The Dalton Gang

We expected to see wildlife on the Haul Road... lots of it.  The camera was ever-ready between us as we searched the horizon for signs of caribou, bear, and moose.  The entire length of the Dalton Highway, however, we saw nothing larger than a scurrying ground squirrel.

When we took the Deadhorse tour, all of our companions told similar stories.  The bus driver said that no more than three weeks ago that the bus had been halted by nearly 3,000 caribou migrating across the road.  We saw waterfowl on the tour but no mammals.  All of us assumed that the weather or timing would continue to keep them out of sight.

Nearly an hour out of Deadhorse, my camera rested in its case as we conversed about the many blessings we had seen.  Clouds hung their heads on the road as it misted rain.

At first, it seemed like huge, dark boulders had been placed in the road ahead of us.  Within a nanosecond, however, both of us shouted as I grabbed for the camera.  Perhaps the rarest privilege of all stood before us... an entire herd of musk ox appeared from the fog!  As David said, it looked exactly as if the Dalton gang were heading for a show down!

David quickly pulled over to keep from spooking the herd.  I gingerly got out of the truck and started shooting photos.  The herd seemed most uninterested in us.  They meandered across the road.  At one point, one of the cows gazed steadily at me, checking to see if I was friend or foe.  Satisfied that I was no threat, she continued on with the herd.

Musk ox were either eradicated by predator or humans from the Arctic Circle.  We learned from a tour of the University of Alaska Large Animal Research Center that these large, stocky mammals are more closely related to goats than oxen.  Their name comes from their build and size.  Standing less than four foot at the shoulders, they can weigh in excess of 800 pounds.

These animals are made perfectly to fit the Arctic tundra, preferring icy coastland to deep snow and forest.  They are covered with long, shaggy fur and qiveut, a downy layer that insulates them from the harsh Arctic wind.  Baby calves are born with an entire coat of qiveut which keeps them warm in temperatures as low as -30 degrees.  Babies are seldom seen because they often hide under their mother's bellies for further protection and warmth.

Herding animals, musk ox fiercely protect their young.  If a predator approaches, the herd circles around the calves, standing shoulder to shoulder with their rumps toward the center.   Females are equipped with sharp tips on their horns to gouge predators.  The bulls have thick horn "bosses" or armour on their foreheads and can either ram or gore predators.

In 1935, Greenland provided a seed herd to reintroduce musk ox to Alaska.  Thirty-four musk ox were brought to Nunivak Island.  The herd grew to 700, and several groups were relocated to similar habitat.

Approximately 2,300 musk ox reside in Alaska.  The herd we saw outside of Deadhorse numbered around 16 members.  How grateful we are to have seen them!