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Species authority page

Muskox

Ovibos moschatus · Big game

Muskox (Ovibos moschatus): Stocky, short-legged animal with a slight shoulder hump, very short tail and long guard hair hanging nearly to the ground. Dark brown coat with creamy hair on the saddle, forehead and legs. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and dateOpen the muskox map

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Muskox standing on a snowy hillside
Photo by Marc Eggert on Unsplash
Scientific name
Ovibos moschatus
Family
Bovidae
Range
Native populations in North America occur only in northern Canada, mostly on the Arctic islands (especially Banks and Victoria), with a mainland population north of Great Bear Lake, around Queen Maud Gulf and in northeastern Keewatin. Introduced free-ranging population in Quebec; reintroduced to Alaska from Greenland stock in 1930 (Nunivak Island, later Seward Peninsula and elsewhere).
Biology

How to identify it

Stocky, short-legged animal with a slight shoulder hump, very short tail and long guard hair hanging nearly to the ground. [1][2]

Dark brown coat with creamy hair on the saddle, forehead and legs. [1][2]

Both sexes have horns that curve down beside the face and up at the tips; on bulls the bases form a solid boss across the forehead, while cows have a fur patch between the horn bases. [1][2]

Bulls about 5 ft at the shoulder and 600-800 lb (Alaska data); cows smaller. [1][2]

In midsummer the woolly undercoat (qiviut) sheds, leaving animals shaggy and ragged for weeks. [1][2]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Do not identify Muskox from colour alone. Compare structure, size, range and the listed similar species before making a field decision.[1][2]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Low-lying coastal and inland plains and river valleys of the Arctic where shrubs are most abundant. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Winter herds may hold up to 75 animals; herds break into small groups around calving. [1][2]

Rut August-October: bulls give deep, rumbling roar-like bellows and charge head-on, clashing horn bosses repeatedly. [1][2]

Eats grasses, sedges, forbs and woody plants; poorly adapted to digging through heavy snow, so winter range is limited to areas of shallow snow. [1][2]

Endures severe storms lying down with its back to the wind. [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Where it is listed for legal take

These authorities list this species for legal take in their own regulations.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Native populations in North America occur only in northern Canada, mostly on the Arctic islands (especially Banks and Victoria), with a mainland population north of Great Bear Lake, around Queen Maud Gulf and in northeastern Keewatin. Introduced free-ranging population in Quebec; reintroduced to Alaska from Greenland stock in 1930 (Nunivak Island, later Seward Peninsula and elsewhere).

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. Alaska Department of Fish and Game · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Alaska Department of Fish and Game

  2. Canadian Wildlife Federation / Environment and Climate Change Canada · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Canadian Wildlife Federation / Environment and Climate Change Canada