Jakutsk, Yakutia, Russia (Weltexpress). The musk ox population in Yakutia has grown 42-fold to 8,000 animals since they were relocated to the region between 1996 and 2017, Andrey Popov, an expert from the Department of Biological Resources at the Ministry of Ecology, told TASS. 190 musk oxen were released in the Allaikhovsky, Anabar, Bulunsky and Nizhnekolymsky districts between 1996 and 2017. Experts say that the population in March 2024 was around 6,500.
‘The first census (both from the air and on the ground) in the entire habitat was carried out in 2011,’ the expert said. ’During an aerial survey in 2024, 8,000 animals were counted, with a uniform sex ratio and calves accounting for 20.3% of the population. ‘To avoid conflict situations, people must follow the rules of conduct when encountering a musk ox,’ he said.
‘Musk oxen, like all wild ungulates, are not aggressive towards humans. Attacks on humans are extremely rare. If there is a boundary of any kind, 25-50 metres, people must respect it. During the rutting season in autumn, the animals may attack if they mistake a human for a rival,’ the expert advises. ’They are afraid of the rustling of, for example, foil. He commented on a popular video on social networks in which a man in Yakutia teases a musk ox with a stick. In response, the animal did not hit him with its horn, but simply with its forehead.
‘The animal knows what a horn is – it is a murder weapon. The man posed no great danger to the animal, and it taught him a lesson, so to speak,’ the expert told TASS. Musk oxen have sharp, rounded horns with a massive base on their forehead, which they use to protect themselves from predators. Musk oxen have long thick hair that almost touches the ground. Males weigh 350 kg, females 250 kg. The animal is listed in the Red Data Book of Yakutia.
