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Musk Ox Facts & Worksheets

The Musk Ox is a hoofed mammal in the Bovidae family. It is native to the Arctic and is known for its thick layer and the pungent smell emission even during the seasonal doldrums, from which it gets its name.

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The Musk Ox (Ovibos moschatus, Latin for “musky sheep-ox”), also known as the musk ox and musk-ox, is a hoofed mammal in the Bovidae family. It is native to the Arctic and is known for its thick layer and the pungent smell emission even during the seasonal doldrums, from which it gets its name.

See the fact file below for more information on the Musk Ox, or you can download our 28-page Musk Ox worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

FOSSIL RECORDS AND EXTINCT RELATIVES

  • The contemporary Musk ox is the final member of an ovi bovine line that evolved in temperate Asia and was suited to a frozen permafrost climate late in its evolutionary development. 
  • Musk ox ancestors with lamb’s high-positioned trumpets (horn cores mostly above the aircraft of the anterior bones, instead of below them as in modern muskoxen) first left temperate woodlands for such emerging grasslands of Central Asia during Pliocene, eventually spreading into Siberia as well as the rest of northern Eurasia. Within the first half of the Pleistocene, subsequent migration ripples of Asian ungulates, such as high-horned muskoxen, attained Europe and North America.
  • The first well-known muskox, the “shrub-ox” Euceratherium, arrived in North America two million years ago via an early version of the Bering Land Bridge and thrived in the American southwest and Mexico. 
  • Euceratherium was larger than modern muskoxen but lighter in build, emulating a gigantic sheep with massive horns, and favored mountainous grasslands.
  • Soergelia, a species with transitional trumpets, lived in early Pleistocene Eurasia, from Spain to Siberia, but also managed to cross to North America even during Irvingtonian (1.8 million to 240,000 years ago), shortly after Euceratherium. Unlike Euceratherium, which lived in North America until the Pleistocene-Holocene mass extinction, Soergelia was a lowland dweller that went extinct relatively quickly, displaced by more advanced ungulates like the “giant muskox” Praeovibos. 
  • The low-horned Praeovibos was prevalent in Europe as well as the Mediterranean 1.5 million years ago, colonizing Alaska and also the Yukon one million years ago, and vanished 500,000 years ago. Praeovibos was an extremely adaptable animal found in cold permafrost (reindeer) and mild temperatures woodland (red deer) faunas.
  • Praeovibos have been found in the Kolyma river valley of eastern Siberia alongside numerous Glacial Period megafauna,  which combines with Ovibos, including wild horses, caribou, woolly mammoth, and stag-moose. 
  • However, it is unclear whether Praeovibos was immediately ancestral to Ovibos or if both genera fell from a common origin, given that the two coexisted during the center of the Pleistocene. Defenders of Praeovibos descent have suggested that Praeovibos progressed into Ovibos in one area during the isolation period and then spread, replacing the remaining Praeovibos populations.

APPEARANCE

  • Muskoxen, both male and female, have long, beveled horns. Muskoxen stand 1.1 to 1.5 m (4 to 5 ft) tall there at the shoulder, with females able to measure 135 to 200 cm (4.4 to 6.6 ft) and larger males 200 to 250 cm (4.4 to 6.6 ft) (6.6 to 8.2 ft). 
  • The small tail, which is often hidden beneath a layer of fur, is just 10 cm (3.9 in) long. Adults weigh an average of 285 kg (630 lb) and range in weight from 180 to 410 kg (400 to 900 lb). Musk Ox can attain up to 60 kilometers per hour (37 mph). Their life expectancy ranges from 12 to 20 years.
  • Muskoxen were much more common during the Pleistocene period. They lived in the Siberian as well as North American Arctics, from either the Urals to Greenland, according to fossil records. Between 200,000 and 90,000 years ago, the ancestors of today’s muskoxen crossed the Bering Land Bridge to North America.
  • Muskoxen were once restricted to the Arctic regions of northern Canada, Greenland, and Alaska. The Alaskan community was wiped out during the late nineteenth or early twentieth centuries. Excessive hunting has been blamed for their depletion, but climate change may have played a role. Muskoxen, on the other hand, have been brought back to Alaska.
  • The animals were reinstated from Banks Island to Norway’s Dovre mountain range in 1932 but were hunted to death during WWII. It was inserted into Norway in 1947, and in 1971, the inhabitants enlarged into Härjedalen, Sweden.
  • Even though the environmental factors in the northeastern Labrador Peninsula are appropriate for them, no ancient muskox remnants have indeed been discovered in eastern Canada. 

ECOLOGY

  • Muskoxen spend the summer in wet areas, including such valleys, trying to move to higher altitudes in the cold season to prevent heavy snow. Muskoxen prefer vegetation, arctic wisteria, plants, fungi, and bryophytes as food. When food is plentiful, they prefer fleshy and nutritious grasses.
  • Muskoxen require a significant amount of fat reserves to conceive, reflecting one‘s conservative reproduction strategy. Shallow snow is expected in winter ranges to decrease the energy expenses of digging across the snow to attain forage. Arctic wolves are the main predators of muskoxen, accounting for approximately half of all death rates for the organisms. Grizzly and polar bears are also possible predators on occasion, most likely as calves or infirm adults.

BEHAVIOR AND REPRODUCTION

  • Muskoxen herds range from 12 to 24 in the cold season and 8 to 20 in the spring. They do not have territories, but they use preorbital glands to mark their trails. Male and female muskoxen have distinct age structures, with mature oxen dominating juveniles. 
  • Dominant oxen typically have access to the finest assets and will evict superiors from grassy areas during the winter.
  • Musk ox broncos affirm their dominance in a variety of ways. One example is a “rush and butt,” which occurs when a dominant bull comes running at an underling out from the side with its horns and warns the underling so it can flee. Bulls will screech, move their heads, and claw the surface as well.
  • Subordinate bulls are sometimes treated like cows by dominant bulls. A dominant bull musk ox will press an underling with its leg, as cows do during mating. The dominant Musk ox will also taunt copulate subordinates and grope their genital area. By trying to charge a dominant bull, a subjugated bull could indeed change his status.
  • The musk oxen mating (or “rutting”) season occurs in late June or early July. During this period, dominant bulls will drive other oxen out of the flocks and form harems of six and seven musk ox and their descendants. Fighting bulls will display their horns after rubbing valid secretions against their legs and hooting loudly.
  • The musk ox then backs up approximately 20 meters, lowers their heads, and charges each other until one gives up. Bulls that seem to be subordinate or elderly will end up leaving the herds to establish clusters or become secluded. When there is danger, outside bulls can come back to a pack for protection.
  • The musk ox is a fast-growing animal, and calves can stay consistent with the flock a few hours after being born. During the first two months, the calves are accepted into the flock and nourished. 
  • Following that, a calf begins to eat vegetation and nursing just every once in a while. Braying is how cattle interact with their calves. After two years, the calf’s bond with its mother weakens. Whenever the herd is attacked, the adults will move forward to establish a fixed circle or semicircle around the calves. 
  • Bulls are usually the first line of protection against predators, with cows and juveniles crowding around them. During rutting, Musk Ox determine the defensive formation, while cattle make a decision the rest of the year.

CONSERVATION

  • These life forms dropped due to overhunting, but species rebound has occurred since hunting regulations have been enforced. In the late 1900s, management consisted primarily of conservative hunting quotas designed to promote recovery and recolonization following historical declines. 
  • The current muskoxen population is estimated to be between 80,000 and 125,000, of 47,000 residing on Banks Isle.

Musk Ox Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about the Musk Ox across 28 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about the Musk Ox, which is a hoofed mammal in the Bovidae family. It is native to the Arctic and is known for its thick layer and the pungent smell emission even during the seasonal doldrums, from which it gets its name.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Musk Ox Facts 
  2. A Helping PAW!
  3. Sign Language
  4. Defend the Weaker
  5. #LocateMuskOx
  6. MUSK Way Home
  7. The Newborn Musk Ox
  8. Relatives of Musk Ox
  9. Musk Ox: Future Generation
  10. Think Wisely!
  11. #Movie Marathon

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a musk ox eat?

Musk oxen feed on an expansive variety of vegetation, from grasses to forbs and woody plants. But, unfortunately, these animals aren’t equipped with the skills needed to dig through heavy snow in search of food – meaning their winter habitat is limited to places where there’s little or no accumulation of snow.

Is musk ox aggressive?

Although musk oxen are not typically aggressive, they remain wild and can be dangerous to humans and our furry friends. To increase your safety, should you encounter one of these animals, please take precautions.

How many musk ox are left in the world?

Musk oxen are listed on the IUCN Red List as the Least Concern, and their population size is estimated to be between 80,000 to 120,000 individuals with a stable growth rate.

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Link will appear as Musk Ox Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, December 8, 2022

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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