Musk-oxen – living on the edge

Text & photos: Carsten Egevang
Article from the former magazine, Greenland Today

They resemble remote cousins of the Bison ox, but they are genetically closer related to goats. With their long summer hair full of woolly tufts you could call them Greenland’s hippy cows, but in reality, the musk-ox is uniquely suited to life in the Arctic.

You can’t quite resist smiling when you meet Greenland’s biggest land mammal, the musk-ox. Its extremely long hair smudges the contour of its body, making its legs appear tiny which gives the animal a slightly comical appearance. But make no mistake! The musk-ox is a top-tuned organism that is supremely well-adapted to the Arctic environment. Adaptation is necessary for survival in one of the most extreme regions of Greenland: The Thule Region.

Introduced to Thule

The musk-ox is not naturally occurring in the Thule region in modern times, but it could have been. It migrated to Greenland from Arctic Canada – just a little north of the Thule region, but the gigantic Humboldt Glacier lies like a physical barrier in the landscape and has prevented the musk-ox from spreading southwards.

Instead, it has continued its »invasion« of Greenland to the east and its natural occurrence in Greenland is in the National Park in North and Northeast Greenland and in the region of Ittoqqortoormiit. It was from here that the musk-oxen was taken at the beginning of the 1960s and then released in the Kangerlussuaq area. In all, 27 musk-oxen were moved to Kangerlussuaq, where they met the perfect conditions for growth and this population has today grown to well over 10,000 individuals.

Musk-oxen have subsequently been moved from the successful population in Kangerlussuaq to other locations in Greenland, among them two places in the Thule region. Musk-oxen have previously lived in the area around Inglefield Land in the northern part of Thule, but these disappeared from the region in the 1860s. 14 individuals were released here in 1986 and this population now has around 300 individuals today.

In 1986, seven musk-oxen were also released in the Cape Atholl area in the southern part of the Thule area, but the area here is less suitable for the species and today the population consists of hardly more than 50 individuals. In all, these two musk-oxen populations provide the locals with an opportunity to harvest about 80 animals each year, giving them access to meat from land mammals which is a good supplement to a diet that otherwise consists mainly of marine mammals.

Curly hooves and woolly coats

However, there was something wrong with the musk-oxen at Atholl. Some of the animals had overgrown hooves, where abnormal growth made the hooves curl upwards making it difficult for the animals to move around. It has been suggested that the deformity is caused by too little wear of the hooves because the musk-oxen at Cape Atholl mainly stays in soft, mossy areas near the little auk colonies. However, the explanation was found elsewhere. It turned out that one of the original five musk-ox cows that gave rise to the population at Cape Atholl back in 1986 also had deformed hooves, thus sending the genetic defect down through subsequent generations.

Musk-oxen survive in one of the most extreme environments in the world – at the very edge of what is physically possible for a herbivore – and this requires special adaptation. The species has a large body with a relatively small surface and this ensures minimal heat loss. Its big, strong muzzle is ideally suited for sparse grazing and the crescent-shaped hooves give a solid grip on ice and rocks.

However, the most noticeable thing is the musk-ox’s thick coat which is made up of two players. There is an outer layer of up to 60cm long guard hairs that provide an effective barrier against wind and weather. Underneath there is a very dense, thick woolly under-hair – qiviut – which provides unrivaled insulation against the cold. The musk-ox’s underhair consists of very light and soft, but also very strong fibers which are very dense, and herein lies the secret of how the species can live all year round in such an extreme environment.

Kings and oxen in Thule

There is, however, another factor that makes the difficult life of the musk-oxen live so far to the north a little easier. The help comes from a very unexpected source; Thule is the home of Greenland’s most abundant bird, the little auk, with its colonies of hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions of individuals. The many little auks find their food at sea, but when they return to the colony to feed their young, they leave droppings. On its own, this is insignificant, but when millions of birds each do this several times a day in the same area, it means a massive supply of nutrients to a High Arctic environment that is otherwise considered to be extremely nutrient-poor.

Thus the vegetation veritably flourishes close to the little auk colonies, where the grass grows tall and green, while the neighboring areas appear grey and barren. Therefore, the musk-oxen are attracted to the little auk colonies where the grazing is particularly favorable.

It is not only the musk-oxen who enjoy the unique transport of nutrients from sea to land. In connection with the little auk colonies in Thule, a high incidence of other herbivores such as caribou and Arctic hares has been observed. And where there are many animals to prey on, there are always many predators, and species such as Arctic foxes, gulls, and falcons are also attracted by the abundance of birds in one place.

Musk-oxen

• Scientific name: Ovibosmoschatus (the species’ genus name means »sheep ox«).
• Weight: Males usually 300-340 kg, females up to 220 kg. Some bulls can weigh more than 400 kg.
• Height at shoulder: 120-150 cm.
• Diet: Grasses, willow scrub, and herbs. The musk-ox is extremely selective and it actively seeks the plants or plant parts that provide the most energy.
• Reproduction: Typically delivering one calf (rarely twins) after a 7.5 to 9-month gestational period. Calves are born at the end of the winter. Birth weight is 8 – 15 kg and calves suckle for 12 to 18 months.
• Life expectancy: Musk-oxen in the wild live for up to 24 years.
• Dispersal: Found naturally in North and Northeast Greenland (southernmost location: the area around Ittoqqortoormiit). Introduced into various areas (Ivittuut, Kangerlussuaq, Naternaq, Svartenhuk Peninsular, and the Thule region) in West Greenland.
  

About the author

• Carsten Egevang was born in 1969.
• Lives in Copenhagen. Has lived in Nuuk for 6 years.
• PhD in biology.
• Primary field of work: Arctic marine birds.
• Spends most of his working hours today taking photographs.
• Gives talks and is the author of several photo books about Greenland.
• Administrator of the Greenland photo agency ARC-PIC.COM.
• Winner of several international photo competitions.
• BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year in 2009.
• Nature photographer of the year in 2011.
• Winner of Greenland’s »Environment and Nature Award« in 2012.
  

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