Muskox
Amazing fact
The muskox’s short tail is hidden beneath its fur.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
The muskox’s short tail is hidden beneath its fur.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Muskox
- Scientific name
- Ovibos moschatus
- Japanese name
- ジャコウウシ
- Group
- Land mammals
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Bovidae
- Genus
- Ovibos
It lives on the treeless Arctic tundra, in places such as Canada and Greenland.
Its long, shaggy coat protects it from wind, rain, snow and insects, and in winter it also grows a coat that keeps it warm.
When several predators attack, the herd forms a circle with horns facing outward and the calves in the middle.
How the Muskox lives
In summer they eat grasses and leafy plants among other vegetation. In winter they eat willow, moss and other vegetation found under or above the snow. Small herds may join together in winter.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebBasic data
- Active
- By day (diurnal)
- Range
- Canada, Greenland and Alaska
Where the Muskox has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- ジャコウウシ
- 简体中文
- 麝牛
- 繁體中文
- 麝牛
- 한국어
- 사향소
- Español
- Buey almizclero
- Français
- Bœuf musqué
- Deutsch
- Moschusochse
- Português (Brasil)
- Boi-almiscarado
- Italiano
- Bue muschiato
- हिन्दी
- कस्तूरी बैल
- العربية
- ثور المسك
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Lembu endemik muskox
- Tiếng Việt
- Bò xạ hương
- Русский
- Овцебык
- Türkçe
- Misk sığırı
- ไทย
- มัสก์ออกซ์
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Ovibos moschatusChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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