Muskox

Muskox
Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Caprinae
Genus: Ovibos
Blainville, 1816
Species: O. moschatus
Binomial name
Ovibos moschatus
(Zimmermann, 1780)
Range map. Blue indicates areas where the muskox has been successfully introduced in the 20th century. Red indicates established range.

The muskox (Ovibos moschatus) is an Arctic mammal of the Bovidae family, noted for its thick coat and for the strong odor emitted by males, from which its name derives. This musky odor is used to attract females during mating season. Muskoxen live primarily in Arctic North America, with small reintroduced populations in Sweden, Siberia and Norway.

Contents

Physical characteristics

As members of the subfamily Caprinae of the family Bovidae, muskoxen are more closely related to sheep and goats than to oxen, but are in their own genus, Ovibos. Both sexes have long curved horns. Muskoxen stand 1.2 m (3 ft 11.2 in) high at the shoulder on average, with females measuring 135 to 200 cm (53.1 to 78.7 in) in length, and males 200 to 250 cm (78.7 to 98.4 in). Adults, on average, weigh 285 kg (628 lb) and range from 180 to 400 kg (397 to 882 lb).[2] The thick coat and large head often suggests a larger animal than the muskox truly is, but overfed zoo specimens have weighed up to 650 kg (1430 lbs). Their coat, a mix of black, gray, and brown, includes long guard hairs that almost reach the ground. Rare "white muskox" have been spotted in the Queen Maud Gulf Bird Sanctuary.[3] Muskoxen can be domesticated and yield excellent meat, milk and wool. The wool, qiviut, is highly prized for its softness, length, and insulation value. Prices for yarn range between $40 and $80 per ounce (28 g).[4][5][6]

Muskoxen are social and live in herds, usually of around 10–20 animals, but sometimes over 70. Winter herds consist of adults of both sexes as well as young animals. During the mating season, which peaks in mid-August, males compete for dominance, and one dominant bull drives other adult males out of the group. Non-breeding males will often form male only herds of 3-10 or wander the tundra alone. During this period all males are extremely aggressive. Bulls will even charge birds if they are close by.

A molting muskox

Females are sexually mature at two years of age, and males reach sexual maturity after five years. The gestation period is eight or nine months. Almost all pregnancies yield single calves. The young nurse for a year, but may start to eat grasses as soon as a week after birth.

Muskoxen have a distinctive defensive behavior: when the herd is threatened, the bulls and cows will face outward to form a stationary ring or semicircle around the calves. This is an effective defense against predators such as wolves, but makes them an easy target for human hunters. Besides wolves and humans, the only natural predators of muskoxen are the grizzly (brown) bear and polar bear.[2]

The muskox, or its ancestor, is believed to have migrated to North America between 200,000[7] and 90,000 years ago,[8] during the Pleistocene period,[9] when it was a contemporary of the woolly mammoth. It is thought that the muskox was able to survive the last ice age (Wisconsin glaciation) by finding ice-free areas away from prehistoric peoples.[8] The muskox gradually moved across North America and arrived in Greenland during the late Holocene.[10]

Habitat and range

Musk ox family in east Greenland

Muskoxen are native to the Arctic areas of Canada, Greenland, and Alaska. The Alaska population was wiped out in the late 19th or early 20th century, but muskoxen have since been reintroduced to Alaska. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service introduced muskox onto the Nunivak Island in 1935 as a means for sustenance living. The species has also been reintroduced from Banks Island to northern Europe, including Sweden, the Dovre mountain range of Norway, and Russia and from Ellesmere Island to Eastern Canada. In the province of Quebec, muskoxen were close to extinction at one point, but have recovered after being protected from hunting. The world population is estimated at between 80,000[11] and 125,000,[12] with an estimated 68,788 living on Banks Island.[13]

During the summer, muskoxen live in wet areas, such as river valleys, moving to higher elevations in the winter to avoid deep snow. They graze on grasses, reeds, sedges, and other ground plants, digging through snow in the winter to reach their food.

The last known muskox population outside North America lived on the Taymyr Peninsula of Siberia, and died out about 2,000 years ago.[9] The muskox was successfully reintroduced to the Taymyr Peninsula in 1975.

Nunivak Island, Alaska muskoxen in the 1930s. Shown here in defensive formation.

References

  1. ↑ Gunn, A. & Forchhammer, M. (2008). Ovibos moschatus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 31 March 2009. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ellis, E. Ovibos moschatus
  3. ↑ Search for the Legendary White Musk-ox
  4. ↑ The Qiviut Fiber and Yarn
  5. ↑ Large Animal Research Station
  6. ↑ Muskox wool
  7. ↑ Wildlife Management Advisory Council (North Slope) fact sheet
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Hinterland Who's Who ISBN 0-660-13637-6
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Science Daily
  10. ↑ Cambridge Journals Abstract
  11. ↑ Robert G. White Large Animal Research Station, University of Alaska
  12. ↑ Muskox, (Ovibos moschatus) US Fish & Wildlife Service
  13. ↑ Annual Report of Research and Monitoring in National Parks of the Western Arctic 2003, Parks Canada

External links