Species Profile: The Muskox 

Following up on my recent wood bison article, I would like to discuss Canada's other rewilding export, muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus). Muskoxen are a large, cattle-sized herbivore related to sheep and goats. They are noted for their ability to survive in extremely cold weather, due to their very soft, very warm, very commercially valuable, coat of thick wool. It is this wool, as well as their meat, that led to their almost being hunted to extinction. By the twentieth century, the only remaining populations were found in northeastern North America, in areas of the Canadian Nunavut territory and in small populations in Greenland, with the American Alaska, the Canadian Yukon territory, and the Canadian northwest territory populations having been wiped out not long before that.  

Muskoxen are an important part of their ecosystems. They are a prey species for bears and wolves. They also eat vegetation not eaten by reindeer, allowing the two to easily coexist. In ancient times they were often found alongside elk, moose, reindeer, bison, horses, kiang, saiga, sheep, and of course, wooly mammoths. They are a very important part of restoring the arctic tundra to the huge, fertile grassland it once was. 

Despite being an exclusively North American species in recent times, the muskox was once a circumpolar species, also being found across Eurasia, from Scandinavia to Siberia. The last Scandinavian populations died approximately nine thousand years ago in Sweden, while the last Siberian population died out about two thousand years ago in the Taymyr peninsula. Both events are likely attributed to overhunting by humans. 

Luckily, populations survived in Canada and Greenland, largely due to extreme isolation. We, the Canadians have recognized their importance and committed ourselves to expand their populations to their former range, not just in our own country, but in Alaska and Eurasia as well. These include populations set up in Sweden and Norway in the nineteen forties and fifties, which were then used in the seventies to establish populations in areas of Russia such as the Taymyr peninsula, Wrangel island, and more recently, Yakutia. Populations have also been attempted on the islands of Svalbard and Iceland, but were unsuccessful. 

I for one, think this is a great conservation step. I would hope that other areas are being considered for muskox reintroduction, such as Baffin island, Finland, Denmark, across Russia and its islands, and possibly even Scotland or the Baltic nations. I also would like to see the Iceland and Svalbard introductions revisited. It is worth noting that there is an introduced population in northern Quebec, in which they have not previously been present, but to which they probably would have migrated eventually. With further proliferation of muskoxen in both the Nearctic and Holarctic, probably more individuals should be brought to Eurasia from Canada or Greenland (possibly a good use for the Quebec population?) to increase genetic diversity, seeing as all old world individuals are descended from the Scandinavian introductions.

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Species Profile: The Canadian Wood Bison 

Hey everybody, I know that I haven't posted in a while. The truth is that I've had some trouble coming up with new ideas, or finding the time to write the articles that deserve more attention and research than I can give right now. As a consolation, I've decided to write one or two short articles on native Canadian megafauna and how they can be used in rewilding projects both here and in other parts of the world. First, I'm going to be discussing the Canadian wood bison, Bison bison athabascae. 

The wood bison is one of two subspecies of North American bison, the other being the southern plains bison, Bison bison bison, from the prairies of southern Canada, the United States, and formerly northern Mexico. The wood bison's original range included Alaska (USA) as well as the Yukon, western Northwest Territories, northeastern British Columbia, northern Alberta, and northwestern Saskatchewan. However, until 1957, it was thought that the wood bison was extinct, until a small herd of approximately two hundred was found living on the northern end of what is now Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Alberta. There are now roughly seven thousand living wild in various areas of their former Canadian range. 

Compared to its southern relatives, the wood bison is heavier, darker, and has a bigger and more forward hump, larger horns, less fur on the beard and legs, and higher cold tolerance. At over a thousand kilograms it is currently the largest mammal native to North America.  

Bison have always been of particular interest in rewilding programs in North America, as well as in Eurasia. Their previous status as an extremely populous and effective ecosystem engineer makes them a priority introduction in steppes, prairies, and other grassland ecosystems across the northern hemisphere. For my country's part I am proud to say that we have many bison of both subspecies living inside and outside of our many parks. Recently, we finally had our very anticipated release of bison into Banff National Park in southwestern Alberta. This is a big step in restoring bison as an integral part of our ecosystems. Because bison are megafauna, they can have a significant, noticeable effect on the ecosystems in which they are present. These effects include trampling, fertilizing, removing trees, grazing, snow excavation, and being prey for large carnivores. When bison are removed from an ecosystem, that ecosystem is drastically altered. 

What is interesting about wood bison is that there are currently two out-herds existing outside of Canada. One of these was recently established in western Alaska, and consists of more than a hundred animals. More interestingly, a herd of over one hundred breeding wood bison has been forming in central Yakutia, in Russia. Now, wood bison themselves were never native to northeastern Russia, but their ancestral, ecologically similar relative the steppe bison (Bison priscus) was found there until it was hunted to extinction approximately six thousand years ago. Russia has expressed an interest in increasing its biodiversity with wood bison, native feral horses, various species of deer, saiga, boar, and other large mammals such as muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus, also imported from Canada, we'll discuss that in a later article).   

The Old World, it would seem, is much more interested and adventurous with Pleistocene rewilding projects than we in the New World are. The Russians, as well as certain areas of Europe, are beginning the processes of forming more of these so-called Pleistocene Parks, filled with native animals and proxies for extinct ones. I strongly believe that we should follow suit, and that further collaboration with Russia, as well as other countries like Mongolia, will allow us to do that. We have contributed bison and muskoxen, perhaps one day we might ask for something in return for our more northern ecosystems. I would like to see herds of Russian saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica tatarica) or maybe Yakutian ponies (Equus ferus caballus) in the Yukon for instance, running alongside our bison, reindeer, muskoxen, and elk. 

Our large herds of wood bison, and our willingness to send them elsewhere, are a very good start. I hope that the Alaskan and Yakutian herds are very successful and can be used to establish more herds. The entirety of western Russia is potential wood bison habitat, and it's possible that our plains bison could establish out-herds in places like Mongolia or Kazakhstan if it is decided they would be preferable to wisents. Such a donation might allow us access to wild camels, horses, or onagers. In conclusion, we are very fortunate to have these beautiful and important creatures in numbers sufficient to make these kinds of decisions possible.

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