REPORT OF THE ROYAL COMMISSION 



Witnesses who testified on this point were agreed as to his preference for 

 grass, but it was also shown that where grass was not available, lichen, moss 

 or willow shoots were readily eaten. 



Unlike the caribou, the musk-ox is not a migratory animal, preferring to 

 remain indefinitely in areas where food is available. He apparently grazes 

 quietly in much the same way as do domestic cattle, moving only as food con- 

 ditions render this necessary. 



Considerable doubt exists as to the real reason for the comparatively small 

 proportion of calves and young animals found in musk-ox herds, various explan- 

 ations being advanced by different observers. By some it is held that the 

 female breeds only in alternate years; others attribute this condition to mortality 

 among the calves from wolves, as also to the fact that while the calving season 

 extends well on into the month of June, many calves are dropped shortly after 

 April first, when the weather conditions are most unfavourable for new-born 

 animals. 



Numbers — • 



No exact or even approximate estimate of the number of musk-ox now to 

 be found on the Canadian islands is available, but the evidence would indicate 

 that it is small, and, at least in certain areas, decreasing. 



Mr. Storker Storkerson estimated that in 1917 there were four thousand 

 head on Melville island, of which he and his party killed some four hundred 

 for food. 



Every year a small party of Greenland Esquimaux cross over to Ellesmere 

 island and kill a comparatively limited number. Professor D. D. MacMillan, 

 who showed perhaps greater familiarity with this part of the north than any 

 other witness, thinks that this is not likely to cause any serious depletion of the 

 musk-ox herds. 



It must, however, be borne in mind that the Esquimaux are rapidly adopting 

 the use of firearms and that, as a consequence, the extermination of the musk-ox 

 will, in all probability, speedily follow as has been the case in some localities. 



The rapid extermination of the musk-ox is largely due to the fact that 

 unlike the caribou, he does not flee from hunters or other enemies. It is possible 

 for man to approach within a very short distance before the animals take alarm, 

 and when they finally do, they do not run far, but, especially if the hunter is 

 accompanied by dogs, they form a circle or square with the cows and calves 

 inside and the bulls facing outward, and they will thus remain until the whole 

 herd is shot down. 



Witnesses agree that the Esquimaux, like the Indian, is naturally improvi- 

 dent in the matter of food supply, and that he will, when opportunity offers, 

 destroy an entire herd without regard to possible future requirements. 



Domestication — 



The nature of the musk-ox is apparently mild and gentle, although there is 

 evidence that, in the rutting season, the bulls will, as is often the case among 

 domestic cattle, take the offensive when the herd is approached by man. It is 

 also stated that the bulls frequently fight and kill each other. 



There is ample proof that the young musk-ox can be readily domesticated, 

 the evidence showing that when cows having young calves are killed, the calves 

 show no fear of man and are easily led away, or will often follow without being 

 led. In many cases they have been taken on board ship and have become pets, 



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