TASS, June 27. A record high number of musk oxen - 29 - were born since April 2024 in aviaries at the Ingilor Nature Park, the world's biggest musk ox nursery, the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region's governmental press service reported.
"Experts have summed up the musk oxen calving at the Ingilor Nature Park. A total of 29 calves have been born in the aviaries since early April," the press service said.
The annual birth rate is about 20 musk ox calves. The previous birth record was in 2023, when the nature park reported 28 calves.
"By now, the musk oxen have grown up and they feel confident in the enclosures. At the beginning of the month [June], young grass was added to their diet. <...> In case of a danger, these animals do not panic - they take defensive positions, lining up in a circle with calves inside the circle," the press service quoted the regional ecology authority's head of the wildlife protection department, Vitaly Borisov, as saying.
According to the government, this year it was for the first time that Yamal residents chose the name of one of the calves. He was named "Nikolaich" - after the park's inspector who had rescued the animal.
Ingilor is the largest musk ox nursery in the world. It occupies more than 900,000 hectares. The aviary complex contains more than 120 musk oxen. About 80 animals have been released into the wild over recent five years. Experts say more than 200 musk oxen live outside enclosures on the Yamal Peninsula.