Show plan to protect prote ct arctic musk oxen valuable animal Is threatened with extinction washington the recent birth of two musk oxen in alaska the first in a century may be the beginning of a new DORI deal for this remarkable animal which has been threatened with extermination by eskimos indians explorers and hunters beyond the tree limit on bleak treeless tun dras deserted by man and most animals lives the musk ox or one animal that thrives in blizzards says a national geographic society bulletin over the frozen prairies of the barren grounds where no indians dwell and across vast expanses too cold tor for eskimos the musk ox ok plods plod through the darkness and whispering silence of the arctic night cropping frozen grass that sticks slicks up through thin snow pausing occasionally to rub frost from its eyes grazing contentedly tent edly as it a cow in a sunny pasture the musk or 01 wanders from the barren grounds to cape morris jesup where the northernmost point of land meets the glittering ice of the polar sea under the musk OIB shaggy dark coat protecting him from bitter winds Is a dense coat of wool sheds shed winter suit in the arctic summer the musk ox or sheds its unnecessary wot wool A to those familiar with the protective coloration of arctic animals the silvery white polar bear snowy wolves and owls the dark bro brown a cost coit of the musk ox teem seem to afford no protection such la Is not the caw cac grazing grazan not on s snow n ow but on dirk dark areas or snowy slopes strewn with large boulders the musk music ox well be mistaken for another boulder bould cr 11 hereditary C r e di enemies of the musk oxen are the woh hohes ea although they can do littlee little damage to a he herd rd of adults they follow it to seize the stray calves and sickly old musk oxen driven out of the herd seeing a ox walking along a hill crest heavy hend head and inas sive body bulking balking large against the sky hunters have thought him a small buffalo although his shaggy tilde makes him appear larger the average musk ox la Is only about the beze of highland Illg blan d cattle lie ile usually stands about four feet high and its his average weight Is 43 pounds dressed ills robe of struggling straggling dark brown hair stilt stiff as a horses mane grows to great lengths sometimes 20 inches In clies and trails in the snow eskimos call the musk ox os oo ming muk which means animal with skin like a beard in the roots of this coat grows the protective coat of wool the hoofs of the musk ox are hairy underneath which makes him sure footed on the roost most slippery ice feeds on hillsides Hill sides like the goat the musk oss fa evorite feeding grounds are on rocky hillsides hill sides which in spite of his short massive legs he ascends with agility hunters hae marveled marte led at the ease and speed with which startled musk oxen have run away from them Alt although hoh classed with walrus and nd polar ber bear as the big game of the north shooting a musk ox Is about as difficult and as much sport as shooting a cow in a pasture startled a herd berd will run but not far to form a huddled trembling mass that stands facing the enemy until stint shot down with their bows and copper upped tipped arrows and lances eskimo hunters did not seriously deplete the herds but since explorers gave them rifles they have slaughtered hundreds upon hundreds without thinking of the future the juicy steaks of musk oxen oen have saied the lles of many arctic explorers frostbitten frost bitten and starling 1 1 pemmican exhausted caches lost explorers lave have fallen on a lierd herd as on manna zoological gardens caused further extermination of musk oxen by offering apiece for young ones however the twentieth century in its battle for the preservation of natural resources has taken steps to save from extinction this valuable animal various countries have passed laws protecting it some require licenses to bunt it and a few are importing and breeding herds and add setting aside sanctuaries tor for them |