YAKUTSK, January 15. /TASS/. The musk oxen population in Yakutia grew 42-fold to 8,000 animals since they were resettled to the region between 1996 and 2017, an expert of the Ministry of Ecology's Department of Biological Resources, Andrey Popov, told TASS.
Some 190 musk oxen were released into the Allaikhovsky, Anabar, Bulunsky and Nizhnekolymsky Districts in 1996 - 2017. Specialists say, in March 2024 the population was about 6,500.
"The first counting (both from air and on ground) in the entire habitat was conducted in 2011," the expert said. "An aerial survey of 2024 reported 8,000 animals, where the sex ratio was uniform, and the share of calves made 20.3%."
Animals are actively settling in Yakutia, and there have been occasions where some of them entered populated areas, he continued. "To prevent conflict situations, people need to stick by the rules of behavior when meeting a musk ox," he said. "Musk oxen, like all wild ungulates, are not aggressive towards humans. Attacks on humans are extremely rare. If there is whatever boundary, 25-50 meters, people must observe it. Animals may attack during the rutting season in the fall, mistaking a human for a rival."
In case of danger, the expert advises to scare off the animal. "They fear rustle of, say, film. And the modern tarpaulin also rustles greatly," he said.
He commented on a popular video on social networks, where a man in Yakutia was teasing a musk ox with a stick. In response, the animal hit him not with its horn, but simply with the forehead. "The animal realizes what a horn is - it is a murder weapon. That man did not pose a great danger to the animal, and it just taught him a lesson, so to say," the expert told TASS.
Musk oxen have sharp rounded horns with a massive base on their foreheads, which they use for protection from predators. Musk oxen have long and thick fur that hangs almost to the ground. Males weigh 350 kg, females 250 kg. The animal is listed in Yakutia's Red Data Book.