The musk ox is one of the oldest mammal species, having survived the Ice Age some 150,000 years ago.
In the 1800s and 1900s, these animals were overhunted and nearly driven to extinction.
Reintroduction and regulation helped the Alaskan musk ox population recover.
As large herbivores, musk ox primarily feast on young dwarf birch and gray willow.
This diet constrains the population of those trees, which are found in abundance around the Arctic. Curbing their population allows less common plant life to establish itself without the shade and competition.
Oh, and their growls sound absolutely prehistoric. It’s amazing.
Musk Ox Farm