Muskoxen Studied With GPS Devices Surprise Researchers

We’ve reported so many stories about how GPS tracking technology has helped wildlife research. Just about every animal you can think of has been studied with tracking collars. We’ve reported stories about tracking birds, sharks, bears, wild cats, sheep and the list goes on. In fact, today’s story is about an animal you may never have heard of: the musk ox. Muskoxen are prehistoric mammals that can be found in the wilderness of Alaska, and look like furry bison. A four-year study of these beasts turned a lot of what researchers assumed about muskoxen on its head.

The GPS technology revealed that over the four-year period, the muskoxen were much more mobile than anyone would have guessed. One particular 567-pound female was tracked traveling 150 miles during the study. “That’s just not a normal kind of thing to see in an animal that’s usually viewed as very sedentary,” explained Layne Adams, research wildlife biologist from the U.S. Geological Survey.

In the 1920s, muskoxen had nearly died off in North America, just as they had in Europe and Asia. In 1930, a group of 34 muskoxen were brought to Fairbanks in a restoration effort. The mammals have thrived in Alaska ever since, growing to a population size of 750. This recent study involved the two major herds in the area. 121 animals were collared, but only 46 received GPS tracking technology. The rest were tracked with radio collars. “Since the early ’70s, the two populations have grown at different rates,” Adams said. “What we’re doing is working on a baseline study to look at the building blocks of the population dynamics.”

“I think there’s a lot we don’t know about them compared to the other large hoofed animals in Alaska or northern North America,” Adams said. “I think they’ve been studied much less here than anywhere else. They tend to live in places that are hard to work in… we certainly found that to be true.” The study revealed that there is much more to learn about the behavior and needs of muskoxen.

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Muskoxen Studied With GPS Devices Surprise Researchers