THE MUSK OX — YOUNG 319 



Today the musk ox has disappeared from much of its original 

 Arctic domain. The use of modern firearms against the musk ox, 

 which began 40 years prior to the advent of the present century, 

 has been tlie greatest contributing factor. For a time its skin was 

 utilized in the fur trade; northern whaling crews killed many ani- 

 mals for food; then the formidable heads with sharp, curved horns 

 became liighly prized as trophies. Canada, taking cognizance of this 

 condition, some years ago set up a musk ox sanctuary of approxi- 

 mately 15,000 square miles along the Thehm River east of Great 

 Shave Lake in the Northwest Territory. 



Research has failed to find any authenticated occurence of the musk 

 ox in Alaska since it was first explored by Europeans. The various 

 tribes of natives in the Territory, however, state that the animal did 

 occur there about 100 years ago. Also, remains of the mammal have 

 been found in Alaska ; and it is known that portions of the Territory 

 are suitable for musk oxen. 



So, in 1927, resident Alaskans presented a memorial through their 

 Territorial legislature addressed to tlie Senate and House of Repre- 

 sentatives of the United States requesting funds to purchase a small 

 herd of musk oxen. This plea came to the attention of the late 

 Senator Peter Norbeck of South Dakota, that grand old man of 

 conservation, and Representative C. C. Dickinson of Iowa, later a 

 Senator from that State. Together with Irving McK. Reed, then a 

 member of the Alaska Game Commission, they obtained favorable 

 action by Congress for an appropriation of $40,000 to be used in ob- 

 taining a herd of musk oxen and transporting the animals to Alaska 

 for restocking purposes. This action was approved by the Presi- 

 dent on May 27, 1930. Tlie agency of the Federal Government to 

 which this undertaking was entrusted was the Bureau of Biological 

 Survey of the Department of Agricidture, later transferred to the 

 Department of the Interior, and during the past year combined with 

 the Bureau of Fisheries into an organization known as the Fish and 

 Wildlife Service. 



By the time the appropriation became available musk oxen in 

 North America had become so reduced in numbers that it was im- 

 possible to obtain surplus animals. Finally, contact was made with 

 Jobs. Lund of Aalesund, Norway, who was familiar with the tech- 

 nique of capturing musk oxen alive in Greenland. To him, therefore, 

 was given the contract and task of rounding up a herd of 34 animals. 

 The Greenland musk oxen differ somewhat from those that formerly 

 occurred on the continent of North America, foremost in that they 

 are slightly smaller. However, from a practical game-management 

 standpoint, the differences are negligible. 



The majority of these Greenland musk oxen were roped by Mr- 

 Lund and transferred from the mainland in whaling boats to a ship 



