After Surviving Two Ice Ages, The Muskox is Bouncing Back From Near Extinction

Muskoxen have outlived wooly mammoths and sabertooth tigers. Efforts to repopulate the Arctic bring hope the prehistoric beasts can survive our latest warm spell. Muskoxen have populated the planet for at least 2.5 million years, crossing the Bering Strait land bridge into North America 2 million years ago.

Populations in some parts of the world are on the rise. For example, the 30 muskoxen that were introduced to Alaska in the 1930s have increased to over 5000 today. But they are declining in Canada and Greenland, where the largest populations once existed. In Banks Island, Canada, their population has dropped from 70,000 in the 1990s to 14,000 in 2014.