The Woodland Muskox (Bootherium bombifrons) also called Harlan’s Muskox, Helmeted Muskox or Bonnet-headed Muskox is a species of large ovibovine caprine native to much of North America. From Alaska to California, the Great Lakes, Great Plains and North Carolina to Canada. The species went extinct during the Late Pleistocene, but was brought back to life via cloning and temporal dislocation technologies by the Greene Foundation in the late 2000’s.
Description
Unlike the Arctic muskoxen, with their long, shaggy coats, Woodland Muskox are physically adapted to a range of less frigid climates, and appear to have been the only species of muskox to have evolved in and remain restricted to the North American continent.
Woodland Muskox are significantly taller and leaner than the Arctic muskoxen.
Woodland Muskox weigh around 934 lbs.
Other differences include a thicker skull and considerably longer snout. The horns of the Woodland Muskox are situated high on the skull, with a downward curve and are fused along the midline of the skull, unlike Arctic muskoxen whose horns are separated by a medial groove.
Ecology
Woodland Muskoxen will eat grasses, willows, woody plants, lichens and mosses. They prefer succulent and nutritious grasses in an area. Willows are the most commonly eaten plants in the winter. Muskoxen require a high threshold of fat reserves in order to conceive, which reflects their conservative breeding strategy.
Primary predators of Woodland muskoxen are wolves, American Lions, Saber-toothed Cats, Short-faced Bears and even Terror Birds. Other occasional predators, likely mainly predators of calves or infirm adults, can include grizzly bears and wolverines.
Conservation
Woodland Muskox are held at many institutions including Zoland Park Zoo, Orca Point Zoo, San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, Los Angeles Zoo, San Francisco Zoo, Oakland Zoo, Sacramento Zoo, Oregon Zoo, Alaskan Mammoth Institute, Zoo Boise, Great Plains Zoo, Minnesota Zoo, Detroit Zoo, Omaha’s Henry Doorley Zoo, Cincinnati Zoo, Denver Zoo, Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, Buffalo Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, Seneca Park Zoo, North Carolina Zoo, The Wilds, Columbus Zoo and Milwaukee County Zoo