Page:Babyhood of Wild Beasts.djvu/232

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THE BABYHOOD OF WILD BEASTS

other ruminants (cud-chewing animals), except in his bison-like head.

Musk Oxen in reality are neither oxen nor sheep, nor are they closely allied to either, and are a very distinct type of the hollow horned section of the ruminants, entitled to a distinctive name of their own.

The Musk Oxen are the most exclusively Arctic of all the ruminants. Living, as they do, in the extreme north where vegetation is scanty, and the ground buried under a heavy coverlet of snow the greater part of the year, great strength, endurance and perseverance are the elements that must be possessed by this animal to take him through the bitter cold and long darkness of an Arctic winter. Nature has provided this noble creature with a heavy coat of wool beneath his long thick hair for protection from the inclement Arctic weather. Blizzards may rage and the thermometer drop to seventy degrees, but it can't freeze old Musk Ox. He is there, warm coat, big horns and all, and the north pole isn't cold enough to put an end to his existence.

One baby is the usual number in Musk Ox