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During the summer, musk oxen live in wet areas, including river valleys. They move to higher elevations in the winter, to avoid deep snow. They graze on grasses, reeds, sedges, and other ground plants, digging through snow in the winter to reach their food.

Musk oxen are social and live in herds, usually of around 10–20 animals but sometimes over 100. Winter herds consist of adults of both sexes as well as young animals. During the breeding season, males compete for dominance, and one dominant bull drives other adult males out of the group.

Female musk oxen are sexually mature at two years of age, and males reach sexual maturity after five years. The gestation period is eight or nine months. Almost all pregnancies are of a single calf; the young nurse for a year, but may start to eat grasses as soon as a week after birth.

Musk oxen are native to Arctic Canada, GreenlandThis article is about Greenland, the island dependency of Denmark. For information about the town of Greenland, see Greenland, New Hampshire. Greenland ( Greenlandic: Kalaallit Nunaat "The Land of the Greenlanders (Kalaallit)"; Danish: Gronland , an Arcti, and AlaskaOn January 3, 1959, Alaska was admitted to the United States as the 49th state. The population of the state is 626,932, as of 2000. The name "Alaska" is most likely derived from the Aleut word for "great country" or "mainland. The natives called it "Alyes. The Alaskan population was wiped out in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, but musk oxen have since been reintroducedReintroduction is the deliberate release of animals from captivity into the wild. It usually involves species that are endangered or extinct in the wild. In some cases, reintroduction involves a species that had been wiped out in a particular ecosystem, b to Alaska. The species has also been reintroduced to northern Europe, including Norway (a population in the mountains of SwedenThe Kingdom of Sweden Konungariket Sverige in Swedish) is a Nordic country in Scandinavia, in Northern Europe. It is bordered by Norway on the west, Finland on the northeast, the Skagerrak and the Kattegat on the southwest, and the Baltic Sea and the Gulf and NorwayThe Kingdom of Norway is a Nordic country west of Sweden on the Scandinavian Peninsula. It has a very elongated form and has an extensive coastline along the North Atlantic Ocean, where Norway's famous fjords are found. In addition to Sweden, it borders R), and Russia. Musk oxen were close to extinction at one point, but have recovered after being protected from hunting. The world population (as of 1999For the album by Prince, see 1999 (album 1999 is a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the UN. Events Kosovo War Former child star Gary Coleman files for bankruptcy Y2K prep) is estimated at between 65,000 and 85,000, and increasing, especially in the areas where the animal was introduced in the 20th century.

The musk ox has long brown, grey and yellowish fur. An adult weights more than 200 kg and can reach more than 400 kg. Their height is about 1.4 meters, and their length approximately 2.5 meters. Musk oxen can achieve an age of 25. They are social animals that live in groups, being famous for making a defence ring when they feel threatened.