内容摘要：The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

The man replied: “I’m trying to help Star.”“I have no idea what he meant by that,” said Whitehead, who suspects — based on the smells — that the sprays could have been a disinfectant and deodorizer.

Whitehead and police believe it was the same man from the prior night. It’s not known if the January tampering involved the same person.“I don’t think the individual wanted to harm Star, but by his actions, he did,” Whitehead said.Albert Whitehead spends time with Star, his pet reindeer, in his pen with downtown Anchorage, Alaska, in the background on March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Albert Whitehead spends time with Star, his pet reindeer, in his pen with downtown Anchorage, Alaska, in the background on March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)Anchorage police posted the surveillance video on social media in hopes it would lead to the suspect’s identity. So far, no viable tips have come in, spokesperson Christopher Barraza said in an email.

Star’s pneumonia worsened, and a cough leads Whitehead to believe Star ate something harmful, perhaps while loose.

The pneumonia is likely due to him accidentally inhaling the chronic reflux or regurgitation of the contents in the largest of the reindeers’ four stomachs, Holland said. The sprays possibly also contributed.“It’s really trying to kick us down,” said Graef, whose property borders what is left of the Bayou Billy’s park. “But our spirits are high, our hopes are high and nothing’s going to stop us from opening this place.”

Throughout town, the ring of hammers and saws mingles with the sizzle of welding and the rumble of debris-removal trucks.Workers lay sewer lines. A temporary steel bridge to the state park — replacing the ornate stone and concrete span that washed out — should be ready soon, O’Leary said.

“In a normal year, they easily have 400,000 visitors that come to the park,” he said. “That’s really the draw that brings people here.”One recent evening, Rose Senehi walked down Main Street, stopping to peer into shop windows to see how much progress had been made.