65-688: A white wolf or Arctic wolf is a mammal of the Canidae family and a subspecies of the gray wolf. It may also refer to: White wolf The Arctic wolf ( Canis lupus arctos ), also known as the white wolf , polar wolf , and the Arctic grey wolf , is a subspecies of grey wolf native to the High Arctic tundra of Canada's Queen Elizabeth Islands , from Melville Island to Ellesmere Island . Unlike some populations that move between tundra and forest regions, Arctic wolves spend their entire lives north of
130-444: A "light, sweetish, ethereal" odor. Analysis of preorbital gland secretion extract showed the presence of cholesterol (which is nonvolatile), benzaldehyde , a series of straight-chain saturated γ-lactones ranging from C 8 H 14 O 2 to C 12 H 22 O 2 (with C 10 H 18 O 2 being most abundant), and probably the monounsaturated γ-lactone C 12 H 20 O 2 . The saturated γ-lactone series has an odor similar to that of
195-624: A 73-year-old man was killed in a muskox attack in Norway. The animal was later killed by local authorities. On 13 December 2022, a court services officer with the Alaska State Troopers was killed by a muskox near Nome, Alaska . The officer was trying to scare away a group of muskox near a dog kennel at his home when one of the animals attacked him. Historically, this species declined because of overhunting, but populations have recovered following enforcement of hunting regulations. Management in
260-406: A Swedish herd was established. The Norwegian population on Dovrefjell is managed over an area of 340 km (130 sq mi) and in the summer of 2012 consisted of approximately 300 animals. Since 1999, the population has mostly been increasing, but it suffered a measles outbreak in the summer of 2004 that killed 29. Some animals are also occasionally killed as a result of train collisions on
325-423: A distinctive defensive behavior: when the herd is threatened, the adults will face outward to form a stationary ring or semicircle around the calves. The bulls are usually the front line for defense against predators, with the cows and juveniles gathering close to them. Bulls determine the defensive formation during rutting, while the cows decide the rest of the year. The preorbital gland secretion of muskoxen has
390-543: A high threshold of fat reserves in order to conceive, which reflects their conservative breeding strategy. Winter ranges typically have shallow snow to reduce the energy costs of digging through snow to reach forage. The primary predators of muskoxen are arctic wolves , which may account for up to half of all mortality for the species. Other occasional predators, likely mainly predators of calves or infirm adults, can include grizzly bears and polar bears and wolverines . Muskox are heterothermic mammals, meaning they have
455-531: A meeting assembled in 2014 by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service , one speaker, Robert K. Wayne, mentioned he disagreed with the conclusion that a subspecies had to be genetically distinct, believing that different subspecies could slowly grade into each other - suggesting that although it was impossible to determine if an individual wolf
520-465: A period of isolation and expanded later, replacing the remaining populations of Praeovibos . Two more Praeovibos -like genera were named in America in the 19th century, Bootherium and Symbos , which are now identified as the male and female forms of a single, sexually dimorphic species, the "woodland muskox", Bootherium bombifrons . Bootherium inhabited open woodland areas of North America during
585-558: A railway over Dovrefjell found two fossil muskox vertebrae. This led to the idea of introducing muskoxen to Norway from Greenland. The first release in the world was made on Gurskøy outside Ålesund in 1925–26. They were muskoxen caught by Norwegian seal-hunting boats in Greenland. The animals colonized the island, but eventually died out there. An attempt to introduce the muskox to Svalbard also failed. Seventeen animals were released in 1929 by Adventfjorden on West Spitsbergen . In 1940,
650-766: A subordinate with its foreleg, something they do to cows during mating. Dominant bulls will also mock copulate subordinates and sniff their genitals. A subordinate bull can change his status by charging a dominant bull. The mating (or "rutting") season of the muskoxen begins in late June or early July. During this time, dominant bulls will fight others out of the herds and establish harems of usually six or seven cows and their offspring. Fighting bulls will first rub their preorbital glands against their legs while bellowing loudly, and then display their horns. The bulls then back up about 20 m (66 ft), lower their heads, and charge into each other, and will keep doing so until one bull gives up. Subordinate and elderly bulls will leave
715-494: Is least concern , but it does face threats. In 1997, there was a decline in the Arctic wolf population and its prey, muskoxen ( Ovibos moschatus ), and Arctic hares ( Lepus arcticus ). This was due to unfavourable weather conditions during the summers for four years. Arctic wolf populations recovered the next summer when weather conditions returned to normal. Muskox Generic: Specific: The muskox ( Ovibos moschatus )
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#1732851502181780-572: Is a hoofed mammal of the family Bovidae . Native to the Arctic , it is noted for its thick coat and for the strong odor emitted by males during the seasonal rut , from which its name derives. This musky odor has the effect of attracting females during mating season . Its Inuktitut name "umingmak" translates to "the bearded one". Its Woods Cree names "mâthi-môs" and "mâthi-mostos" translate to "ugly moose" and "ugly bison", respectively. In historic times, muskoxen primarily lived in Greenland and
845-452: Is discussed. According to one study, muskox calves serve as a primary food source because the needs of pups are greater but another study suggests that "when hares were much more plentiful (Mech, 2000), wolves commonly fed them to their pups during summer." These differences may be attributed to location as well. Polar bears are rarely encountered by wolves, though there are two records of wolf packs killing polar bear cubs. The Arctic wolf
910-597: Is expected in such a small population which originated from only a few introduced animals. In addition to the population on Dovrefjell, the University of Tromsø had some animals on Ryøya [ de ] outside Tromsø until 2018. Muskoxen were introduced to Svalbard in 1925–26 and 1929, but this population died out in the 1970s. They were also introduced in Iceland around 1930 but did not survive. In Russia , animals imported from Banks and Nunivak were released in
975-512: Is highly prized for its softness, length, and insulation value. Prices for yarn range between $ 1.5 and $ 3/g ($ 40 and $ 80/oz). A muskox can reach speeds of up to 60 km/h (37 mph). Their life expectancy is between 12 and 20 years. During the Pleistocene period, muskoxen were much more widespread. Fossil evidence shows that they lived across the Siberian and North American Arctic, from
1040-462: Is in the subtribe Ovibovina (or tribe Ovibovini) in the tribe Caprini (or subfamily Caprinae) of the subfamily Antilopinae in the family Bovidae. It is therefore more closely related to sheep and goats than to oxen ; it is placed in its own genus, Ovibos ( Latin : "sheep-ox"). It is one of the two largest extant members of the caprines, along with the similarly sized Takin Budorcas . While
1105-613: Is likely the result of wolf-dog hybridization . In 1935, the British zoologist Reginald Pocock attributed the subspecies name Canis lupus arctos (Arctic wolf) to a specimen from Melville Island in the Queen Elizabeth Islands , Canada. He wrote that similar wolves could be found on Ellesmere Island. He also attributed the name Canis lupus orion to a Greenland wolf specimen from Cape York , northwest Greenland. Both wolves are recognized as separate subspecies of Canis lupus in
1170-599: Is often compared, can weigh up to twice as much. However, heavy zoo-kept specimens have weighed up to 650 kg (1,430 lb). Their coat, a mix of black, gray and brown, includes long guard hairs that almost reach the ground. Rare "white muskoxen" have been spotted in the Queen Maud Gulf Bird Sanctuary . Muskoxen are occasionally semi-domesticated for wool, and rarely for meat and milk. The U.S. state of Alaska has several muskoxen farms specifically aimed at wool harvesting. The wool , called qiviut ,
1235-415: Is therefore an example of convergent evolution . The modern muskox is the last member of a line of ovibovines that first evolved in temperate regions of Asia and adapted to a cold tundra environment late in its evolutionary history. Muskox ancestors with sheep-like high-positioned horns (horn cores being mostly over the plane of the frontal bones , rather than below them as in modern muskoxen) first left
1300-516: The Bering Land Bridge two million years ago and prospered in the American southwest and Mexico . Euceratherium was larger yet more lightly built than modern muskoxen, resembling a giant sheep with massive horns, and preferred hilly grasslands. A genus with intermediate horns, Soergelia , inhabited Eurasia in the early Pleistocene, from Spain to Siberia, and crossed to North America during
1365-707: The Canadian Arctic of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut . They were formerly present in Eurasia, with their youngest natural records in the region dating to around 2,700 years ago, with reintroduced populations in the American state of Alaska , the Canadian territory of Yukon , and Siberia , and an introduced population in Norway , part of which emigrated to Sweden , where a small population now lives. The muskox
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#17328515021811430-609: The Dovre Railway . The population is divided into flocks in the Nystuguhø [ no ] area, Kolla [ no ] area and Hjerkinn . In the summer they move down towards Driva , where there are lush grass pastures. Although the muskox belongs to the dry Arctic grassland, it seems to do well on Dovrefjell. However, the pastures are marginal, with little grass available in winter (the muskox eats only plants, not lichen as reindeer do), and over time, inbreeding depression
1495-502: The Fram expedition , a pair of wolves shadowed one of his teammates, who kept them at a distance by waving his ski pole. In 1977, a pair of scientists were approached by six wolves on Ellesmere Island, with one animal leaping at one of the scientists and grazing a cheek. A number of incidents involving aggressive wolves have occurred in Alert, Nunavut , where the wolves have lived in close proximity to
1560-518: The Irvingtonian (1.8 million years to 240,000 years ago), soon after Euceratherium . Unlike Euceratherium , which survived in America until the Pleistocene- Holocene extinction event , Soergelia was a lowland dweller which disappeared fairly early, displaced by more advanced ungulates, such as the "giant muskox" Praeovibos (literally "before Ovibos "). The low-horned Praeovibos
1625-658: The Scandinavian ice sheet and covered in tundra during cold periods, but Pleistocene muskoxen are also rarely recorded in more benign and wooded areas to the south like France and Green Spain , where they coexisted with temperate ungulates like red deer and aurochs . Likewise, the muskox is known to have survived in Britain during warm interglacial periods. Today's muskoxen are descended from others believed to have migrated from Siberia to North America between 200,000 and 90,000 years ago, having previously occupied Alaska (at
1690-877: The Southern United States and the western shrubland, respectively. Though they were always less common than other Ice Age megafauna, muskox abundance peaked during the Würm II glaciation 20,000 years ago and declined afterwards, especially during the Pleistocene / Holocene extinction event , where its range was greatly reduced and only the populations in North America survived. The last known muskox population in Europe died out in Sweden 9,000 years ago. In Asia, muskox persisted until just 615-555 BCE in Tumat , Sakha Republic . Following
1755-839: The Taymyr Peninsula in 1974 and 1975, and some from Nunivak were released in Wrangel Island in 1975. Both locations are north of the Arctic Circle . By 2019 the population on Wrangel Island was about 1100, and the Taymyr Peninsula, about 11,000–14,000. A few muskoxen herds migrated from the Taymyr Peninsula far to the south to the Putorana Plateau . Once established, these populations have been, in turn, used as sources for further reintroductions in Siberia between 1996 and 2010. One of
1820-672: The Urals to Greenland . The ancestors of today's muskoxen came across the Bering Land Bridge to North America between 200,000 and 90,000 years ago. During the Wisconsinan , modern muskox thrived in the tundra south of the Laurentide Ice Sheet , in what is now the Midwest , the Appalachians and Virginia , while distant relatives Bootherium and Euceratherium lived in the forests of
1885-425: The habitat in which the wolf happened to be found was a good enough characteristic to distinguish a subspecies. The Arctic wolf is relatively unafraid of people, and can be coaxed to approach people in some areas. The wolves on Ellesmere Island do not fear humans, which is thought to be due to them seeing humans so little, and they will approach humans cautiously and curiously. Otto Sverdrup wrote that during
1950-517: The qiviut industry showed early success with the training of Inuit knitters and marketing, but it soon became clear that the Quebec government had never intended that the muskoxen be domestic, but had used INAR to capture muskoxen to provide a wild population for hunting . Government officials demanded that INAR leave Quebec and the farm be closed. Subsequently, 54 animals from the farm were released in three places in northern Quebec between 1973 and 1983, and
2015-568: The 1950s, an American researcher and adventurer was able to capture muskox calves in Northern Canada for relocation to a property he prepared in Vermont. One condition imposed by the Canadian government was that he was not allowed to kill adults defending their young. When nets and ropes proved useless, he and his crew herded family groups into open water, where calves were successfully separated from
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2080-507: The Arctic wolf's diet because of regional and seasonal availability. Sometimes there is debate whether the muskox or the Arctic hare is the primary prey for the hare-wolf-muskox predator-prey system. Studies provide evidence that the muskoxen are indeed their primary prey because wolf presence and reproduction seems to be higher when muskox is more available than higher hare availability. More supporting evidence suggests that muskoxen provide long-term viability and other ungulates do not appear in
2145-650: The High Arctic, a wolf movement study took place in the wintertime in complete darkness, when the temperature was as low as −53 °C (−63 °F). The researchers found that wolves prey mainly on the muskoxen . There is no available information of the wolves' movements where the muskoxen were. In the wild, Arctic wolves primarily prey on muskoxen and Arctic hares . They have also been found to prey on lemmings , caribou , Arctic foxes , birds, and beetles. It has been also found that Arctic wolves scavenge through garbage. This sort of food source will not always be found in
2210-456: The Holocene in Siberia, with their youngest records in the region being from the Taymyr Peninsula , dating to around 2,700 years ago (~700 BC). Both male and female muskoxen have long, curved horns . Muskoxen stand 1.1 to 1.5 m (3 ft 7 in to 4 ft 11 in) high at withers , with females measuring 135 to 200 cm (4 ft 5 in to 6 ft 7 in) in length, and
2275-454: The Kolyma itself and elsewhere, including wild horses , reindeer, woolly mammoth and stag-moose . It is debated, however, if Praeovibos was directly ancestral to Ovibos , or both genera descended from a common ancestor, since the two occurred together during the middle Pleistocene. Defenders of ancestry from Praeovibos have proposed that Praeovibos evolved into Ovibos in one region during
2340-636: The Pleistocene, but also more genetically diverse . During that time, other populations of muskoxen lived across the Arctic, from the Ural Mountains to Greenland. By contrast, the current genetic makeup of the species is more homogenous. Climate fluctuation may have affected this shift in genetic diversity: research indicates colder periods in Earth's history are correlated with more diversity, and warmer periods with more homogeneity. Muskox populations survived into
2405-408: The ability to shut off thermal regulation in some parts of their body, like their lower limbs. Maintaining the lower limbs at a cooler temperature than the rest of their body helps reduce the loss of body heat from their extremities. Muskox display the unique characteristic of having hemoglobin that is three times less temperature sensitive than human hemoglobin. This temperature insensitivity allows
2470-460: The adults. Once airfreighted to Montreal and trucked to Vermont, the young animals habituated to the temperate conditions. Although the calves thrived and grew to adulthood, parasite and disease resistance problems impaired the overall success of the effort. The surviving herd was eventually moved to a farm in Palmer, Alaska , where it has been successful since the mid-1950s. In 1913, workers building
2535-469: The best resources and will displace subordinates from patches of grass during the winter. Muskox bulls assert their dominance in many different ways. One is a "rush and butt", in which a dominant bull rushes a subordinate from the side with its horns, and will warn the subordinate so it can have a chance to get away. Bulls will also roar, swing their heads, and paw the ground. Dominant bulls sometimes treat subordinate bulls like cows. A dominant bull will tap
2600-582: The disappearance of the Laurentide Ice Sheet , the muskox gradually moved north across the Canadian Arctic Archipelago , arriving in Greenland from Ellesmere Island at about 350 AD, during the late Holocene . Their arrival in northwestern Greenland probably occurred within a few hundred years of the arrival of the Dorset and Thule cultures in the present-day Qaanaaq area. Human predation around Qaanaaq may have restricted muskoxen from moving down
2665-522: The ecological conditions in the northern Labrador Peninsula are suitable for them. In 1967, 14 animals were captured near Eureka on Ellesmere Island by the Institute for Northern Agricultural Research (INAR) and brought to a farm in Old Fort Chimo Kuujjuaq , northern Quebec, for domestication to provide a local cottage industry based on qiviut , a fine natural fiber. The animals thrived and
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2730-622: The existence of other ice-free areas in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago at the time is disputed. Along with the bison and the pronghorn , the muskox was one of a few species of Pleistocene megafauna in North America to survive the Pleistocene/ Holocene extinction event and live to the present day. The muskox is thought to have been able to survive the last glacial period by finding ice-free areas ( refugia ) away from prehistoric peoples. Fossil DNA evidence suggests that muskoxen were not only more geographically widespread during
2795-510: The herd numbered 50, but in the 1970s, the whole herd disappeared. In September 1932, polar researcher Adolf Hoel conducted another experiment, importing 10 muskoxen to Dovrefjell. This herd survived until World War II , when they were hunted and exterminated. In 1947 and later, new animals were released. A small group of muskoxen from Dovrefjell migrated across the national border to Sweden in 1971 and established themselves in Härjedalen , whereby
2860-417: The herds to form bachelor groups or become solitary. However, when danger is present, the outside bulls can return to the herd for protection. Dominant bulls will prevent cows from leaving their harems. During mating, a bull will tap an estrous cow with his foreleg to calm her down and make her more receptive to his advances. The herds reassemble when summer ends. While the bulls are more aggressive during
2925-406: The larger males 200 to 250 cm (6 ft 7 in to 8 ft 2 in). The small tail, often concealed under a layer of fur, measures only 10 cm (3.9 in) long. Adults, on average, weigh 285 kg (628 lb), but can range from 180 to 410 kg (400 to 900 lb). The thick coat and large head suggest a larger animal than the muskox truly is; the bison, to which the muskox
2990-596: The last of these actions was the release of six animals within the Pleistocene Park project area in the Kolyma River in 2010, where a team of Russian scientists led by Sergey Zimov aims to prove that muskoxen, along with other Pleistocene megafauna that survived into the early Holocene in northern Siberia, did not disappear from the region due to climate change, but because of human hunting. Ancient muskox remains have never been found in eastern Canada , although
3055-991: The late 1900s was mostly conservative hunting quotas to foster recovery and recolonization from the historic declines. The current world population of muskoxen is estimated at between 80,000 and 125,000, with an estimated 47,000 living on Banks Island . In Greenland, there are no major threats. However, populations are often small in size and scattered; this makes them vulnerable to local fluctuations in climate. Most populations are within national parks, where they are protected from hunting. Muskoxen occur in four of Greenland's protected areas, with indigenous populations in Northeast Greenland National Park and introduced populations in Arnangarnup Qoorua Nature Reserve and Kangerlussuaq and Maniitsoq Caribou Reserves . In these areas, muskoxen receive full protection. Muskoxen are being domesticated for
3120-667: The late Pleistocene, from Alaska to Texas and maybe even Mexico, but was most common in the Southern United States , while Ovibos replaced it in the tundra-steppe to the north, immediately south of the Laurentian ice sheet . Modern Ovibos appeared in Germany almost one million years ago and was common in the region through the Pleistocene. By the Mindel, muskoxen had also reached the British Isles . Both Germany and Britain were just south of
3185-446: The local weather station for decades and became habituated to humans. One of these wolves attacked 3 people, was shot, and tested positive for rabies. Very little is known about the movement of the Arctic wolves, mainly due to climate. The only time at which the wolf migrates is during the wintertime when there is complete darkness for 24 hours. This makes Arctic wolf movement hard to research. About 2,250 km (1,400 mi) south of
3250-690: The muskox onto Nunivak Island in 1935 to support subsistence living. Other reintroduced populations are in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge , Bering Land Bridge National Preserve , Yukon 's Ivvavik National Park , a wildlife conservation center in Anchorage , Aulavik National Park in Northwest Territories , Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge , Gates of the Arctic National Park , and Whitehorse, Yukon 's wildlife preserve. There have been at least two domestication endeavours. In
3315-523: The muskox's hemoglobin to have a heightened oxygen affinity in an extremely cold environment and continue to diffuse high amounts of oxygen into its cold tissues. Muskoxen live in herds of 12–24 in the winter and 8–20 in the summer when dominant bulls expel other males from the herd. They do not hold territories, but they do mark their trails with preorbital glands . Male and female muskoxen have separate age-based hierarchies, with mature oxen being dominant over juveniles. Dominant oxen tend to get access to
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#17328515021813380-444: The next year. When calving, cows stay in the herd for protection. Muskox are precocial , and calves can keep up with the herd within just a few hours after birth. The calves are welcomed into the herd and nursed for the first two months. After that, a calf then begins eating vegetation and nurses only occasionally. Cows communicate with their calves through braying. The calf's bond with its mother weakens after two years. Muskoxen have
3445-503: The northern treeline . Their distribution to south is limited to the northern fringes of the Middle Arctic tundra on the southern half of Prince of Wales and Somerset Islands . It is a medium-sized subspecies, distinguished from the northwestern wolf by its smaller size, its whiter colouration, its narrower braincase , and larger carnassials . Since 1930, there has been a progressive reduction in size in Arctic wolf skulls, which
3510-426: The region. During the summer, muskoxen live in wet areas, such as river valleys, moving to higher elevations in the winter to avoid deep snow. Muskoxen will eat grasses, arctic willows , woody plants, lichens (above lichens are excluded from the menu) , and mosses. When food is abundant, they prefer succulent and nutritious grasses in an area. Willows are the most commonly eaten plants in the winter. Muskoxen require
3575-487: The remaining were ceded to local zoos . Between 1983 and 1986, the released animals increased from 148 to 290, at a rate of 25% per year, and by 2003, an estimated 1,400 muskoxen were in Quebec. Additionally, 112 adults and 25 calves were counted in the nearby Diana Island in 2005, having arrived there by their own means from the mainland. Vagrant adults are sometimes spotted in Labrador , though no herds have been observed in
3640-511: The rutting season and lead their groups, the females take charge during gestation. Pregnant females are aggressive and decide what distance the herd travels in a day and where they will bed for the night. The herds move more often when cows are lactating, to let them get enough food to nurse their offspring. Cows have an eight- to nine-month gestation period, with calving occurring from April to June. Cows do not calve every year. When winters are severe, cows will not go into estrus and thus not calve
3705-624: The secretion. The odor of dominant rutting males is described as "strong" and "rank". It derives from the preputial gland and is distributed over the fur of the abdomen via urine. Analysis of extract of washes of the prepuce revealed the presence of benzoic acid and p -cresol , along with a series of straight-chain saturated hydrocarbons from C 22 H 46 to C 32 H 66 (with C 24 H 50 being most abundant). Muskoxen are not known to be aggressive. Fatal attacks are extremely rare, but humans who have come close and behaved aggressively have occasionally been attacked. On 22 July 1964,
3770-463: The takin and muskox were once considered possibly closely related, the takin lacks common ovibovine features, such as the muskox's specialized horn morphology, and genetic analysis shows that their lineages actually separated early in caprine evolution. Instead, the muskox's closest living relatives appear to be the gorals of the genus Naemorhedus , nowadays common in many countries of central and east Asia. The vague similarity between takin and muskox
3835-574: The taxonomic authority Mammal Species of the World (2005). A study by Chambers et al . (2012) using autosomal microsatellite DNA and Mitochondrial DNA data indicate that the Arctic wolf has no unique haplotypes which suggests that its colonization of the Arctic Archipelago from the North American mainland was relatively recent, and thus not sufficient to warrant subspecies status. During
3900-473: The temperate forests for the developing grasslands of Central Asia during the Pliocene , expanding into Siberia and the rest of northern Eurasia . Later migration waves of Asian ungulates that included high-horned muskoxen reached Europe and North America during the first half of the Pleistocene . The first well known muskox, the "shrub-ox" Euceratherium , crossed to North America over an early version of
3965-577: The time united to Siberia and isolated periodically from the rest of North America by the union of the Laurentide and Cordilleran Ice Sheets during colder periods) between 250,000 and 150,000 years ago. After migrating south during one of the warmer periods of the Illinoian glaciation , non-Alaskan American muskoxen would be isolated from the rest in the colder periods. The muskox was already present in its current stronghold of Banks Island 34,000 years ago, but
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#17328515021814030-508: The west coast, and instead kept them confined to the northeastern fringes of the island. In modern times, muskoxen were restricted to the Arctic areas of Northern Canada, Greenland, and Alaska. The Alaskan population was wiped out in the late 19th or early 20th century. Their depletion has been attributed to excessive hunting, but an adverse change in climate may have contributed. However, muskoxen have since been reintroduced to Alaska. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service introduced
4095-427: The wolf's diet. Evidence suggesting that Arctic wolves depend more on hares claims that the mature wolf population paralleled the increase of hares rather than muskoxen availability. The study goes on to say that degree of reliance between the two sources of food is uncertain and that the amount of consumption between the two species depends on the season and year. Debate continues when seasonal and diet of young wolves
4160-425: Was one subspecies or the next using DNA, the population of Arctic wolves as a whole could be distinguished by the looking at the proportions of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP): i.e. Arctic wolves could be distinguished by having three wolves in the putative population with a specific SNP, whereas another subspecies could be distinguished by having 20 wolves with that SNP. Wayne furthermore stated that he believed
4225-726: Was present in Europe and the Mediterranean 1.5 million years ago, colonized Alaska and the Yukon one million years ago and disappeared half a million years ago. Praeovibos was a highly adaptable animal apparently associated with cold tundra ( reindeer ) and temperate woodland ( red deer ) faunas alike. During the Mindel glaciation 500,000 years ago, Praeovibos was present in the Kolyma river area in eastern Siberia in association with many Ice Age megafauna that would later coexist with Ovibos , in
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