Extant relatives
The muskox is in the subtribe Ovibovina (or tribe Ovibovini) in the tribe Caprini (or subfamily Caprinae) … See more

Prehistory
During the Pleistocene period, muskoxen were much more widespread. Fossil evidence shows that they lived across the Siberian and North American Arctic, from the Urals to Greenland. The ancestors of today's muskoxen … See more

Muskoxen live in herds of 12–24 in the winter and 8–20 in the summer when dominant bulls expel other males from the herd. They do not hold territories, but they do mark their trails with preorbital glands. Male and female muskoxen have separate age-based … See more

Both male and female muskoxen have long, curved horns. Muskoxen stand 1.1 to 1.5 m (3 ft 7 in to 4 ft 11 in) high at withers, with females … See more

During the summer, muskoxen live in wet areas, such as river valleys, moving to higher elevations in the winter to avoid deep snow. Muskoxen will eat grasses, arctic willows, … See more

Muskox are heterothermic mammals, meaning they have the ability to shut off thermal regulation in some parts of their body, like their lower limbs. Maintaining the lower limbs at a … See more

Historically, this species declined because of overhunting, but populations have recovered following enforcement of hunting regulations. Management in the late 1900s was … See more