| One look at herd of Musk Oxen, and you wonder if | | | | early May. With soft curly hair, calves resemble their |
| you've traveled back in time to the Pleistocene, the | | | | parents, and may begin eating grass as soon as a |
| age of Saber-toothed Tigers and Woolly Mammoths. | | | | week after birth, although they will continue nursing |
| Reportedly, these venerable beasts have existed | | | | for a year or more. |
| since the last ice age, 600,000 years ago. With their | | | | The arctic is a desperate region, but Musk Oxen are |
| distinctive curved horns and shaggy long hair, this | | | | well-equipped. In winter they grow thick undercoats |
| "Bison of the Tundra" roams the arctic river valleys | | | | of soft brown fleece and shaggy overcoats. Guard |
| of North America, Greenland, and the northern | | | | hairs extend past their bulky shoulders and short legs, |
| countries of Europe, grazing on grass, reeds, and | | | | almost dragging on the ground. This wool is finer than |
| sedges, using its cloven feet to dig beneath the | | | | cashmere, and eight times warmer for its weight |
| snow to reach lichen and nutritious ground plants | | | | than sheep's wool. It can protect the animal at |
| when necessary. | | | | temperatures down to 100 degrees Fahrenheit below |
| Musk Oxen, who are not oxen, and do not have a | | | | zero. Musk oxen shed their undercoats in May, leaving |
| musk gland, most likely got its names from the | | | | behind them "The Golden Fleece of the Arctic"-great |
| heavy scent that males give off when excited. They | | | | woolly powder puffs anywhere between 4 and 16 |
| are a member of the Bovidae family, and are closely | | | | pounds. Traditionally, Inuits have used this fiber, which |
| related to sheep and goats, although they best | | | | they call qivuit, in making garments. |
| resemble buffalo and bison. Like cattle, they have a | | | | Adult Musk Oxen protect their offspring in a way |
| four-chambered stomach and live in herds of 10-20 | | | | quite unlike any other animal. When approached by a |
| animals. Sometimes several herds may join, forming | | | | predator, calves quickly gather in a tight circle, while |
| groups of up to a hundred. Herds will include bulls, | | | | the older members of the herd encompass them, |
| cows, and calves until mid-August when the bulls are | | | | facing outward. If necessary adults may charge the |
| in full rut. At this time, bulls begin to exhibit | | | | threat; but usually they remain stationary, using their |
| heightened aggressiveness, making impressive | | | | muscular shoulders and horns to block the |
| displays of themselves. Pawing at the ground, walking | | | | provocateur from the more vulnerable members of |
| stiff-legged, and swinging their massive horns, the | | | | the herd. This course of action is effective against |
| bulls compete for dominance. | | | | arctic wolves and the occasional polar bear, but not |
| At a formidable 440 to 880 pounds, bulls stand 5 | | | | against the firepower of man. In the early 1900s |
| feet at the shoulder and are 8 feet long. Challenges | | | | Musk Oxen came close to extinction and were |
| made at mating season are no light affair. Facing off, | | | | completely wiped out by hunters in Alaska. However, |
| challengers back up about a hundred feet apart | | | | thanks to a worldwide hunting ban, populations have |
| before charging, head on, at speeds approaching | | | | recovered. They were reintroduced into Alaska in |
| 35-45 miles per hour. Bellowing, the bulls collide. Their | | | | 1930, where they continue to thrive. The world |
| massive horn bosses, which can grow up to four | | | | population is now estimated at 65,000-85,000. Their |
| inches thick and a foot wide, protect their skulls, and | | | | biggest threat now may be the climate shift occuring |
| challengers may repeat the activity a dozen times | | | | in the north. Where temperatures drop significantly a |
| before one bull submits and is run off. The winning | | | | hard crust of ice may form over the ground which is |
| bull will be the only male allowed in the herd until | | | | impossible for the Musk Oxen to break through. |
| mating season is over. | | | | Without food, herds may starve. |
| At two years old, cows are sexually mature. The | | | | This appears to be the new challenge of preservation |
| gestation period lasts 8 ½ months, and single | | | | teams devoted to caribou and Musk Oxen, the final |
| calves, weighing 18-25 pounds, arrive mid-April to | | | | surviving relic of a past age. |