported, adding people have even left flowers at Star's pen.

Whitehead told the Times he's not sure if there will be a Star VIII.

"I don’t feel safe putting another animal in that pen," Whitehead told the media outlet.

However, he added that if the culprit is caught, he "would revisit" the possibility of caring for a Star VIII.

Anyone will information on the incident is requested to contact the Anchorage Police Department at 311 or 907-786-8900.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for Paste BN. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.