THE GAME ANIMALS OF CANADA 89 
On account of its habits and its comparative lack of 
meat value, there is little fear that this animal, with the 
adequate protection that it now receives, will become very 
greatly reduced in numbers, and probably it will continue 
to afford an inducement to the boldest of hunters, and a 
pleasing feature of the higher altitudes of our magnificent 
western mountains. 
THE MUSK-OX 
The musk-ox (Ovibos moschatus) (Plate IIT) is, in many 
respects, one of the most interesting of the larger members 
of our wild life. It is also one of our native animals that is 
fast disappearing, as will be shown, from causes which are 
avoidable; and it is in need of absolute protection. 
From a scientific standpoint it is of the greatest interest, 
as it occupies a unique position in the animal world. While 
it is not, strictly speaking, a link between the two families 
of sheep, on the one hand, and cattle on the other—a rela- 
tion indicated by its scientific name—it nevertheless com- 
bines anatomical and other characters belonging to these 
two large groups. In size it equals one of the small breeds 
of Welsh or Scotch cattle, and in appearance it resembles 
a small buffalo. This resemblance to the buffalo is not 
only external, but, as J. A. Allen,* in his valuable mono- 
graphic study of the musk-ox, has shown, the musk-ox has 
many anatomical features which would indicate that its 
nearest living relative is the American bison. In certain 
other features, such as the linear horizontal pupil of the 
eye, its short tail, and especially in its behaviour, it dis- 
plays its affinities to the sheep. Allen also shows that the 
musk-oxen which at the present time inhabit northern Can- 
*“Ontogenetic and Other Variations in Musk-oxen, with a Systematic 
Review of the Musk-ox Group, Recent and Extinct,” by J. A. Allen. Mem- 
oirs Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., N.S., vol. I, pt. 4, pp. 103-225, 45 figs., 8 pls., 
1913. 
