Journal Entry
Musk Oxen Herd! Musk Oxen HerdMusk Oxen Herd. Photo by DJ Kast

Today I went and explored the Arctic Tundra with Dr. Simone Meddle, Jeffrey Cheah, and Caroline Newell to try and find a herd of musk ox. We found them! We found a herd of five muskox, a mom and dad with three young muskoxen. They were right off the side of the road. Talking with the group, I learned that their ability to adapt to environmental change is poor. Musk ox are stocky, long-haired animals with a shoulder hump and a short tail. The muskox’s soft brownish wool-like under hair, called “qiviut,” which is considered a rare fiber.

Musk-oxen live in the Arctic tundra and roam the tundra in search of the roots, mosses, and lichens to sustain them.

Musk Ox eatingMusk Ox eating local tundra vegetation. Photo by DJ Kast USC Young Scientists Program Flag with Musk Ox Norwood Birk FlagRepresenting the fifth graders at Norwood Elementary in front of the Musk Ox. Photo by DJ Kast

Comments

Mon, 06/20/2016 - 10:55

Janet

I love those furry beasts! Thanks for sharing and you are so lucky to see them so close!
Janet

Mon, 06/20/2016 - 15:34

Byron Crump

The native muskox were hunted to extinction over 100 years ago, and they were reintroduced to Alaska from Greenland in the early 1900s

Sat, 06/25/2016 - 18:31

Susan Steiner

good info about the muskox having been reintroduced, I didn't know that! The landscape looks so green, and I loved hearing the birds in the background of your video! Cool muskox!