Wildlife North America . com North American Animals - mamals, birds, reptiles, insects |
Muskox (Ovibos moschatus)
Muskox Photograph by ra64. Some rights reserved. (view image details) 
Muskox Photograph by Jo Keller, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. License: Public Domain. (view image details) 
Muskox in Alaska travel through the snow looking for food. Photograph by Jerry L Hout, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. License: Public Domain. (view image details)
MUSKOX FACTS
DescriptionThe Muskox has stocky body with short legs and long thick hair to protect it from the cold. The hair can grow nearly to the ground in older specimens. Both male and female have cream colored horns with black tips. The horns meet at the center of the head and curve down round the side of the head. The coat is brown with patch of lighter hair on the back. Size Head and body length is 1.3m - 2.0m. They grow to about 1.2m tall at the shoulder. Environment lives in the Arctic tundra north of the tree line. Food In the summer they eat grasses, leafy plants, sedges, mosses, shrubs, herbs. In the winter months when food is harder to come by, they eat willow, dwarf birch stems, roots, mosses, lichen. Breeding single calf is born after gestation of about 8 months. Calves are weaned after 10-12 months although they start eating adult food after a few weeks. Range Found around the Arctic in Canada, Alaska, Greenland. Has also been reintroduced to Russia, Norway and Siberia. Classification
Home | Mammals | Reptiles | Birds | Insects | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Contact Us |