f)Of) MUSK OXEN IN CAPTIVITY. 



,sai\v, as in the spring- of 1903 the chamois attacked his companion so 

 boldly and vig-orouslj that he broke ott' the tips of both horns, and yet 

 he is just as warlike as ever. 



Orig'inalh' the ground within the inclosure was partly overgrown 

 with grass and partly covered with gravel. The hoofs of the musk 

 ox were not sufficiently worn upon this soft ground, and they had 

 to be cut and trimmed. The last cutting took place on September 24, 

 1901, when the animal was a)>out sixteen months old. Each time he 

 had to be bound and thrown down, and as the projecting horns might 

 be injured and such violent measures also made the animal yet more 

 untamable, quite sharp stones were spread upon the surface of the 

 inclosure in order to make it similar to that of east Greenland. This 

 was apparently" a good method, for, since then, the hoofs have been 

 worn off sufficiently and in a natural manner by daily moving about 

 upon the hard ground. Our pictures (pi. iv, figs. 1, 2) show" the last 

 cutting, September 2'4, 1901. In the first picture the musk ox is seen 

 with a noose about his nose and his legs tied together. A keeper 

 holds his head down by grasping his right horn. To the left stands 

 Professor Sand, of the veterinary school, with a knife in his hand. 

 In fig. 2 the professor is seen bending over the animal while busy 

 cutting the hoofs. 



The food of the musk ox consists of ground oats and wheat bran, 

 with a very little white bread cut in pieces, besides hay (grass in sum- 

 mer) and wdllow and elm branches throughout the 3'ear. He eats not 

 only the leaves, but is especialh" fond of the bark, which he strips from 

 even quite small branches, less than a centimeter in diameter. Tannic 

 acid is as necessary" for the digestion of the musk ox as it is for the 

 moose. His droppings are globular, like those of deer, goats, and 

 sheep. 



The quantity of food taken can not be determined because the 

 chaniois and the goat are fed together with him. Yet he takes care to 

 preserve for himself his favorite parts — that is to say, the branches. 

 The musk ox does not drink much and is in the habit of putting his 

 feet into the drinking water; possibly inherited from a habit of cool- 

 ing the feet in melting snow water. 



On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean the famous arctic explorer 

 Greely captured 4 musk calves as long ago as 1881-1884, at Lady 

 Franklin Bay north of Great Bear Sea. It was, however, impossible 

 for him to provide food for them and take them with him. 



In March, 1898, Mr. C. J. Jones fitted out a small expedition to the 

 barren lands, a portion of arctic North America, for the purpose of 

 capturing musk calves. He succeeded in taking 5 of them, which he 

 and his white companions drove southward. For two days and two 

 nights they were obstinately pursued l)y arctic wolves, who wished to 

 snatch their booty from them. When at last they got rid of the 



