Canadian Musk Oxen: The ones we have and the ones we have lost

Musk oxen (Ovibos moschatus) are strange creatures. They look much like cattle, hence their description as oxen, but are actually part of the Caprinae, the group that includes sheep and goats. Their generic name, Ovibos literally means Sheep-Ox. They are the largest of the living caprines and one of the most cold-adapted creatures on the planet, surviving in the coldest parts of Canada, Russia, Scandinavia, and Greenland. They are capable of surviving and even thriving on the sparsest arctic vegetation available. Arctic musk oxen have survived into modern times, but there were two other genera of ovibovines living in Canada at the end of the Pleistocene. One was the taller, forest dwelling wood ox (Bootherium bombifrons). The other was the stouter, more southerly, plains dwelling shrub ox (Euceratherium collinum).  

The wood ox, was a very important browser of trees and shrubs in woodland environments, similar to moose and ground sloths. It was built in a similar fashion to arctic musk oxen, but taller and leaner with a thinner coat and longer snout.  It is estimated that an adult male would have weighed about nine hundred and fifty pounds. Because it had a more gracile physique it might have been more migratory than the arctic musk ox. It had a very large range, living in boreal forest across Canada and the United States.  

The shrub ox, was more likely to be found in the prairies of southern Canada and the United States. They were partial to hilly landscapes and steppes. Like the wood ox, they were predominantly browsers, but were more focused on shrubs and bushes than trees. It was a little larger than the musk ox, but less cold-adapted. 

If a certain animal were to be used as a proxy for extinct musk oxen, a good candidate might be the takin (Budorcas taxicolor) of China. The takin shares many traits with musk ox and was once considered to be very closely related. Takins can be very large, regularly reaching weights of seven hundred to eight hundred pounds, making them similar in size to musk oxen. Like musk oxen, takins have a secondary coat that protects them against freezing temperatures. They also have several of their own weather adaptations, including a large, moose-like nose that warms incoming air, and an oily secretion that mats their fur together for insulation and keeps water off their skin. Takins, like ovibovines, are browsers that eat primarily tree and shrub material. 

The question arises of which subspecies should be used as proxy for which extinct ox. It seems most practical to use the two less endangered subspecies, and those two might be more suited anyhow. For Bootherium a decent substitute might be the Sichuan takin (Budorcas taxicolor tibetana). It has more experience with cold weather and coniferous trees than the other three which are more restricted to lower altitude, bamboo forests. The more meadow-focused Bhutan takin (Budorcas taxicolor whitei) might make a more suitable proxy for Euceratherium. If these animals were used, Sichuan takins would be implemented in boreal forest areas of the territories and northern prairie provinces, while Bhutan takins would be implemented in the more southerly areas of the prairie provinces in plains and temperate forest  environments.

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musk ox - https://animalcorner.co.uk/wp-content/img/muskox.jpg
Bhutan takin - http://static.zoonar.com/img/www_repository4/35/90/35/10_70d9f9451843c7d111a1fa7591bdfab5.jpg
Sichuan takin - http://ianadamsphotography.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Takin-Portrait-the-Wilds.jpg