The Canadian Arctic is a snow-covered world with only brief summers in a year. Although the conditions are very harsh, there are still some animals and plants that survive tenaciously. There you can experience the greatness of life – the musk ox is one of them.
Muskox, scientific name: Ovibos moschatus, also known as musk ox. It is named because male musk oxen emit a strong odor during mating season. Both male and female have wide horns, long fur that slopes downwards, can make the snow slide smoothly, is a close relative of the antelope, although like a cow, but in many ways more like a sheep, can be said to be a super large wild sheep. It mainly lives in the Arctic tundra areas such as the Canadian Arctic and northern Greenland, which are extremely desolate and barren lands.
During the summer months, musk oxen usually live in wet places such as river valleys. The food is plentiful here and the days are better. But the good times were short-lived, and winter was coming quickly, and it was very long. When winter comes, the land is covered with snow and ice, the colorful vitality of life begins to disappear, and as the cold and desolation appear, many animals are far away. But in this desert land, some black-brown musk oxen can also be seen wandering alone.
Winters are so thick with snow that they can only feed on their hooves to plane snow and dig out some hay leaves and mosses. They are more resistant to hunger and thirst, and their thick fluff can withstand the Arctic cold of -50 to 60 degrees Celsius. The fluff on the musk ox is thick and dense enough to withstand any cold and moisture, while the thick layer of hair on the outside is suitable for protection against rain, snow and wind. Therefore, musk oxen are animals that are extremely afraid of cold, but they are very afraid of heat.
The musk ox inhabits rocky and barren areas, is gregarious, eats mainly grass and shrub branches, and digs snow in winter to feed on mosses. The temperament is brave and does not retreat under any circumstances. When predators such as wolves and bears appear, a herd of musk bulls immediately forms a unique defensive formation: bulls and cows face outward to form a circular or semi-circular formation that encloses the calves in the middle. Bulls will attack unexpectedly, attacking each other with sharp horns. Because its coat is long and thick, it protects the body from being bitten by predators. After the bull attacked, it immediately returned to the same place and waited for it.
Under normal circumstances, the musk ox appears to be particularly docile, stopping to eat a little food, and then lying flat on the ground and chewing slowly, and after a while it will doze off. When you are a little awake, then go forward a little bit, and then repeat the same trick, eating food, regurgitating, dozing off. In fact, musk oxen do this for a purpose: to reduce energy consumption, but also to reduce the need for food. In summer, musk oxen feed mainly on fresh weeds and drink water from melted streams, ponds and rivers. In winter, musk oxen eat only a small amount of snow, because it consumes calories to melt the snow into water, which not only meets the needs of the body, but also reduces the loss of energy. Due to the extreme efficiency with which the musk ox maintains energy, it is reported to need only one-sixth of the food it needs for cattle of the same size. The average lifespan of musk oxen is 12-20 years.
Musk oxen also run slowly, up to 60 km / h.
▲ Musk horn specimen
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