With wide hooves, hefty horns, weatherproof undercoats, and water-shedding long hair dangling nearly to the ground, musk oxen can take whatever the tundra has to offer, from frigid temperatures to roaming packs of ravenous wolves.

What They Eat
Musk oxen eat grasses, lichens, and mosses. They also will nibble on willow and pine branches if they are available.

Where They Live
Musk oxen live in the open spaces of the Arctic. They often gather in vegetation-rich river valleys in summer. In winter they move to higher ground to avoid deep snow.

What They Do
Stocky, thick-coated musk oxen roam the blustery North American Arctic tundra in herds of 12 to 24, grazing on plants and lichens.

How They’re Doing
Musk oxen were extirpated from Alaska about a century ago, but have since been reintroduced. They are surviving well with the help of laws that protect them in Canada and Alaska.

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Musk Ox

Musk Ox

• The Inuit name for the musk ox is oomingmak, meaning bearded one.
• The musk oxen’s soft, warm underfur, called qiviut (pronounced KIV-ee-it), is thought to be the warmest natural fiber. It is highly valued for knitting hats, sweaters, and other cold-weather clothing.
• Musk oxen roamed the earth at the same time as the mammoth and woolly rhinoceros. In colder times they lived far south of their current range, with some even inhabiting the area that is now Kansas.

Musk ox populations declined dramatically about a century ago, and musk oxen disappeared entirely from Alaska. Government protection and reintroduction efforts helped them to rebuild their populations. Today herds are protected in Alaska and Canada. There are an estimated 125,000 musk oxen worldwide.

Range and Habitat
Musk oxen are found on the Arctic tundra in areas of scant snowfall. They currently inhabit northern Canada, Alaska, and Greenland. Long ago they lived in Siberia and Europe.

Description
The outer coat of a musk ox has dark brown, coarse guard hairs reaching nearly to the ground that shed rain and snow. The inner coat (qiviut) is fine, soft, light brown wool that provides a dense protection against cold and moisture. Front and under parts of the animal are dark brown to black; the legs are lighter. The body has a slight hump at the shoulder. The neck, legs, and tail are short. Horns are massive and broad, curving downward on the females and outward on males. Hooves are large and widely splayed, providing good footing as the animal moves across snowy ground and a valuable tool for pawing down through snow to reach vegetation.

Habits and Adaptations
Musk oxen are gregarious, forming herds up to 75 at times. An average herd size is 15. In summer and fall, some male-only groups form. When threatened, musk oxen form a defensive circle or line, placing themselves and their big horns between their calves and danger. Standing their ground rather than running protects them from other predators but makes them vulnerable to human hunters.

Eat and Be Eaten
Musk oxen are herbivores. Their main sources of sustenance are grasses, lichens, mosses, willow, and pine shoots. Wolves and bears are a main predator in the wild. Humans also eat musk oxen.

Life History
Musk oxen breed from August through October. Females give birth to a single calf the following May or June. They may not give birth every year if food is scarce and weather is harsh. Gestation is 8 months. At birth, the calf weighs 25–30 pounds and is 18 inches high. Calves mature at 3–4 years. Young bulls are driven out as they approach sexual maturity. They often form their own “bachelor” herds until they are older and strong enough to overpower a leader. Bulls give off a strong scent during rutting season, and are so aggressive they will even chase off birds that perch too near to cows. Musk oxen live to be about 20 years old. In addition to predation, they may die of starvation in severe winters or from drowning or wandering off the edges of cliffs.