The non-profit Musk Ox Farm in Palmer, AK is dedicated to the domestication of the musk ox, an Ice Age mammal that once roamed the earth alongside saber tooth tigers and woolly mammoths. Known to native Alaskans as “Oomingmak”, which means “The Bearded One”, this once-endangered animal produces an annual harvest of qiviut, the finest wool in the world.
The musk ox, Ovibos moschatus, is an ancient species of arctic mammal currently found in remote areas of the far north, including Greenland, Alaska, Canada and Siberia. During the Pleistocene, musk oxen wandered across the Bering Land Bridge to populate North America with the likes of the woolly mammoth, saber-toothed cat, and giant ground sloth. Fossil records indicate musk oxen ranged across Europe, Asia and North America during the last Ice Age, roaming as far south as France and Ohio. They lived both in Arctic regions that were not glaciated as well as more southerly regions beyond the ice sheets. At the end of the Ice Age, they died off in more southerly regions but persisted in the north.
The largest wild populations of musk oxen can be found in Canada, especially on Banks and Victoria Islands, Northwest Territory.
Despite their common name, musk ox have no musk glands and are not oxen. Although they may resemble small bison, musk ox are more closely related to goats and sheep. This arctic ungulate, like domestic cattle, has a four-chambered stomach and eats a wide variety of foods such as lichens, grasses, and leaves. It was long believed that their closest relative was the golden-fleeced takin which lives in China, India, Bhutan and possibly Myanmar. Recent genetic research indicates that this is not actually the case, and that their closest relative could be either the Asian goral or North American mountain goat.
JVPress
Excellent post – thanks. Really informative and straight to the point. Keep up the great work and I’ve subscribed to your RSS 🙂