Where does the musk ox live on the mainland. Arctic musk ox. Who is a musk ox

Although the musk ox is a close relative of common cows and goats, this animal looks like an exotic alien from the past. The outlandish appearance and authentic features in its anatomy remind us of a long time ago times gone by ice ages. Meanwhile, musk oxen have now spread over a large territory and are not going to die out at all.

Who is a musk ox

Modern musk oxen (their second most popular name) trace their ancestry to artiodactyls that descended from the Himalayas to the territory of modern Siberia and northern Eurasia, which became extinct with the onset of warming in the late Pleistocene. A little later, the musk oxen themselves began to die out from the heat and a number of other reasons. However, since in the Far North the temperature remained acceptable for them, they still managed to survive, albeit with fairly thinned ranks, to this day.

Did you know? Despite the second name of these animals - musk ox, their bodies do not and never have had musk glands.

It is believed that musk oxen came to their current habitat (Alaska, part of Greenland and the islands between them) as a result of migration due to warming. They traveled in a direction where the temperature remained stable, and eventually ended up in the territory they now occupy through the Bering Isthmus - first to North America and then to Greenland.

Modern science has two subspecies of this genus of animals - these are Ovibos moschatus moschatus and Ovibos moschatus wardi, which have only minor external differences. All other comparison parameters are the same, in wildlife they are even able to live in the same herd.

Appearance

The appearance of musk oxen was formed under the influence of the harsh climate. Each detail has undergone development as a result of long adaptation and is designed primarily for long-term exposure to extreme cold. For example, they have practically no parts of the body that sharply protrude above the body - this minimizes the process of heat transfer.

These animals have quite pronounced sexual dimorphism. First of all, the horns of males are much stronger and more massive than those of females. Females can also be distinguished by the area of ​​white fluff located between the horns and the absence of thickening at their base.
Indicators of males:

• height at withers - 130–140 cm;
• weight - 250–650 kg.

Indicators of females:

• height at withers - almost never exceeds 120 cm.
• weight - extremely rarely exceeds 210 kg.

Important! Muskoxen living on a farm are characterized by big sizes: males reach 650 kg, females - 300 kg.

Appearance features:

1. The head has large dimensions. From the base of the forehead emerges a pair of horns, first rounded downwards and then upwards and outwards. The horns are not shed in the first six years of life and are actively used by animals for defense against predators and fighting each other.
2. The eyes are located symmetrically, most often dark brown in color.
3. The ears of musk oxen are small (up to 6 cm).
4. In the area of ​​the shoulder girdle, musk oxen have some semblance of a hump - a scruff, which at a smooth angle turns into a flat, straight back.
5. Limbs are strong; the rear ones are longer than the front ones, which is necessary for moving in mountainous areas.
6. The hooves, which have a smooth texture, large sizes and a rounded, flattened shape, are also adapted to the mountains. The hooves located on the front legs are much wider than those on the hind legs.
7. These animals have a tail, but it is very short (only about 15 cm) and is completely hidden under the fur.

Wool characteristics

Musk oxen have very long and thick wool, which has excellent thermal insulation (it is six times warmer than sheep's). This property is endowed by the so-called giviot - in fact, it is second-order wool that grows under the surface layer and has a structure thinner than cashmere. With the onset of the warm season, it is shed, and by the time of a new cold snap it grows back.

Did you know? The indigenous inhabitants of areas where wild musk oxen live collect the giviot they shed in the summer and use it for trade and handicrafts.

Coat color is most often a shade of brown or black. An arbitrary combination of different shades of these colors is possible, but more often the brown fur on the back gradually darkens, turning into black closer to the legs. The hair covers the body almost completely, exposing only the horns, nose, lips and hooves. The maximum length of the coat is noted on the neck, and the minimum on the legs.
In the warm season, first-order wool becomes significantly shorter than in winter (on average 2.5 times) due to the molting process. Molting in to the greatest extent depends on the climate and food supply it occurs in. Elderly musk oxen and pregnant females, as a rule, finish moulting much later than their counterparts. In the less active phase, first-order hair change occurs throughout the year.

Where, in what natural zone does it live?

In a warm climate, the musk ox cannot live normally, since the undercoat will constantly cause severe overheating. That is why the only suitable place for them is the cold polar lands. And in view of such anatomical features, as the specific structure of the legs and hooves, terrain with a predominance of mountains and hills is most suitable for musk oxen.

Their current natural range is limited to western and eastern Greenland and northern part North America. They were also introduced to nearby islands that have suitable topography and food supply (northern Alaska, Nunivak and Nelson Island), where they thrive and are now actively breeding.
Attempts were also made to populate the shores of Iceland, Sweden and Norway with musk oxen, but for unknown reasons they did not take root there.

Lifestyle

In their behavior, musk oxen are in many ways similar to wild sheep - first of all, we are talking about seasonal wandering for food. In summer they prefer lowlands of the tundra and valleys of rivers and lakes, since there is the most edible plants, and in winter they climb high into the mountains. There, the winds blow snow from the hills all the way to the ground, making foraging fairly easy.

These animals are characterized by a herd lifestyle. In summer, each herd numbers no more than 5–7 animals, and by the beginning of winter, small herds unite into larger ones, numbering 10–50 individuals. Musk oxen climb mountains very deftly, simultaneously searching for and eating mountain herbs, flowers and shrubs. In summer, animals alternately search for food and rest, sometimes up to 6–10 times a day. From the beginning of autumn to the very end of spring, the animal wanders, but the annual nomadic area of ​​the herd rarely exceeds 200 square meters. kilometers.
The search for a new grazing place for the herd can be done by a herd bull or a female, but in dangerous situations (bad weather, attack by predators, etc.) the herd bull always takes the blow. As a rule, the herd moves slowly and sedately, but if necessary, it is capable of reaching speeds of up to 40 km/h and maintaining it for a long time.

In winter, animals mostly rest, digesting the food eaten the day before, and if they are caught in a storm, they turn their backs to it and wait it out.

What does it eat?

Musk oxen are purely herbivores, so the range of their gastronomic preferences is quite narrow: flowers, young bushes and trees, lichens and herbs. Evolution has forced these animals to adapt to the meager conditions of the Arctic food supply. As a result, they learned to successfully search for and digest dried plants hidden under the snow, since during the entire Arctic year fresh plants can only be found for a few weeks.
TO The most beloved and frequently consumed plants by musk oxen include:

• cotton grass;
• sedge;
• astragalus;
• reed grass;
• mytnik;
• bluegrass;
• meadow grass;
• atrophil;
• dipontium;
• dryad;
• foxtail;
• Arctagrostis.

Important! Musk oxen sometimes visit places where they getmineral, macro- and microelement supplements -natural salt licks. This happens most often during snowless periods.

Reproduction

Sexual maturity in females usually occurs in the second year of their life, but in some cases they become capable of fertilization as early as 15–17 months. Bulls can successfully impregnate females once they reach 2–3 years of age. The fertile age of females lasts for 11–13 years.
Usually births bring only one cub, but twins are also possible. If the female's nutrition has been satisfactory throughout her life, she will be able to bear 1–2 cubs in each of the first 10 years of her life. In the future, this will happen no more often than every other year.

The musk ox rut takes place from late July to early August, and has three stages:

1. Start. The females go into heat and allow the alpha male to begin courting and sniffing. He loses his daily rhythm of searching for food and resting, begins to show aggression towards other males and forms his first pairs with cows. Duration this stage- 7–9 days.
2. height. Multiple pairs are formed between the alpha male and the females from his herd. They mate, after which the couples separate.
3. Attenuation. Gradually, the alpha male's circadian rhythms return to normal, and he ceases to show aggression towards other males.

In large herds during the rut, skirmishes often occur for the right to mate with the female, but at these moments the males most often limit themselves to demonstrating a threat. It involves a number of special behavioral reactions:

• tilting the head towards the enemy;
• butting the air with horns;
• digging the ground with a hoof, etc.

Only sometimes does it come to a fight, and very rarely such a fight can end in the death of one of the participants.

Pregnancy lasts on average 8.5 months, but this period may vary slightly depending on conditions environment. Most calves are born in late April - early June. A pregnant female is almost impossible to recognize among other cows due to the structural features of the skeleton and long hair. Only the behavior differs - cows before giving birth become restless and tend to run further away to the edge of the herd territory.
The birth process takes only 5–30 minutes. The average weight of a born calf is 8–10 kg. It is noteworthy that newborn calves have a noticeable layer of fat, which provides them with protection from the cold.

The female carries out the first feeding 20–30 minutes after the birth of the calf. In the first two days, feedings occur every hour, each of them takes from 1 to 10 minutes. Starting from the age of one month, the young animals slowly switch to pasture, and by the fifth month they completely abandon their mother’s milk.

Population and conservation status

When scientists determined that the number of musk oxen was steadily declining under the influence of factors that were not fully understood, it was decided to relocate and breed them in areas most suitable for these animals. Such attempts have been made in Alaska, in the tundra zone of Russia, the islands of Nunivak, Wrangel, Sweden and Norway, where conditions are similar to their natural habitat.

Important! Hunting musk oxen is illegal in all civilized countries. Hunting licenses are not issued to kill them, and any injury you inflict on these animals will be prosecuted by law.

Musk oxen have taken root poorly only in Sweden and Norway - in all other places they have taken root well. Now their total population is at least 17–20 thousand individuals and is constantly increasing. Thus, humanity was able, with the help of coordinated actions and the power of its mind, to stop the extinction of an entire species, which is now in the category of “least concern” conservation status.

Or musk ox(lat. Ovibos moschatus) - the only one modern representative genus of musk oxen (Ovibos) from the bovid family. The closest related group is goats and rams.

Etymology of the name

Musk ox is the traditional European name for musk oxen, it has nothing to do with musk and musk glands, but is associated with the name of wetlands in the Cree language - “musked”. Russian name"musk ox" is a literal translation of the Latin name "Ovibos" (literally, "ram ox"), which is associated with the controversial systematic situation musk oxen: they were classified either as bovine or goat, which also includes the genus of rams.

The offspring of musk oxen, despite the fact that they belong to goats and therefore should be called lambs, are traditionally called calves.

Appearance

In the process of evolution, musk oxen acquired a characteristic appearance, adapted to the harsh Arctic living conditions. They have no protruding body parts, which is associated with the problem of retaining heat in cold climates. Due to their long and thick fur, musk oxen look larger than they actually are.

Musk oxen are characterized by significant sexual dimorphism. On average, the height at the withers of an adult is about 132-138 cm, weight varies from 260 to 650 kg. Male musk oxen reach a body weight of up to 350 kg and a height at the withers of up to 150 cm. The weight of females is approximately 60% of the weight of the male, and the height at the withers reaches 120 cm. In captivity, males reach 650 kg, females - 300 kg. The body length of males is 210-260 cm, females - 190-240 cm. The size and weight of animals is also influenced by the region of habitat, which is associated with differences in the food supply. Thus, the largest musk oxen live in western Greenland, and the smallest live in northern Greenland.

There is a hump-like scruff in the shoulder area, which goes into a narrow rear part. The legs of musk oxen are small and stocky. When measured along the curve, the hind legs are much longer than the front legs.

Musk oxen have large, rounded hooves that are specially adapted for walking on snow and rocks. Moreover, the front hooves are larger than the hind hooves, which makes it easier for musk oxen to find food under the snow. The lateral hooves are small and do not leave marks on the ground or snow when walking.

The head of musk oxen is very massive and elongated. The head has sharp, rounded horns with a massive base on the forehead. The antlers are not shed annually and grow until the age of six. They first bend down, then forward, then up and out. Males have much larger horns than females. Males and females use their horns to protect themselves from predators, and males also use their horns during the rut to fight each other. Females have a patch of skin between the horns covered with white down, and the horns themselves do not have a thickening at the base. There are dark brown eyes on the sides of the head.

Musk oxen have small ears (3 cm in calves and 6 cm in adults) and a tail (6-6.5 cm in calves and 12.2 to 14.5 in adult musk oxen), hidden under the hair.

The udder of female musk oxen is small and covered with light hairs. The length of the nipples ranges from 3.5 to 4.5 cm.

Hairline

Musk oxen have long and thick hair that hangs almost to the ground. The coat color of musk oxen varies from dark brown to black on the underparts and face and from light brown to white elsewhere. Wool consists of 4 categories of hair:

1. guides,
2. long and coarse guard 3 orders, which can reach 60 cm in length,
3. intermediate 2 orders,
4. thick and soft downy 2 orders, making up the undercoat, called giviot. Giviot is finer than cashmere and eight times warmer than sheep's wool. As the Arctic spring approaches, the giviot is shed and grows back by August.

Wool covers the musk ox completely, except for the horns, hooves, lips and nose. The hair on the shoulders of males is very shaggy and looks like a mane. Hair length varies on different parts of the body and reaches a maximum at the bottom of the neck and a minimum at the bottom of the limbs. In summer, hair is much shorter than in winter. Thus, the length of downy hair on the body of a musk ox in summer is 2.3-2.5 times shorter than in winter. Molting occurs in a short time in the spring in May-June; the specific time depends on several factors, including climatic and food conditions. In pregnant and old individuals, molting is delayed. The change of covering (guide, guard and intermediate) hairs occurs throughout the year.

Anatomy

The anterior orbital glands are developed from calf age in both males and females. Their secret serves as a warning in case of danger, as well as during fights between males. There are no sweat glands on the hind legs, but they are on the neck, back and sides. Despite the name, musk oxen do not have musk glands.

The sense organs of musk oxen are quite well developed. It has large eyes, with which the musk ox is able to recognize objects in the dark or on the polar night. The sense of smell is less developed than that of reindeer, but allows you to detect the approach of predators and find food under the snow. Musk oxen prefer to signal by auditory or optical communication: males and females sniffle or snort when alarmed, calves bleat in search of their mother, and males roar during contractions.

Puberty

Female musk oxen become sexually mature in the second year of life, but under good nutritional conditions, females are fertilized already at 15-17 months of life. Males are ready to breed from 2-3 years of age. Females bear offspring up to 11-14 years of age.

Female musk oxen usually give birth to only one calf; sometimes, but rarely, twins are born. If the nutrition is good, then females can bring cubs every year until they reach 10 years of age, after which - only a year later. Depending on age, the proportion of pregnant females differs: less than 25% of females aged 18 to 35 months are pregnant, and up to 63% are older.

Gon

Depending on the habitat, the musk ox rut begins from late July to early August, and ends in mid-October. Sometimes, due to weather and feeding conditions, the rutting period may shift to September-December. According to the observations of Grigory Yakushkin, a researcher of the tundra zone of Taimyr, musk oxen have a false rut from mid-April to the first half of May, however, fights between males at this time occur to identify hierarchical status and are of a demonstrative nature.

The rut of musk oxen, like all ungulates, is divided into three stages:

1. Beginning. Occurs when females go into heat, they begin to allow dominant males to sniff and courtship. The dominant male loses his feeding and resting rhythm and becomes aggressive towards young males. At this stage, the first pairs are formed. The duration of the stage is a week.

2. Height (mass rut). At this stage, pairs are quickly created between the dominant male and females from his group, repeated mating occurs and the pairs break up.

3. Attenuation. The circadian rhythm of the dominant male returns to normal, and his aggressiveness towards young males disappears.

In a herd of musk oxen during the rutting season there is usually one dominant male. However, in large herds there may be several adult males: one dominant and one or more subdominants.

When females begin to estrus, they begin to emit a specific smell, which lets males know that they are ready to mate. During the rut, the infraorbital glands begin to actively work in mature animals. The female uses the secretion of her glands to show her sexual sensitivity when in contact with a male. The male excites the female with the pungent odor of his urine and feces, as well as preputial secretions.

During the rut, adult males are very aggressive and there are fights between them over females. However, in most cases they avoid violent combat and limit themselves to displays of threat, which include: roaring, butting, striking the ground with their hooves, tilting their heads and other behavioral components. If after this the males do not disperse, then a fight begins, during which the males run at each other from a distance of 30-50 meters and knock their heads together. There can be up to 40 such collisions per battle. It is rare, but it happens that a fight can have a fatal outcome for one of the opponents.

Pregnancy and childbirth

Pregnancy under natural conditions lasts on average 8-8.5 months, depending on the habitat. Under normal conditions, a calf is born in late April - early June, and in the case of an active rut, calving is reduced to two weeks starting from last week April. At the end of May, the herds begin to migrate to drier areas of the tundra with better feeding grounds, and females that did not have time to calve before give birth right on the way.

A pregnant female is extremely difficult to identify among other females due to her body structure and thick hair that hides external signs pregnancy. As the moment of birth approaches, the female becomes more restless and begins to stay at the edge of the herd. The birth itself occurs in the herd or near it, if this is the first birth of a female. Contractions last 8-10 minutes, and after 5-28 minutes the newborn gets to his feet. The weight of a newborn calf ranges from 8 to 10 kg and doubles during the first month of life. Newborn calves already have a large layer of fat to survive in harsh conditions (air temperatures can reach −30 °C).

Twins are not typical for musk oxen. It is believed that the appearance of twins is associated with favorable feeding conditions. According to scientists, the chance of having twins is 3.9%. There is no documented information on the viability of twins in musk oxen in wild populations. For example, a female with twins was discovered on Devon Island, but in winter they were found dead with signs of exhaustion.

The first feeding of the calf by the female occurs several tens of minutes after birth. In the first two days, the number of feedings ranges from 18 to 20 times, and the time spent on one such feeding ranges from 1 to 9 minutes. On the third day of life, feeding intensity increases simultaneously with a decrease in feeding time. This pattern continues further. During feeding, the calf hits the mother's udder with its muzzle so that she gives him all the milk. As the calf gets older, such blows become painful for the female and she may interrupt feeding because of them. By the age of one month, calves switch mainly to pasture, and five months after birth, milk feeding stops altogether.

There is eye contact between the calf and its mother from the very beginning. Females do not have the acoustic and visual mechanisms to identify their young, so when feeding time approaches, they begin to walk around the herd and sniff the calves in search of theirs. The calves, in turn, remember their mother's appearance and voice, which allows them to accurately find their mother.

Calving females with calves form so-called maternal groups in herds. On the second or third day of life, calves begin to group for joint games, which unites females into one group. Maternal groups are created for the joint protection of calves and the rapid accumulation of experience by them. In calves, from 10 to 13 elements of play behavior are distinguished. Games last up to 2-2.5 months, and then, with the transition to pasture, the number of games decreases sharply.

Social organization

Musk oxen are a social species with a highly developed herd instinct. Social bonds are especially strong among young musk oxen and females with calves. Musk oxen almost always live in groups, the exception to this rule being solitary adult males, whose population in summer can reach 9%. In autumn and summer, there are also groups of musk oxen consisting only of males. The average size groups in winter range from 15 to 20 animals, in summer - from 10 to 15. In summer, the composition of groups is usually stable.

Since females almost always live in groups, males do not create their own harems, but try to enter and take possession of already existing group, expel young males from there. Since such groups are protected and supported by a dominant male, they are considered harems. The relationship between mother and calf is close and frequent. Nothing can isolate the mother from other musk oxen, both before and after birth. A newborn calf immediately becomes a member of the group and begins to interact with other members of the herd, maintaining social contacts various types, including participating in social games, which are an important element of herd life.

Despite their weight and slowness, in times of danger, musk oxen quickly group into a defensive stance or gallop away. Animals are capable of reaching a speed of 25-30 km/h and maintaining it for several kilometers.

Behavior

An inhabitant of the hilly Arctic tundra and polar deserts, in winter it often grazes in the mountains, where the wind blows snow off the slopes. In summer, they move to places richest in food - to the valleys of rivers and lakes and depressions in the tundra. The preference for certain habitats depends on the season and the availability of food. Its lifestyle resembles that of sheep.

Lives in herds, 4-7 heads in summer, 12-50 in winter, climbs rocks very deftly, feeds on moss, lichens (moss moss and others), grass, various types bush willows and birches. Animals willingly eat cotton grass, sedges, astragalus, reed grass, grass grass, bluegrass, meadow grass, foxtail grass, arctagrostis, arctophila, dipontia, and dryad. In summer, animals alternate between feeding and resting approximately 6-9 times a day. From September to May it wanders. There are no large seasonal movements. The winter area of ​​one herd on average does not exceed 50 square meters. km, the size of the annual area reaches 200 km². When searching for pasture, the herd is controlled by a herd bull or an adult cow, but in dangerous situations only the herd bull plays a dominant role. Animals usually move slowly and calmly, but if necessary they can reach speeds of up to 40 km/h and run considerable distances.

IN winter time muskoxen most spend time sleeping or resting, digesting the food they eat. During arctic storms, musk oxen lie with their backs to the wind and, unlike migrating reindeer, spend the winter remaining in a small area of ​​territory. Musk oxen tolerate any frost well, but high snow, especially covered with an ice crust, is destructive for them, although they are able to obtain food from under loose snow up to 40-50 cm deep.

Nutrition

Musk oxen are herbivores. The basis of their diet is sedges, willows and forbs. In the course of evolution, musk oxen managed to adapt to the extremely scarce feeding grounds of the Arctic. Because the Arctic summer lasts only a few weeks, musk oxen spend most of the year feeding on dry plants that they dig up under the snow. Before the start of the active rut during the snowless period (usually summer months) musk oxen visit natural salt licks to obtain mineral macro- and microelements.

Natural enemies

Musk oxen are strong enough animals to repel predators and protect their offspring. When in danger, they line up in a tight circle or gallop away. If escape is impossible or difficult, they gather in a circle, and when a predator approaches, one male from the herd attacks him, and immediately after the lunge, backing away into the circle, or members of the herd approach him. This method of defense was quite effective against all natural predators, but was completely useless when humans hunted them. The herd, standing in a circle and covering the young animals with their bodies, remains motionless when the musk oxen are shot with a gun.

Habitat

This animal was first discovered by Europeans by an Englishman, an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company, Henry Kelsey in 1689.

In 1917, the Canadian government placed this species under protection and introduced a ban on musk ox fishing, which was in effect for 52 years. Since 1950, the musk ox began to be protected in Greenland. In Russia, the discovery of paleontologist N.K. Vereshchagin is known - a musk ox skull with a shot through the facial bone from the Taimyr Peninsula, which suggested that the last musk oxen may have become extinct in North Asia already in historical times.

Currently, indigenous populations of musk ox inhabit the region of North America north of 60° N. sh., in addition to the mainland, is found on Parry land, Greenel land, in western and eastern Greenland and on the northern coast of this island (83 degrees northern latitude). Until 1865, it also lived in northern Alaska, but was completely exterminated. It was reintroduced in 1930. In 1936, the musk ox was brought to the island of Nunivak, in 1969 - to Nelson Island in the Bering Sea and to a nature reserve in northeast Alaska, in all these places it successfully took root. Attempts to acclimatize the musk ox in Sweden, Iceland and Norway were not particularly successful.

Reintroduction

USSR and Russia

Many zoologists back in the 1920s raised the question of the feasibility of resettling musk oxen in the tundra zone of Russia, since the country has a huge territory in the Arctic suitable for the re-acclimatization of musk oxen. Potentially, several hundred thousand musk oxen may live in Russia. But for this it is necessary to organize a widespread resettlement of young animals to new areas, since it is extremely difficult for them to do this themselves due to the presence of wide wetlands and large rivers, and even impossible from Wrangel Island.

Taimyr and Wrangel Island

In the mid-1970s, in Taimyr, at the mouth of the Bikada River and Wrangel Island, an experiment began on the reintroduction of musk oxen that previously lived here. Canadian zoologists caught the first batch of musk oxen for Taimyr in August 1974 on Banks Island: 10 young animals (15 months old), equally male and female. In the spring of 1975, on the island of Nunivak off the coast of Alaska (USA), another 40 animals were captured for the USSR. They were delivered, then divided into two equal groups and sent to different places: one to the Wrangel Island reserve (12 females and 6 males of 11 months of age and a two-year-old female and a male), and the other to Taimyr, in the lower reaches of the Bikada , where animals from Canada have already spent the winter. The introduced musk ox has successfully taken root. The first successful calving on Wrangel Island was noted in 1977, and on Taimyr - in 1978. The population size gradually grew over the years since the release, and the populated area expanded. By the early 1990s, musk oxen had completely populated Wrangel Island.

In 1994, the number of musk oxen in Taimyr exceeded 1 thousand. About 300 animals lived on Wrangel Island at that time.

Currently, according to some estimates, about 8 thousand musk oxen live in the Taimyr tundra.

The population on Wrangel Island has reached its maximum size (850 animals) and can become a source for resettlement and the creation of new herds on the mainland.

Polar Urals

By 2000, free-living populations of musk oxen had been established in the Polar Urals.

Yamal

In 1997, musk oxen were brought to the Gornokhadatinsky district reserve in order to fill the empty ecological niche with commercial ungulates. As a result artificial breeding from 1997 to 2011, the number of musk oxen increased from 43 to 75 individuals. In the district reserve, musk oxen are kept in semi-free conditions - in an enclosure, the perimeter of which is more than 10 km.

Yakutia

By 2000, free-living populations of musk oxen were created on the Terpyai-Tumus peninsula, in the Lena delta, on Bolshoi Begichev Island in the Khatanga Bay, and in the lower reaches of the Indigirka River near the village of Chokurdakh. The number of musk oxen in the republic in 2012 exceeded one thousand.

In October 1996, the first batch of musk oxen (24 six-month-old calves) was brought from Taimyr to the Bulunsky ulus of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). In total, 101 animals were resettled from Taimyr. The livestock in Yakutia exceeded 400 heads. Four viable populations were formed - Bulunskaya, Anabarskaya, Begichevskaya and Allaikhovskaya. In 1997, a group of musk oxen was released on Yamal; the reacclimatization of the musk ox in the tundra zone is generally proceeding successfully: the number is increasing, and gradual self-dispersal of the species is noted. Many mountainous regions of our North are also suitable for the introduction of this species.

Magadan Region

In 2005, 30 musk oxen were delivered from Taimyr to the Magadan region. Soon after the delivery, the organization that delivered the animals was disbanded and the Krivbass gold mining team took over the care of the animals. In 2010, the animals, which had previously been fed feed and harvested hay, were released into the wild. As a result, two herds of 16 and 10 heads were formed, respectively.

USA

Until the end of the 19th century, musk oxen lived in Alaska, but were exterminated by humans. In 1930, 34 musk oxen were brought to Fairbanks from East Greenland. From there they were transported to Nunivak Island. Musk oxen took root there, and by 1968 their population amounted to almost 750 animals. The musk oxen that lived on Nunivak were then distributed to the Seward Peninsula, Cape Thompson, Nelson Island, and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In 2000, about 4 thousand musk oxen lived in Alaska, but in last years The number of animals in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and its surrounding areas has decreased.

Sweden

Musk oxen came to Sweden from neighboring Norway's Dovrefjell, where they were acclimatized in 1947. In 1971, a small group of musk oxen, consisting of a bull, two cows and two calves, wandered into the neighboring Swedish province of Härjedalen. At first, in the 70s, the herd grew and reached a population of 34 animals, but then it began to slowly but steadily decrease. By 2009, there were 7-13 muskoxen in Härjedalen. In June 2010, a center for the study and breeding of musk oxen opened in the town of Tennes, where a calf was born in June 2011, increasing the total number of musk oxen to seven at that time.

Economic importance

Much attention is paid to the production and processing of giviot - the soft and extremely warm undercoat of musk oxen. Their molting begins in April and depends on the temperature and duration daylight hours. From an adult healthy animal you can collect 2 kg or more of fluff. In captivity, giviot is collected while combing musk oxen, and from wild animals, giviot is collected from vegetation in their habitats.

The meat of males, and sometimes females, can smell strongly of musk. The meat tastes like beef, and the fat is closer in quality to lamb. By autumn, animals gain a thick layer of fat, up to 30% of their body weight. Natural annual growth averages 15-30%, and natural annual loss averages 5-10%.

Commercial significance

The musk ox is a protected species of the Arctic. It needs widespread settlement. In the coming years, the musk ox will probably officially become a game animal in Russia; trophy hunting still exists today.

According to scientists, the restoration of the musk ox population in the north makes it possible to fill an empty ecological niche. This will serve to increase hunting and fishing resources and ensure traditional environmental management of the indigenous peoples of the Far North.

The Canadian musk ox is a unique variety of large cattle. This animal has characteristics of both cows and rams, which still makes scientists argue about which family the musk ox (the second name of the breed line) belongs to.

Characteristic

From the very beginning of its existence, the musk ox lived in cold regions, which was reflected in some of the characteristics of this breed. Many of them, including the appearance of the animal, greatly surprise a person who hears about this type of cattle for the first time. There are two subspecies of musk ox. But in terms of characteristics, they differ from each other slightly.

Origin

To date, it is not known reliably about the past of the musk variety of cattle. But most scientists agree that the musk ox has existed for several million years. It is believed that the breed's ancestors originally lived in the Antarctic part of Eurasia. But, as a result of glaciation developing in this territory, the animals were forced to change their habitat. They migrated to Canada and Greenland.

By the way, according to one theory, it was in Canada that the name “musk ox” appeared. It comes from the Indian word “musked,” meaning swampy area in which such animals lived. The second version suggests the appearance of this name due to the special smell that males emit during the mating season.

The first written mentions of musk oxen were made in the 17th century. Then Henry Kelsey, a scientist from Great Britain, studied them.

It is worth noting that the exact ancestors of the northern bull have not yet been determined. Until the second half of the 19th century For centuries, such animals were classified as bovine subfamily. But recent studies and comparisons of characteristics have persuaded most researchers to believe that musk oxen are still goats.

By the mid-20th century, a small number of livestock were brought back to Eurasia. Today, in addition to Canada, such animals can also be found in Sweden, Norway and Siberia.

Appearance

In terms of appearance, the musk ox is different from any other breed of bull. Moreover, the main feature appearance The animal has long, thick hair that covers the entire body in a shock.

Moreover, it consists of several layers at once:

• guide wool;
• a layer of undercoat, the main role of which is to protect the animal from the cold;
• long wool;
• intermediate ball.

On average, the length of the fur on the sides reaches 80-90 cm, which is why it practically touches the ground and hides the structural features of the bull’s body. On the back, the length of the hairs is no more than 16 cm.

The dimensions of such animals are quite modest. The weight of an adult cow is 170-180 kg with a height of 120 cm. Bulls grow a little larger and reach a weight of 350 kg. Their height at the withers is 150 cm. But it is worth noting that this only applies to livestock that live in wild conditions. Domesticated musk oxen are capable of reaching 650 kg or more.

Among the main features of the musk ox's physique, the following points stand out:

• strong muscular body, which smoothly tapers towards the rear;
• massive hump in the area of ​​the shoulder blades;
• the head is large in size and suggests the presence of strong twisted horns;
• ears and tail are hidden in the fur;
• the legs are strong, the front pair is slightly shorter in length than the hind ones.

As for the color of the fur of such animals, the predominant color is brown (in different tones) and black. Less commonly, white spots can be seen on the head, limbs and sides. Also, the change of suit occurs depending on the time of year.

Mating season

Sexual maturity in female musk oxen occurs at the age of 1.5 years. Males reach readiness for mating on average by 2-3 years of age. Moreover, upon reaching this age, bulls often fight among themselves for females, using big horns. Those males who defeat their rivals gather around themselves a whole group of females and mate with them in turn.

If fertilization is successful, the female most often carries one baby. Less often, two cubs are born at once. Pregnancy in cows of this breed takes the same amount of time as in humans, about 9 months. They can give birth to offspring up to 14 years of age.

The frequency of pregnancy in cows largely depends on living conditions. If there is enough food and it is well balanced, the animal produces offspring every year. After the birth of a calf, the female, along with it, separates from the main herd and behaves separately for a long period, raising the baby.

Feeding

Among other livestock breeds, musk oxen are distinguished by their unpretentiousness in terms of food, which is a consequence of long-term residence in the climate of the Arctic zone. Animals eat exclusively plant foods. They feed on:

• tree leaves: willow or birch;
• herbaceous plants: bluegrass, astragalus, sedge;
• lichens and mosses;
• foliage of all kinds of shrubs.

For the majority of the year, musk oxen dig up such food from under the snow, where it is stored in dried, frozen or slightly rotten form. The head of the herd finds the location of such food, and, if possible, the pasture.

Reference. In summer, the Canadian musk ox migrates to the locations of salt licks, where the herd replenishes wasted reserves of minerals.

Enemies of musk oxen

IN natural environment Muskoxen have several enemies. They are hunted by:

• wolves;
• wolverines;
• White bears.

Most often, the target of predators is a lonely young animal that strays from the herd. If the entire livestock is kept in a group, then the animals are quite capable of repelling such an enemy. To do this, calves, cows and sick individuals are gathered into a dense group, which is surrounded by a ring of bulls. When a wolf or wolverine tries to break through such a defense, he is deliberately allowed inside and trampled. Sometimes one of the males moves out of the circle and attacks predators at a distance. If none of the above tactics works, the herd runs away.

Thus, northern bulls are able to cope with virtually any natural enemy. But still, over the years, the animal population has fallen sharply, due to humans. Hunters without much difficulty killed entire herds of bulls with guns, which stood motionless, protecting the weaker individuals. Such hunting caused a sharp decline in the musk oxen population.

Conclusion

Now the entire existing population of northern bulls is under protection environmental organizations. Due to the sharply reduced population, hunting such animals is strictly prohibited by law. But this does not prevent many breeders from breeding northern bulls on their farms. Such cattle give a large number of soft down (undercoat), which is valued for its good heat retention. In addition, it is also capable of providing the owner with high-quality fat, which in its characteristics is not inferior to sheep.

Kira Stoletova

The musk ox is a large, thickly furred animal that lives in the northern regions of America and Eurasia. Represents the genus of musk oxen and the family of bovids. For a long time there were disputes about its taxonomic affiliation. Previously, the animal was classified as a bovine subfamily, but now scientists assign it to the goat subfamily. But the babies are still called calves, not lambs.

Musk oxen are listed in the Red Book, although in some places their population has increased so much that there is a question of removing the species from the endangered list.

Description of musk oxen

The ancestors of musk oxen previously lived in Central Asia, mainly in the Himalayas. Approximately 3.5 million years ago changed climatic conditions on Earth, it became colder, musk oxen moved closer to Siberia, settled throughout the north of the Eurasian zone, crossed the Bering Isthmus and found themselves in America. When the climate warmed, the numbers of these animals declined sharply. Almost all animals close to musk oxen of those times became extinct, leaving only reindeer.

A musk ox is not a hybrid of a sheep and a cow, as many may misunderstand from the name. It’s just that in appearance he looks like both of these animals at the same time. Scientists have long doubted which subfamily this strange individual belongs to. In the West, the species is more often called the musk ox, but this name also has nothing to do with the specific secretion of the glands of some animals. Derived from the Cree name for the swamp, “musked.”

Appearance of musk oxen

The appearance of musk oxen is shaped by their habitat. They are covered with fur, which makes them appear larger than in reality. The animals' heads are decorated with horns, both males and females, this helps them protect themselves from enemies.

Here short description appearance of a musk ox:

• Height - 135-138 cm, for females - 120 cm.
• Weight - 260-350 kg (for females - up to 300 kg), in captivity it can exceed 650 kg.
• The body of a male is 210-260 cm, that of a female is 190-240 cm.
• The head is massive, elongated in length.
• The horns are twisted, increase in size up to 6 years, bend first down, then forward, last stage- to the sides. Females have smaller horns and there is a gap between them on the head. Males have solid and longer horns.
• The ears are very small, about 3 cm in calves, and 6 cm in adults.
• A hump is formed in the shoulder area and on the back of the neck.
• The back of the body is noticeably narrower than the front.
• The legs are low, stocky, and longer in the back than in the front.
• The hooves are rounded and large, well suited for walking on snow and climbing rocks. The front hooves are wider than the hind hooves, since with their help the musk ox obtains food under thick snow cover.
• The tail is shortened, in a calf - 6-6.5 cm, in an adult musk ox - 12.2-14.5 cm.
• The udder of females is not very large, covered with light hair, the length of the nipple is 3.5-4.5 cm.

The size of musk oxen depends very much on their habitat and the availability of sufficient food. For example, larger individuals live in the west of Greenland than in the east. The same can be said about the living of animals in captivity and in freedom.

Wool characteristics

Thanks to its thick coat, the musk ox is able to survive even arctic frosts. Its wool warms 8 times better than sheep's wool. The coat color ranges from brownish-brown at the top to black at the bottom. The hair is long and often reaches the ground. Here is a characteristic of the wool structure:

• Guide hairs
• Guard hairs of three orders, about 60 cm long
• Intermediate hair of two orders
• Thick downy hair of two orders makes up the undercoat or giviot (it is much thinner and warmer than cashmere)

The musk ox is completely covered with hair, which is very important for the harsh Arctic. Only the horns, lips and hooves remain free. Molting begins in May or June. Bulls lose their undercoat, which begins to grow back in August. In old animals and pregnant females, molting may be delayed. The musk ox gradually changes its guard hairs throughout the year.

Range and habitat

Where do musk oxen live? The natural population is found in Canada and Greenland. In Alaska, these animals were completely exterminated in the 19th century, but now individuals have been brought there from neighboring regions, and their numbers are resuming. In the 70s of the last century, the musk ox was successfully acclimatized in Taimyr and Wrangel Island. Now the population has reached such a level that it is possible to resettle animals in other regions. First of all, musk oxen are resettled from Wrangel Island.

Musk oxen appeared in Russia and in other regions, not only in Taimyr. They are found in the Magadan region, in Yakutia, in the Urals, and they were brought to the island of Yamal. The musk ox from North America is now actively settling in Sweden and Norway. The population is constantly increasing, and there is hope that ancient animals will be excluded from the Red Book.

Muskox live in the northern Arctic zone both on plains and in mountainous areas. The territory in which the musk ox lives should be 200 km². Over this area, starting from the end of spring, herds actively roam in search of food and dry pastures, which are not so abundant in the cold regions of the Arctic.

Migrating herds move across the tundra quite slowly, but in case of danger they can reach speeds of up to 40-50 km/h. This movement lasts until the first half of autumn. In winter, bulls live in a smaller area of ​​about 50 km². The musk ox does not leave its habitat in winter, as do reindeer. On the contrary, in cold weather migration decreases.

Natural enemies

These large animals have natural enemies. They are hunted by wolverines, polar bears, and wolves. Most often, predators hunt herds with small calves and track down old, sick and weakened animals. Animals become especially active at the end of winter, when the herds are starving and practically lose all their fat; even the young dominant male musk ox feels weak at this time.

The musk ox knows how to defend itself perfectly if it is in a herd. Adults stand in a circle, inside it there are females with cubs. By exhibiting their horns, the animals will not allow any predator to approach them. Sometimes a pack of wolves can break through the defense. But even if a polar bear or wolf steals a cub, an adult musk ox will fiercely defend it.

Musk oxen also used tactics to protect themselves from predators against humans. Unfortunately, in this case she played a cruel joke on them. Hunters simply shot the herds with guns, almost the entire population was destroyed. They killed musk oxen for meat, for valuable fur, and even just for an original trophy. Nowadays, wherever this species lives, hunting is prohibited. Many musk oxen live in the reserve.

Lifestyle

Musk oxen live in small groups of 7-10 animals in summer. In winter, groups gather in larger herds that can number up to 50 individuals. In one group there are several females and 2-3 males. One male can be the leader, the rest are in a subordinate position. This group cannot be called typical of herbivores. First, the females gather together, then the male appears near them. Other bulls may engage in combat with the male in the herd and take possession of the females if they win.

In addition to groups with animals of different sexes, there are exclusively male herds. Older bulls prefer to live alone. In winter, several groups get together. During this period, the territory of their migration sharply decreases. Musk oxen sleep most of the time to save energy. Blizzards worry, huddled in a tight group.

Nutrition

The musk ox eats almost everything, the sparse vegetation of the tundra and short summer they leave him no choice. In the warm season, the bull feeds on herbaceous plants, which are actively developing at this time. Over the course of several weeks, bulls gain weight, build up subcutaneous fat to survive the long cold winter. During this period, the bull eats 6-9 times a day, resting between meals.

Closer to autumn, the musk ox switches to feeding on shrubs, small Karelian birches, moss and lichen. When snow falls, animals hollow out dead wood and reindeer moss from under it with their hooves. They are capable of digging through a layer of snow cover about 40 cm thick. If the ground is covered with ice or more snow falls, the herd may starve. After a harsh winter, musk oxen go looking for shale, as they need to replenish their mineral reserves.

The wolves ate our musk oxen. A unique find in a cave in the Polar Urals

Rutting and mating

Females mature to mate and give birth to calves in their second year, at approximately 11-17 months. Males are a little later, at 2-3 years of age.

The musk bull rut starts in July-September. Timing may vary depending on where the animals live. For example, in the east of Greenland this occurs in last days August, and in Norway - in July. Sometimes in the middle of spring you can observe a false rut, when males start fights among themselves. Actually at this time we're talking about not about females, but about grazing territory and dominance in the herd.

The Gon is divided into three different periods:

• Start. Female musk oxen begin to heat, they allow themselves to be sniffed, and do not show aggression towards males. The dominant male changes his behavior, eats little and hardly sleeps, and shows aggression towards younger bulls.
• The height of The main male creates temporary pairs with one or the other female. Each pair lasts 1-2 days and mates many times.
• Attenuation. Females stop allowing the male to approach them, he develops an appetite, and aggression towards other bulls decreases.

Fights between bulls during the rut are not very aggressive. They clatter their hooves, threaten with their horns, and compete to see who can outshout whom. Through a short time the weaker one runs away. It is extremely rare for bulls to bump heads. There can be up to 40 such collisions in one battle. The death of one of the participants in the fight can occur only in exceptional cases.

Pregnancy and birth of calves

Musk ox bear their cubs for 8-8.5 months. The lush fur and cylindrical body structure of animals does not allow this condition to be noticed in females during outside observation. Only very experienced zoologists can identify pregnant females. Most calves are born at the end of April, when it is already quite warm, the polar day begins, but the herd has not yet migrated. If the female does not have time to calve, she will have to give birth on the way.

When the time comes for giving birth, the female musk ox separates slightly from the herd. Contractions last 5-20 minutes. Immediately after birth, the calf stands on its feet, and after a couple of minutes it sucks on the milk. The weight of calves is 8-10 kg, they have a thick layer of fat that protects them from frost. Females in the wild give birth to a single calf. Twins are extremely rare; most of these calves do not survive, and their mothers often die along with them. There is a chance for such calves to emerge only in a nature reserve or zoo.

Already from the second week, the musk ox calf gradually eats grass; from a month on, it constitutes a significant part of their diet. Breast milk The baby eats until 5 months. Females often gather in maternal herds to more effectively protect their calves. In such a group there can be 7-10 adults and the same number of calves. From the very first days, young animals begin to play among themselves and learn social contacts in a group. The mother recognizes her baby by smell; he is guided by his voice and appearance.

The life expectancy of a musk ox is 10-15 years. Females up to 10 years old, with good feeding, give birth to calves annually. After this age - in a year. If there is little food, the musk ox gives birth to one calf every 2 years. If musk oxen are threatened only by natural enemies and not by humans, their numbers grow rapidly. One female can give birth to 8-10 cubs in her life. This is why acclimatization has been so successful in many countries. Vanishing polar view The musk ox got a second chance at life.

One of the few large herbivores adapted to life in Arctic latitudes. Apart from the musk ox (musk ox), only reindeer permanently live there.

Description of the musk ox

Ovibos moschatus, or musk ox, is a member of the order Artiodactyla and is the only, apart from 2 fossil species, representative of the genus Ovibos (musk oxen) of the bovid family. The genus Ovibos is classified in the subfamily Caprinae (caprines), which also includes goats.

This is interesting! The closest relative of the musk ox is the takin.

However, in its physique the musk ox is more similar to a bull than to a goat: this conclusion was made after studying the body and internal organs of the musk ox. The similarity to sheep can be seen in anatomy and serological reactions, and to bulls - in the structure of the teeth and skull.

Appearance

Due to evolution, the musk ox acquired a characteristic exterior, formed by harsh living conditions. So, he does not have protruding parts of the body to reduce heat loss in cold weather, but he has very thick long fur, whose thermal insulation properties provided with giviot (dense undercoat, warming 8 times more intensely than sheep's wool). The musk ox is a stocky animal with a large head and short neck, covered with abundant hair, which makes it appear larger than it actually is.

This is interesting! The height of an adult musk ox at the withers is on average 1.3–1.4 m with a weight of 260 to 650 kg. The musk ox has developed muscles, where the total muscle mass reaches almost 20% of its body weight.

The front part of the muzzle is not bare, like that of bulls, but is covered with short hair. Pointed triangular ears are not always distinguishable against the background of matted hair. The strong limbs are covered with fur up to the hooves, with the hind hooves being smaller than the front hooves. The shortened tail is lost in the coat and is usually not visible.

Nature has awarded the musk ox with sickle-shaped horns, wide and wrinkled at the base (on the forehead), where they are separated by a narrow groove. Further, each horn gradually becomes thinner, going down, bending around the area near the eyes and from the cheeks, rushing outwards with curved ends. Smooth and round in cross-section, the horns (except for their frontal part) can be gray, beige or brown, darkening to black towards their tips.

The color of the musk ox is predominantly dark brown (above) and black-brown (below) with a lightened spot in the center of the ridge. Light fur is observed on the legs and sometimes on the forehead. The length of the coat varies from 15 cm on the back to 0.6–0.9 m on the belly and sides. When looking at the musk ox, it seems that a luxurious furry poncho has been thrown over it, hanging almost to the ground.

This is interesting! 8 (!) types of hair are involved in creating the coat, thanks to which musk ox fur has unsurpassed thermal insulation characteristics, better than those of any animal on the planet.

In winter, the fur is especially thick and long; shedding occurs in the warm season and lasts from May to July (inclusive).

Lifestyle, behavior

The musk ox has adapted to the cold and feels good among the polar deserts and arctic tundras. It chooses habitats based on the season and the availability of certain food: in winter it often goes to the mountains, where the wind sweeps snow from the slopes, and in summer it descends into abundant river valleys and lowlands in the tundra.

Its lifestyle resembles that of sheep, flocking into small herds of different sexes, 4–10 in summer, 12–50 in winter. In autumn/summer, males create same-sex groups or live alone (such hermits make up up to 9% of the local population).

The area of ​​the herd's winter pasture does not exceed 50 km² on average, but together with the summer areas it reaches 200 km². In search of food, the herd is led by a leader or an adult cow, but in a critical situation, exclusively the herd bull takes responsibility for his comrades. Musk bulls walk slowly, accelerating up to 40 km/h if necessary and covering considerable distances. Musk oxen climb rocks very deftly. Unlike reindeer, they do not make long seasonal movements, but wander from September to May, remaining in the local territory. In the warm season, feeding is alternated with rest 6–9 times a day.

Important! In winter, animals mainly rest or sleep, digesting vegetation obtained from under loose snow up to half a meter deep. When an Arctic storm begins, musk oxen lay down with their backs to the wind. They are not afraid of frosts, but high snows, especially those bound by crust, are dangerous.

The musk ox has relatively large eyes, which help to recognize objects in conditions polar night, and the other senses are well developed. True, the musk ox does not have such a keen sense of smell as its neighbor on the tundra (), but thanks to it, the animals sense the approach of predators and find plants under the snow. The vocal signaling is simple: adults sniffle/sniff when alarmed, males roar during mating fights, calves bleat, calling their mother.

How long does a musk ox live?

Representatives of the species live on average 11–14 years, under favorable conditions almost doubling this period and living up to 23–24 years.

Sexual dimorphism

The differences, including anatomical ones, between male and female muskoxen are quite significant. In the wild, males gain 350–400 kg with a height at the withers of up to 1.5 m and a body length of 2.1–2.6 m, while females are noticeably lower at the withers (up to 1.2 m) and shorter in length (1 .9–2.4 m) with a weight equal to 60% of the average weight of the male. In captivity, the weight of animals increases significantly: for a male up to 650–700 kg, for a female up to 300 kg and more.

This is interesting! Representatives of both sexes are decorated with horns, but male horns are always more massive and longer, up to 73 cm, while female horns are almost half as long (up to 40 cm).

In addition, the horns of females do not have a specific wrinkled thickening near the base, but they do have a patch of skin between the horns where white fluff grows. Females also have a small udder with paired nipples (3.5–4.5 cm long), covered with light hairs.

The difference between the sexes is also visible in the timing of reproductive maturation. The female muskox becomes fertile by 2 years of age, but with adequate feeding she is ready for fertilization even earlier, at 15–17 months. Males become sexually mature no earlier than 2–3 years of age.

Range, habitats

The original range of the musk ox covered the vast Arctic territories of Eurasia, from where along the Bering Isthmus (which once connected Chukotka and Alaska), the animals migrated to North America and later to Greenland. Fossil remains of musk oxen are found from Siberia to the latitude of Kyiv (to the south), as well as in France, Germany and Great Britain.

Important! The main factor in the reduction in the range and number of musk oxen was global warming, which led to the melting of the Polar Basin and an increase in height/density snow cover and swamping of the tundra-steppe.

Nowadays, musk oxen live in North America (north of 60° N), on Greenel and Parry land, in western/eastern Greenland and on the northern coast of Greenland (83° N). Until 1865, the animals inhabited northern Alaska, where they were later completely exterminated. In 1930 they were brought to Alaska, in 1936 - to the island. Nunivak, in 1969 - on the island. Nelson in the Bering Sea and one of the Alaskan reserves.

The musk ox has taken root well in these places, which cannot be said about Iceland, Norway and Sweden, where the introduction of the species was unsuccessful. Reacclimatization of musk oxen was also carried out in Russia: several years ago, about 8 thousand animals lived in the Taimyr tundra, 850 animals were counted on the island. Wrangel, more than 1 thousand in Yakutia, over 30 in the Magadan region and about 8 dozen in Yamal.

Muskox diet

This is a typical herbivore that has managed to adapt to the scarce food resources of the cold Arctic. The Arctic summer lasts only a few weeks, which means that for most of the year, musk oxen have to make do with dry vegetation, which they hoof under the snow.

The diet of the musk ox consists of plants such as:

• shrubby birch/willow trees;
• lichens (including moss) and moss;
• sedges, including cotton grass;
• astragalus and mytnik;
• arctagrostis and arctophila;
• partridge grass (dryad);
• bluegrass (reed grass, meadow grass and foxtail).

In the summer, before the snow falls and the active rut begins, musk oxen come to natural salt licks to make up for the lack of macro- and microelements.

Reproduction and offspring

The rut, as a rule, lasts from late July to mid-October, but sometimes shifts due to weather to September–December. All females of the herd, ready for mating, are covered by a single dominant male.

And only in large herds, the role of successors of the family is also taken on by one/several subdominant bulls. When competing for a mate, contenders are often limited to displays of threat that include head tilting, butting, roaring, and stomping the ground with their hooves.

If the opponent does not give up, the real fight begins - the bulls, having separated by 30–50 m, run towards each other, knocking their heads together (sometimes up to 40 times). The defeated retreats, but in some cases even dies on the battlefield. Pregnancy lasts 8–8.5 months, ending with the appearance of one baby (rarely twins) weighing 7–8 kg. A couple of hours after birth, the calf can follow its mother. In the first 2 days, the female feeds her baby 8–18 times, giving this process a total of 35–50 minutes. A two-week-old calf is applied to the nipples 4–8 times a day, a month-old calf 1–6 times.

This is interesting! Due to the high (11%) fat content of milk, calves grow quickly, gaining 40–45 kg by the time they are 2 months old. At four months of age they weigh up to 70–75 kg, at six months to a year they weigh about 80–95 kg, and by 2 years they weigh no less than 140–180 kg.

Milk feeding lasts 4 months, but sometimes lasts up to 1 year or more, for example, in females who gave birth late. Already at a week of age, the calf tastes mosses and grass debris, and a month later it switches to pasture vegetation, supplemented by mother’s milk.

The cow takes care of the calf for up to 12 months. Herd calves unite for games, which automatically unites the females and leads to the formation of a group of cows with young animals. In rich food areas, offspring appear annually, in poor food areas - half as often, every other year. Despite the equal number of males/females among newborns, in adult populations there are always more bulls than cows.