Greenland: Blomsterbugten – Musk Oxen
While on the long hike, we got super lucky to spot the iconic Arctic mammal – musk oxen. You can see these in the wild only in some very remote parts of Greenland and the Arctic Canadian Islands, a very remote and limited range. And we saw not one or two, but a whole herd of 8. They were grazing in the distance, but once they noted the hikers, they started moving away, with the babies running close to parents, and the massive main bull staying behind the herd and monitoring the retreat. Musk oxen look massive but most of the size is actually their very thick fur; they are closer related to goats and sheep then to cows – they are very ancient animals, an old and disconnected branch of the evolution tree. They are still quite big, average animals is 285 kg (630 lb). Musk ox are herbivores, grazing on grasses in summer and lichens in winter. They are usually in herds and defend as a group against wolves or any other threat, putting the younger ones into the inner circle, and standing ready to charge.
