WILDLIFE
BIOLOGUE

MUSKOX

Ovibos moschatus

‘uskoxen have historically been
associated with the hunting
cultures of early mankind.

Their meat and hides were used for
food, clothing, and shelter, while the
horns and bones were carved to make
tools and crafts.

During the Ice Age, muskoxen were
found as far south as Kansas, but as the
ice and tundra receded northward, so
did the muskox. They currently roam
the arctic tundra of northern Canada
and Greenland and have been success-
fully returned to Alaska and Russia. A
small introduced population also exists
in Scandinavia.

The muskox and the caribou are the
only two arctic ungulates, or hoofed
mammals, that survived the end of the
Pleistocene Era (10,000 years ago).

The muskox is a member of the
bovine, or cattle, family. Other wild
North American bovines include
mountain sheep, Dall sheep,
mountain goats, and American
buffalo. An identifying char-
acteristic of bovines is
their horns, which are
carried by both
males and females
and are not shed.
In contrast,
only male
members of

the deer family have antlers (with the
exception of caribou), and they are
shed each year.

The long, thick coat of the muskox
makes the animal look larger than it
really is. Male muskoxen, called bulls,
weigh between 400 and 900 pounds,
while females, or cows, normally weigh
from 350 to 500 pounds.

The muskox’s coat ranges in color
from dark brown to almost black, with
the lower legs, faces, and backs light
brown to white. The coat consists of
two parts: long, coarse outer hairs,
called guard hairs, that reach almost to
the ground and shed rain and snow;
and a soft, dense undercoat called
qiviut. Qiviut is the warmest, lightest
wool in the world. The heavy guard
hairs and insulat-
ing qiviut

protect the muskox from the severe
cold and high winds of the Arctic.

The muskox’s short, stocky legs
and large, rounded hooves enable the
animal to move through shallow snow
and to be an agile climber on snow and
tock. From the humped shoulders, the
muskox’s back slopes slightly toward
its narrow hindquarters.

Muskoxen have sharp horns with
rounded bases on the forehead which
curve down and outward, and then
upward like large hooks. The bull’s
horns are much larger than the cow’s
and are used during fights over females.
Both males and females
use their horns to
dominate other

SA muskoxen
\\ and to fight off

\\ predators.

Muskoxen are distin-
guished by their long,
shaggy hair and hook-
like horns. Males are
Jarger than females and
have larger horns.


Muskoxen are plant eaters, feeding
primarily on sedges, grasses, and wil-
lows. Since green plants are available
for only a few weeks during the arctic
summer, for most of the year, muskoxen
must paw through snow to feed on
dried plants.

Muskoxen have a low reproductive
rate with single calves born annually or
every 2 to 3 years. At 3 years of age,
cows normally bear their first calf.
Environmental factors such as availabil-
ity of food and severity of weather affect
the age of first breeding and whether
calves are born annually or at longer
intervals. Mating takes place in August
and September with most calves born in
late April or May. Within a few hours of
birth, calves are able to follow their
mothers back to the protection of the
herd.

Wolves, bears, and man are the
primary predators of muskoxen. They
are also vulnerable to accidents, such as
falling from cliffs or drowning, and star-
vation if deep snow or ice covers their
food. Cows may live more than 20
years, but the average lifespan is much
less. On the average, bulls probably die
at a younger age than cows due to the
increased risks during fights over
females.

When threatened by predators such as wolves, muskoxen form a defensive circle or crescent-shaped ine,

Pictures of muskoxen often portray
one of their most unique behaviors:
group defense. When disturbed,
muskoxen run together to form a tight
circle, or crescent-shaped line, with
their rumps to the center and sharp
horns facing outward. Adults may
dart out of the circle or line with heads
lowered to pursue an approaching
predator.

Muskox populations were extirpated
from Alaska in the late 1800s, and
apparently declined in Canada and
Greenland by the early 20th Century.
Although scientists are not sure about
the exact causes of the decline, hunting
and climatic changes may have been
factors. Concerns that the muskox
could become extinct resulted in efforts
to reintroduce the species into areas of
its former range.

A small number of muskoxen
originally from Greenland was reintro-
duced on Alaska’s Nunivak Island in
1935-1936. The population grew over
the years and supplied animals for other
reintroduction efforts in northern
Alaska from 1968 to 1981. Today, a pop-
ulation of about 2,300 muskoxen resides
in Alaska. Muskox hunting is permitted
in Alaska, but strictly controlled to
keep population numbers stable or
increasing.

facing outward with heads lowered to create a barrier of horns.

Muskoxen also have been reintro-
duced in Russia, to Wrangell Island and
on the Tamayr Peninsula. Worldwide,
muskoxen now number about 125,000.

The muskox is one of the few large
mammals capable of living year-round
in the severe arctic environment.
Wildlife managers are working to
identify and carry out management
practices that will maintain a proper
balance between muskoxen and human
activities in the Arctic.

BIOLOGUE SERIES

Prepared by:

U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1995