Large, husky, and shaggy, the musk-ox has been living in the cold areas of the arctic regions for thousands upon thousands of years. The musk-ox is able to live and travel through such icy and slippery terrain due to its curved hooves. The Musk-ox weighing in anywhere from 500-800 lbs, and as long as five feet, is surprisingly an herbivore, as it generally eats grasses, willows, and flowers that are found within the arctic location. However, as gentle and calm as they may seem, they do not take lightly to threats and are always conscious of their surroundings. Most musk-oxen roam in packs of over 20, as they create a unified stampeding horned charge at any predator that poses a threat. However, since it is geographically isolated from many threats, one of the biggest potential threats would be the weather. However, their large thick wool coats out layered by long guard hairs cover their entire body with hairs hanging all the way to the ground. During the deepest and darkest times of winter, the musk-ox stays in a pack to create a sense of heat, and during the spring the coat starts to fall out, as new guard hairs start to form.
For many years, the musk-oxen were over hunted and killed for their thick, lush, and dense hides and sometimes even killed for their meat. The trade of killing husk-oxen was extremely popular, and unfortunately so many of these musk-oxen were killed that only a very miniscule number remained. However, due to better organization and management in the late 1900's, the musk-oxen are now on a road to recovery from previous times. Currently, they are protected under many different pacts, laws, and acts to ensure that the population is protected from hunters so that the population could replenish and flourish as it once did. Aside from human interaction, the musk-oxen are also facing graving potential danger from the environment as climate change is becoming more and more apparent in some polar and arctic regions. Musk-oxen are facing the climate change epidemic first hand, as their resources for food and living are starting to dissipate. The climate changing into a much warmer period quicker than before can offset their genetic DNA makeup for changing their coats, and furthermore the rising sea level is taking away what small land they already had to roam. Efforts from teams such as NOAA have made conscious efforts to promote the safety and push environmental efforts so that animals such as the musk-oxen can live the way it is supposed to and not the way humans have forced them too.
The defensive formation the musk-oxen assume when they are under predatory attack.
Musk-oxen up close and personal, as you can see them grazing in a pack of family members eating the various shrubs and grass below the snow.
