UMINGMAK | MUSKOX

Ovibos moschatus

At about 125 cm high, bulls weigh 275 to 310 kg (females 35 per cent less).

With double layers of super-warm wool and very long outer hair, muskoxen can thrive in temperatures as low as -40 C.

Males’ pungent musky odour comes from secretions in their urine, part of a superiority display that also includes strutting, charging and head-butting to establish mating dominance.

When healthy, cows produce one calf each year, starting at about age 4. Born with a thick coat and soon ready to stand, calves move with the herd within hours.

Life expectancy is between 12 and 20 years.

Arctic wolves are the muskox’s main natural predator.

Their keen eyesight is useful in the prolonged darkness of Arctic winters. Horizontal pupils help to reduce the sun’s glare.

Their acute sense of smell detects food beneath deep snow.

Muskoxen can reach speeds up to 60 km/h running over short distances.

Herds number 10 to 24 in the winter; eight to 20 in the summer.