330 The Musk Ox 



THE MUSK OX. 



Possessing the teeth of a Sheep, and the horns of a 

 bull, and intermediate between the sheep and the ox in size 

 and some other characteristics, the Musk Ox (Ovibos-mus- 

 chatus), is given a distinct genus midway between the two. 

 It is about two-thirds of the size of the American Bison, 

 but owing to its heavy coat of long hairs looks much larger 

 than it really is. Although it has a musky odor, there is no 

 special gland as in the Musk Deer and other musky ani- 

 mals. Both sexes have horns, those on the male being very 

 broad and meeting in the middle of the forehead, from 

 where they curve downward and backward beside the head 

 for most of their length, and then upward and forward. 

 The hair is amber brown, long and fine, hanging down 

 along the sides like that on a merino sheep so as to cover 

 the short tail and upper half of the short, massive legs; 

 but on the shoulders it is matted and curly, giving the 

 appearance of a hump. The hoofs are remarkably sym- 

 metrical, the outer half being rounded, while the inner 

 is pointed; the sole of the foot is hairy. The head is 

 massive and the small ears are concealed by the hair, and 

 the space between the nostrils and the upper lip is also 

 covered with short, close hair. 



The Musk Ox is fleet, active and hardy, and sometimes 

 makes extended migrations, traveling in bands of a dozen 

 or more. Its present habitat is in Arctic America, north 

 of the sixtieth degree of latitude; but fossilized remains 

 show that it was at one time circumpolar, and that its range 

 on the American continent extended as far south as Ken- 

 tucky and Kansas. This would indicate that at some time 

 the whole of North America was much colder than it is at 

 present. 



The long fine hair of the Musk Ox has at times been 

 woven into fine soft fabrics, but now it is too expensive to 

 be used for that purpose, and at present the skins are only 

 used for robes. The meat of this animal is coarse grained, 

 but juicy and tender, and very palatable if the carcass is 

 dressed as soon as killed so it will not take on a musky 

 flavor. 



