An iconic reindeer so beloved that he has been in parades, featured on reality TV shows and visited by schoolchildren on field trips in Alaska's largest city is fighting for his life after mysteriously falling ill after someone tampered with his pen. Ever since, 8-year-old Star has had pneumonia, digestion issues and rapid weight loss. Star's owner, Albert Whitehead, has taken him to a veterinarian every other day to receive care and in hopes of finding a cause for the issues. Star lives in a fenced-in pen attached to Whitehead’s house at the edge of downtown Anchorage. It’s been over 20 years since someone last tried to tamper with the enclosure where reindeer named Star have been kept for the last seven decades. Star is the seventh in a line of reindeer to carry that name. In early January, someone cut a huge hole in the fencing to gain entrance, spending about five minutes inside with Star before taking off. What the person did in the pen is unknown, but Star began having stomach issues and dropping weight shortly after. Then, on Feb. 20, Anchorage police found the friendly and trusting reindeer wandering around downtown and returned him home. When Whitehead reviewed his security cameras, he found someone had used bolt cutters to remove padlocks off Star’s pen and an alley gate. Star followed the man out into the neighborhood, and the reindeer wound up alone downtown, familiar streets because that's where Whitehead walks him. The next night, the situation turned more serious. Whitehead was watching the video feed when a man wearing a scarf over his face sprayed something from two different cans into Star’s pen and twice hit the reindeer in the face with an unknown substance. 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. Star's pneumonia worsened, and a cough led 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, Star’s veterinarian Sabrieta Holland said. The sprays possibly also contributed. It’s possible there’s a blockage, but the largest stomach of a reindeer is quite big and not easily obstructed, Holland said. Anchorage pioneers Oro and Ivan Stewart started the reindeer tradition, bringing the deer they received from an Alaska Native herder to Anchorage in the 1950s. Whitehead took over as caretaker from his friends in 2002. The average lifespan of a reindeer is about 15 years, but some Stars had long lives, like the first who lived to 23. Others didn't live as long, including the second Star, who was stolen, beaten to death and then butchered by a known Fairbanks meat thief. The third Star died after eating a plastic bag.