Musk Ox 



^. Fannin's Sheep. Ovis fannini Hornaday. Similar, but shoul- 

 ders, back and upper parts of legs gray. 



Range. Rocky Mountains, about 75 miles east of Dawson, 

 Northwestern Territory. 



Musk Ox 



Ovibos moschatus (Zimmerman) 



Length. 6 feet. Height at shoulder, 3 feet 6 inches. 



Description. Heavily built with rather short legs and horns of the 

 male very heavy, their bases meeting on top of the head 

 and curving downward and up again at the tip. Entire head 

 and body covered with a dense mane, matted and curly on 

 the shoulders, but hanging straight on the rest of the body 

 nearly to the ground. Colour very dark brown or blackish 

 on the head and sides; a saddle-shaped patch on the back 

 as well as short hair between the horns, muzzle and limbs 

 below the knees and hocks yellowish white. 



Range. Arctic barrens of North America, east of the Mackenzie 

 River. In Greenland occurs the closely allied Peary's musk 

 ox (O. wardi Lyddeker). 



The herds of musk oxen, now confined to the Arctic regions 

 of North America, would seem to be the last lingering represen- 

 tatives of a diminishing race. Related species formerly inhabited 

 most of Siberia and parts of northern Europe, as well as Ger- 

 many, England and France; their fossil remains having been found 

 in all those countries. 



Musk oxen are curious long-haired shaggy beasts, in appear- 

 ance half way between bison and sheep, and combining both in 

 structure and habits the characters of each. The old males are 

 rank of musk, especially in the rutting season, when their flesh 

 is practically uneatable. The females, as a general thing, are al- 

 most free from the musky odour to which the species owes its 

 name. 



It has been observed by the musk ox hunters that when the 

 animals are fat the odour of musk is much less noticeable. The 

 long woolly coat of the musk ox is highly valued by the Esqui- 

 maux who use it for various purposes. 



Musk oxen associate in herds numbering from about twenty or 

 thirty to as many as eighty or a hundred head. The herds ap- 

 pear to be largest in winter, the big bulls during the summer 



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