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| SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON NAME: |
muskox |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Mammalia |
| ORDER: |
Artiodactyla |
| FAMILY: |
Bovidae |
| GENUS SPECIES: |
Ovibos moschatus |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Muskoxen have coarse guard hairs that almost reach the ground. This long coat sheds rain and snow and withstands wear and tear. Underneath this long coat is an inner coat of fine, soft light brown hair that is dense enough to block cold and frost. The legs and middle of the back are pale. |
| Muskoxen have massive bodies with a slight hump behind the head. The legs, neck, and tail are relatively short. Both sexes have horns that curve down and out. |
| MALE |
Male muskoxen have horns that are more massive at the base than females. |
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| SIZE: |
shoulder height = 1.2-1.5 m (3.9-4.9 ft.) |
| head and body length = 1.9-2.3 m (6.2-7.6 ft.) |
| tail length = 9-10 cm (3.5-3.9 in.) |
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| WEIGHT: |
200-410 kg (440-904 lb.) |
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| DIET: |
Summer diet = grasses and sedges |
| Winter diet = browse such as crowberry, cowberry, and willow |
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| GESTATION: |
8-9 months |
| NURSING DURATION |
Up to one year; calf may begin eating vegetation within a week of birth. |
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| SEXUAL MATURITY: |
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| MALE |
more than 5 years |
| FEMALE |
more than 2 years |
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| LIFE SPAN: |
Up to 24 years |
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| HABITAT: |
Summer = moist habitats such as river valleys, lakeshores, and seepage meadows |
| Winter = hilltops, slopes, and plateaus; where snow level is a minimum |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
unknown |
| REGIONAL |
Canada = 109,000 |
| Northern and eastern Greenland = 9,500-12,500 |
| Southwestern Greenland = 2,600 |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Lower Risk/least concern |
| CITES |
Not listed |
| USFWS |
Not listed |
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| 1. |
Muskox herds may have up to 100 individuals. Average group size is 15-20 in the winter and about 10 in the summer. |
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| 2. |
When threatened by predators, such as wolves, muskox herds bunch together, forming a circle with calves in the middle. This behavior also allowed entire herds to be easily killed by hunters with firearms. |
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| 3. |
The common name, muskox, comes from a characteristic odor that comes from males during their rut. |
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| Muskoxen were exploited by humans for their meat and hide. Eskimos used their horns to create bows. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, human activity increased in the Arctic and muskoxen were completely wiped out in Alaska and nearly exterminated on the mainland of Canada. Conservation efforts have helped to restore population numbers in some areas. |
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| Nowak, Ronald M. (ed.). Walker's Mammals of the World – Volume II. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003. |
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| Parker, S. (ed.). Grizmek's Encyclopedia of Mammals. Vol. IV. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Co., 1990. |
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