Muskox
The muskox (Ovibos moschatus, in Latin "musky sheep-ox"), also spelled musk ox and musk-ox, plural muskoxen or musk oxen (in Inuktitut: ᐅᒥᖕᒪᒃ, romanized: umingmak; in Woods Cree: ᒫᖨᒨᐢ, romanized: mâthi-môs, ᒫᖨᒧᐢᑐᐢ, mâthi-mostos), is a hoofed mammal of the family Bovidae.[8] Native to the Arctic, it is noted for its thick coat and for the strong odor emitted by males during the seasonal rut, from which its name derives. This musky odor has the effect of attracting females during mating season. Its Inuktitut name "umingmak" translates to "the bearded one".[9]
Its Woods Cree names "mâthi-môs" and "mâthi-mostos" translate to "ugly moose" and "ugly bison", respectively.[10] In historic times, muskoxen primarily lived in Greenland and the Canadian Arctic of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut,[11] They were formerly present in Eurasia, with their youngest natural records in the region dating to around 2,700 years ago,[12] with reintroduced populations in the American state of Alaska, the Canadian territory of Yukon, and Siberia, and an introduced population in Norway, part of which emigrated to Sweden, where a small population now lives.
Evolution[edit]
Extant relatives[edit]
The muskox is in the subtribe Ovibovina (or tribe Ovibovini) in the tribe Caprini (or subfamily Caprinae) of the subfamily Antilopinae in the family Bovidae. It is therefore more closely related to sheep and goats than to oxen; it is placed in its own genus, Ovibos (Latin: "sheep-ox"). It is one of the two largest extant members of the caprines, along with the similarly sized Takin Budorcas.[13] While the takin and muskox were once considered possibly closely related, the takin lacks common ovibovine features, such as the muskox's specialized horn morphology, and genetic analysis shows that their lineages actually separated early in caprine evolution. Instead, the muskox's closest living relatives appear to be the gorals of the genus Naemorhedus, nowadays common in many countries of central and east Asia. The vague similarity between takin and muskox is therefore an example of convergent evolution.[14]
Ecology[edit]
During the summer, muskoxen live in wet areas, such as river valleys, moving to higher elevations in the winter to avoid deep snow. Muskoxen will eat grasses, arctic willows, woody plants, lichens (above lichens are excluded from the menu), and mosses. When food is abundant, they prefer succulent and nutritious grasses in an area. Willows are the most commonly eaten plants in the winter. Muskoxen require a high threshold of fat reserves in order to conceive, which reflects their conservative breeding strategy. Winter ranges typically have shallow snow to reduce the energy costs of digging through snow to reach forage.[1] The primary predators of muskoxen are arctic wolves, which may account for up to half of all mortality for the species. Other occasional predators, likely mainly predators of calves or infirm adults, can include grizzly bears and polar bears[7] and wolverines.
Physiology[edit]
Muskox are heterothermic mammals, meaning they have the ability to shut off thermal regulation in some parts of their body, like their lower limbs.[50] Maintaining the lower limbs at a cooler temperature than the rest of their body helps reduce the loss of body heat from their extremities. Muskox display the unique characteristic of having hemoglobin that is three times less temperature sensitive than human hemoglobin.[50] This temperature insensitivity allows the muskox's hemoglobin to have a heightened oxygen affinity in an extremely cold environment and continue to diffuse high amounts of oxygen into its cold tissues.[51]
Conservation status[edit]
Historically, this species declined because of overhunting, but populations have recovered following enforcement of hunting regulations.[1] Management in the late 1900s was mostly conservative hunting quotas to foster recovery and recolonization from the historic declines.[1] The current world population of muskoxen is estimated at between 80,000[63] and 125,000,[34] with an estimated 47,000 living on Banks Island.[64]
In Greenland, there are no major threats. However, populations are often small in size and scattered; this makes them vulnerable to local fluctuations in climate. Most populations are within national parks, where they are protected from hunting.[1] Muskoxen occur in four of Greenland's protected areas, with indigenous populations in Northeast Greenland National Park and introduced populations in Arnangarnup Qoorua Nature Reserve and Kangerlussuaq and Maniitsoq Caribou Reserves. In these areas, muskoxen receive full protection.[1]
Muskoxen are being domesticated for the production of qiviut.