{"id":2423073,"date":"2025-04-13T17:32:02","date_gmt":"2025-04-13T21:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/beloved-reindeer-that-frequented-city-streets-dies-after-being-coated-in-mystery-fluid\/"},"modified":"2025-04-13T17:33:51","modified_gmt":"2025-04-13T21:33:51","slug":"beloved-reindeer-that-frequented-city-streets-dies-after-being-coated-in-mystery-fluid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/beloved-reindeer-that-frequented-city-streets-dies-after-being-coated-in-mystery-fluid\/","title":{"rendered":"Beloved Reindeer That Frequented City Streets Dies After Being Coated in Mystery Fluid"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbeloved-reindeer-that-frequented-city-streets-dies-after-being-coated-in-mystery-fluid%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2423073&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A beloved reindeer named Star in Anchorage, Alaska, passed away after likely being poisoned. Star&#8217;s owner, Albert Whitehead, made the tough decision to euthanize him on April 1 after his health deteriorated. At eight years old, star was a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-got-a-big-problem-in-early-primary-state-thats-the-line-for-rfk-jr\/\" title=\"Biden faces major issue in key primary state: RFK Jr.&#039;s stance.\">local icon<\/a>, appearing in parades and on reality TV, and was the seventh reindeer to bear the name in a tradition that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-complete-guide-to-gina-caranos-post-mma-career\/\" title=\"The Complete Guide to Gina Carano\u2019s Post-MMA Career\">dates back<\/a> to the 1950s.<\/p>\n<p>The troubles began in January when an intruder tampered with Star&#8217;s pen, leading to a significant change in his eating habits. Whitehead noticed that Star stopped eating and began losing weight. Ther were further incidents where a masked individual was seen spraying something into Star&#8217;s enclosure, claiming to be trying to help him.Unfortunately, Star developed pneumonia shortly thereafter, and despite some recovery, his health continued to decline.<\/p>\n<p>The mystery surrounding star&#8217;s decline has prompted a necropsy,but no answers have yet come to light. Whitehead is now uncertain about continuing the reindeer tradition, considering the risks involved in keeping another animal after the traumatic events that befell Star. Reindeer generally live for 15 to 18 years in captivity, and the community mourns the loss of this cherished animal.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_1)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>A celebrity reindeer in Anchorage, Alaska, died weeks after likely being poisoned.<\/p>\n<p>Star was eight years old when his owner made the decision to euthanize him on April 1, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/alaskapublic.org\/news\/anchorage\/2025-04-02\/anchorages-beloved-star-the-reindeer-dies-after-possible-poisoning\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alaska Public Media<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;His health was so bad that he was not doing very well,&rdquo; owner Albert Whitehead said. &ldquo;He was suffering.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>A local icon in Anchorage, the reindeer had starred in parades, been featured on reality television, and served as the delight of schoolchildren on field trips, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/anchorage-pet-reindeer-sick-star-alaska-2a8a7ddc6744ff42df6c814377e761dc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>He&rsquo;s the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">seventh reindeer named &#038;ldquo<\/a>;Star&rdquo; in a town tradition dating back to the 1950s.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Whitehead had rescued this particular reindeer from a farm in Palmer, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/call-wild-dog-los-angeles-escapes-new-home-alaska-outwits-attempts-capture\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alaska<\/a>, and he was the first male in a line of females.<\/p>\n<p>Living in a pen adjacent to Whitehead&rsquo;s home at the edge of downtown Anchorage, it&rsquo;s been more than 20 years since anyone has messed with the cage housing Star&rsquo;s predecessors.<\/p>\n<p>That changed in January, when an intruder cut the lock to his pen before he &ldquo;did something to make him go off diet,&rdquo; Whitehead said.<\/p>\n<p>While it&rsquo;s unclear what happened, Star stopped eating and began losing weight after that incident.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Who does this?? If you read the stories on Star, was tampered with more than once! Local\/State Mascot Reindeer! Have people no soul&hellip;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/justiceforstar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#justiceforstar<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/search?q=%24star&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">$star<\/a><\/p>\n<p>79kiqBW7gPe5XU4XLn1dTfvLPDtEBMt9PJmNGymmpump <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NvS2vfTUtT\">https:\/\/t.co\/NvS2vfTUtT<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Matthew Emmons (@MatthewEmmons7) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MatthewEmmons7\/status\/1908601792406921701?\">April 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Then in February, someone cut the lock again and led Star into town, where police later found him wandering.<\/p>\n<p>The next night, the culprit struck again.<\/p>\n<p>Only this time Whitehead was waiting.<\/p>\n<p>He was watching a live security feed when a man walked up to the pen, his face covered with a scarf.<\/p>\n<p>Using two different cans, the man sprayed something into the cage, even spraying some in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/zg-study-reveals-why-reindeer-are-under-threat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reindeer&rsquo;s<\/a> face.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I yelled at him to stop, &lsquo;What the hell are you doing? What are you spraying on the animal? Don&rsquo;t do that, quit that!&rsquo;&rdquo; Whitehead said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m trying to help Star,&rdquo; the man allegedly replied.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I have no idea what he meant by that,&rdquo; Whitehead said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-embed\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IyhJp2vhR_k?si=mVT6TiGt6XU3X2zV\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Anchorage police still haven&rsquo;t identified the man in the video.<\/p>\n<p>But soon after, Star developed pneumonia, recovered slightly, then worsened again.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Suddenly he relapsed, and some other issues developed,&rdquo; Whitehead said. &ldquo;The vets now are going through a necropsy with him, and we won&rsquo;t have a result of that for a couple weeks.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Whether or not Whitehead will continue the reindeer tradition after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/final-body-recovered-us-army-confirms-unthinkable-tragedy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tragedy<\/a> is uncertain.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Would you be willing to put another animal into that enclosure, knowing there&rsquo;s somebody out there that has doing this kind of stuff to him?&rdquo; he reportedly said.<\/p>\n<p>Reindeer usually live about 15 to 18 years, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/nature\/blog\/reindeer-fact-sheet\/#:~:text=Lifespan:,Threats:\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PBS<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In North America, the <em>Rangifer tarandus<\/em> is technically called a caribou, while in Europe and Asia it&rsquo;s called a reindeer, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/articles\/000\/reinderrvscaribou.htm#:~:text=Caribou%20and%20reindeer%20are%20the,they%20are%20called%20in%20Eurasia.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Park Service<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A well-known reindeer in Anchorage, Alaska, passed away weeks after suspected poisoning. Star was eight years old when his owner chose to euthanize him on April 1, as reported by Alaska Public Media. Owner Albert Whitehead stated, \u201cHis health was so poor that he wasn\u2019t doing well; he was suffering.\u201d Star had become a local icon in Anchorage, participating in parades and appearing on reality TV shows while delighting schoolchildren during field trips. He was the seventh reindeer named &#8220;Star&#8221; in a tradition that dates back to the 1950s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2423074,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Star.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[53375,6875,53374],"class_list":["post-2423073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-animal-news","tag-mystery","tag-reindeer"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Star.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2423073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2423073"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2423073\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2423077,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2423073\/revisions\/2423077"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2423074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2423073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2423073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2423073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}