CHAPTER XX
baby musk oxen
THE Musk Ox is strictly an Arctic animal and is not to be met with below the circle. The northern part of Greenland and Grantland, the Barren Grounds east of Mackenzie River, and the Arctic Islands, north of Hudson Bay, is the home of our musky friend. He is not handsome, but is majestic in appearance, measuring six and one-half feet long and four and one-half feet high. His hair is wavy, dark and abundant, his legs are short and post-like, and his tail so short as to be scarcely noticeable. The top of his head is covered by a pair of heavy, peculiarly shaped horns, flattened at the base. From the centre of the head they sweep downward over the sides of the skull in a graceful curve, then recurve upward. His muzzle is blunt and hairy and the eyes are honest and intelligent.
The Musk Ox has but little resemblance to other ruminants (cud-chewing animals), except in his bison-like head.
Musk Oxen in reality are neither oxen nor sheep, nor are they closely allied to either, and are a very distinct type of the hollow horned section of the ruminants, entitled to a distinctive name of their own.
The Musk Oxen are the most exclusively Arctic of all the ruminants. Living, as they do, in the extreme north where vegetation is scanty, and the ground buried under a heavy coverlet of snow the greater part of the year, great strength, endurance and perseverance are the elements that must be possessed by this animal to take him through the bitter cold and long darkness of an Arctic winter. Nature has provided this noble creature with a heavy coat of wool beneath his long thick hair for protection from the inclement Arctic weather. Blizzards may rage and the thermometer drop to seventy degrees, but it can't freeze old Musk Ox. He is there, warm coat, big horns and all, and the north pole isn't cold enough to put an end to his existence.
One baby is the usual number in Musk Ox
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| Courtesy of New York Zoological Society |
| The Musk Ox kiddies are sturdy youngsters. Their short, thick necks, compact little bodies and postlike legs enable them to face the inclemencies of an Arctic winter and snort with glee in the teeth of a blizzard. |
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| Permission of the American Museum of Natural History |
| You can't "freeze out" old Musk Ox. He's right there, long hair, hoofs and horns, and he's here to stay. His breakfast is reindeer moss or lichens, and his dinner, lichens or reindeer moss, and he has to dig under the snow with his hoofs for that. You cannot freeze or starve him, for he grows fat on icicles and frozen moss. |
He soon learns to dig under the deep snow for lichens and Arctic mosses. He is a weather prophet too, and makes preparations against blizzards with a fore-sight uncommon in one so young. We wonder if that psychical sense is inborn or if it develops by communication from the older animals. Baby Musk Ox is wide-eyed and innocent in appearance, but he gives us such startling shocks sometimes by his deep rooted intelligence that his appearance quite belies him. He is gentle and makes a fine pet if taken when young.
The purpose of the musky odour is to enable the animals to find each other in heavy storms and during the long, dark Arctic nights. The flesh of the Musk Ox is excellent food, consequently they are hunted assiduously by the Eskimos with their wolf dogs. Their skins are highly desirable for the making of clothing and robes, and the flesh is eaten raw and sometimes cooked. When pursued by wolves, the old Musk Oxen put the babies in the centre, form a circle around them and face outward with bloodshot eyes and menacing horns. When aroused, they are a formidable company to face.
The Barren Grounds affords homes for thousands of Musk Oxen. Away back in the dim ages, the Musk Ox roamed over Europe and Asia and in North America, as far south as Kentucky, Missouri and Utah. They are not inclined to be savage unless attacked. They are of great service to the people who inhabit the Arctic countries.