The Last Muskox in Sweden are Dying Out - here's how we can help
Sweden has only 10 muskox left and they are in trouble. In this video today we explore the story of a bull named Brutus that roamed Sweden in search for love and also shine a spotlight on how together we might be able to help this herd.
🎓 🔬 The Submission Form: mossyearth.typeform.com/to/tw...
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MOSSY EARTH MEMBERSHIP
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The rewilding membership that restores nature across a wide range of ecosystems.
🌲 Support a diversity of ecosystems
🐺 Rewild habitats to bring back biodiversity
🦫 Fund neglected species & ecosystems
Learn more and become a member here: mossy.earth
💪 OUR PARTNERS IN THIS VIDEO
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Mats & Karin: taigaphoto.se/
The Muskox Center: myskoxcentrum.se/start/
MUSKOX 2030 REPORT
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🇸🇪 Swedish: prismic-io.s3.amazonaws.com/m...
🇬🇧 🤖 Google Translated: prismic-io.s3.amazonaws.com/m...
⏱️TIMESTAMPS⏱️
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0:00 Intro
1:27 Muskox Basics
3:30 Muskox History
4:50 The Swedish Herd
9:54 The Muskox Center
13:33 Solutions & Ideas
🔎 ABOUT THIS PROJECT
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This video is part of an effort to shine a spotlight on the Swedish Muskox herd. We don't yet have the capacity to truly help out the herd as they live in a complex political vacuum that will require some serious research to fill in. We hope you found this video interesting!
We don't have a page for this project but if you would like to learn more about our work, you can do so here: www.mossy.earth
🙌This one was a tonne of work! Lets hope we can help out the Swedish herd :) You can support our work by becoming a Mossy Earth Member here: www.mossy.earth/. If you are a potential student/researcher or a supervisor then you can leave us your details here: mossyearth.typeform.com/to/twcB1gwb - Cheers, Duarte
It's the best video you've made so far, in my opinion. A very worthy cause.
@MossyEarth why you changed the video name from: How YOU can help us save these Arctic Beasts, To: The Last Muskox in Sweden are Dying Out - here's how we can help
I'm 100% sure several musk ox breeders in Alaska and Canada would be happy to donate ox to be released there.
Hi Guys. Great video from a wildlife fan in Australia. I think the easiest solution for genetic diversity is to import bulls from other herds. I'm not sure how many seperate herds there are, but let's say there are ten distinct herds, across various areas, countries etc. So, each year, you move a number of bulls, let's say five, from one herd to another. Five bulls from A goes to B, B goes to C, C goes to D, etc etc etc. Simple and easy.
Hi! Is there a way to help the studies without having a background in biology/ecology? I study the musk oxen for my animated short film about these beautiful animals and I'm a massive nature enthusiast in my free time, besides being an artist/filmmaker. Is there perhaps a need for people like me that like to study topics to the bone? I'm far from done researching the musk oxen and would love to learn everything about them. If this could be of use to you, feel free to reach out! Maybe my art skills could be of use to help illustrate ideas in reports as well. Lots of love, Myrthe Majoor Edit: I discussed the function of the musk ox in the ecosystem with Staffan Widstrand of Rewilding Europe, yesterday. He knows a lot about this!
As a Swede, I'm totally flabbergasted that it's not a protected species. I just assumed it was protected and monitored just as wolves. Everyone I've heard seems to be proud of our muskox herd. Baffling.
Perhaps you could contact your representative in Sweden and express that surprise? :) it would broaden the dialogue and hopefully add weight to the idea of protecting the muskoxen
As a non Swede I'm flabbergasted that there are muskox in Sweden.
@@ericaceous1652 actually, I think that would be counterintuitive. These kinds of decisions are typically left for the bureaucrats in Sweden. In the power balance, politicians set guidelines and bureaucrats implement the details accordingly. Besides, you would need to convince one of the political blocks that this is important enough to govern in detail. The problem with that approach is that most likely the green party would be the first to pick up this fight, which unfortunately would mean their main enemy, who are the current coalition partners of the government, will take the exact opposite stance just out of sheer pettiness/tribalism. I think targeted lobbying targeted at the EPA, the hunters' association, countryside lobby groups, Sami groups and moderate environmental groups in order to build a joint opinion among the groups the EPA relies on is the best course of action.
Seeing How Sweden "protect" wolves is probably better that they don't have the same treatment
@@xyzxyzxyzxyzxyzxyzso maybe it's better to talk to the state first, letting them know that this matter wasn't yet presented to the green party, to show then that this is not an ideological or political problem, but a need above these issues.
I am a Swede, and I am staggered that the Muskox isn't considered a Swedish animal. It's a bit gutting to hear that. And there isn't much I can do on my end of things, but what I can do is this: Alert my mother. My mother happens to be a secretary within the Culture Department of the Swedish Government and she has frequent talks with people within Parliament. And she is environmentally concerned regarding our country and the planet in general. I have sent this video to her already and let her know about this problem. With a little hope, this could help get the ball rolling within the Swedish Government to start poking the EPA with a stick regarding the Muskox population. Biological diversity is key to a healthy planet and a healthy planet is better all around for all of us. Every little bit helps. Let's join together to not just save this marvellous animal, but our planet in general.
Nice. Thanks for doing that. 👍
Tack sa mycket!
This is exactly the kind of advocacy that eventually leads to awareness among those who can actually do something about the national policies! Well done!
Whoaa cool!!
I don t know how you can create a legislation initiative in Sweden but maybe a petition in order to change the legal status of the Muskox or setting at least regulations as how they should be handled...A parliamentary inquiry maybe,backed by some sort of popular/electoral support. I mean i think that the moos and reindeer situation is better regulated because it has economical advantage whilst Muskox are harder to control and pose no economical value,only as an ecological diversity species. Anyway great video as usual and keep on the good work MossyEarth
Curious to see what the collective brain of KZhead throws back in support of this magnificent beast.
Same here! Fingers crossed! 🤞
This is one of those rare videos where I'll be refreshing the comment section to see the responses and see what other people come up with. I'm really hoping someone from the organization that regulates which animals are considered Swedish will see this video and get that side of things rolling, as I think that would expedite the process greatly.
My take is Russian maskox immigrants.
For their genetic health I believe starting 1 or 2 more small herds that could later interact could be highly effective to their overall success.
Or introduce new females from another countries herds into the larger herd. Tag these new females so that they can locate the herd whenever.
@@JudithBisson this could also work 👍
@@JudithBisson Canada has lots of them; we'll send a small intact herd and throw in a few arctic foxes.
1or2 will not be enough. Dozens of herds will be stronger. Deextinction technologies can be used to add DNA from relics in museums to these populations.
yes - brutus must be a son/batchelor of the herd and has gone looking for some 'cows' to start his own herd. you would have thought they would have worked that out and supplied him with a couple of cows. but judging by their previous re-introduction schemes they aren't putting much effort into the project.
Having lived in Sweden for a few years now, I'd love to see more Muskox around! Hopefully we can make this happen 🇸🇪
It would be a great permanent addition to the Swedish wildlife :) - Cheers, Duarte
Why? They are invasive. Reintroduce wisent instead of a foreign animal.
@@AethuvielBoth are originally native
Well Bison were reintroduced to Europe am sure same can be done for these Ox
@@Aethuviel Oddly ignorant comment
As a Norwegian, i 100% agree with Mats. I would love to see Musk population grow and spread through a bigger area. But as the experience we have had, more tourists has to let them be and hopefully this video will make people more aware of the species.
But there are serious issues with the norwegian herd as well. Are they researched? Are the monitored? Are they protected? What plans are there for genetical robustness?
@@anders7741 Yes, research is ongoing all the time, there is lots of research papers from the Dovre area in Norway. The main issue is the political part of it, just like the majority of the scientific fields. Don't know how many politicians i have tried to convince over the years in my field when it comes to funding, but it's not easy if it doesn't benefit their political plans.
Species. Spices is a bit rude.
@@voornaam3191 haha, i didnt notice. Thank you for correcting me.
There is not room for that in sweeden or norway. We use most of the land and muskoxen would never thrive. In siberia. And northern parts of canada including greenland its a way better for muskoxen
I am a Swede that wants to live in the forest somewhere in my country when I grow up, and these beautiful oces should definitely be preserved such a mighty animal!
@@ts2495 One used to be able to buy a small cabin for pretty cheap in the north of Sweden however because more and more african and middle eastern immigrants entered Sweden there has been so many Swedes that did just that and now the cheapest you can find is around 750K kr (which would be circa 70% of your total average Swedes income throughout their entire lives).
@@Mere-Lachaiselongue 750k kronor is not much, especially not 70% of the average income for our entire lifespan, average salary is roughly 330k kronor
@@fortnitetrashcan8308 If you're really fucking lucky yes.
@@Mere-Lachaiselongue its not hard at all to reach that salary, even being an electrician you make that
maybe buy one. not fell trees to build a property. that is happening too frequently and destroys the landscape imo.
For me as a swede, i didnt even know that the muskox wasn't considered an Swedish animal. That is just baffling to me! But now that i know, i will mention it to my friends and family. I feel like that is an simple thing that i can do. Thanks for the video! And i do hope that this video helps the muskox, because i do see that they have an place in Swedish nature!
They aren't. Muskox are from Canada and Greenland, they're invasive and introduced to Sweden. They don't belong here. It's maddening to protect invasive species while the native species are being killed or are even completely extirpated (like the wisent).
Perhaps the reason they aren’t considered Swedish is based on that they haven’t been part of the regional fauna for something like 30.000 years and only migrated from Norway in 1971
I'm so happy that these peaceful giants are getting attention. Every species is worth saving, and ever since I've seen them in person, I have even greater respect for them. Crazy good video, as always! Patrik
Thank you Patrik! - Cheers, Duarte
Great to have the opportunity to shine a spotlight on this Swedish herd, but whenever I think of Muskox now I'll be thinking of Brutus facing down against a blanket!
😂
Nice to see you covered the history of failed re-introductions. Deeper than I remember seeing Swedish media covering it when reporting on our muskoxen. Another development on muskoxen currently is Pleistocene Park in far north-eastern Siberia is having a small herd shipped to them from a park in western Russia, hopefully creating a start for a permanent herd (along with the bison, camels, horses, etc they already have). As a Swede I would like to see the Muskox thrive in our highlands & mountains. As with out wolf population, it seems the genetic diversity is a big issue. New blood is needed. We need to do a long-term program for importing a new individual every few years to keep genetic diversity up. As for making them a domestic species recognized by law: it is very reasonable. Wild boar was wiped out for a long time here too, and it was not considered a Swedish species. But as groups that escaped from farms (bred for meat) in the mid-late 20th century thrived (now possibly over 300 000 wild boar in the wild here) and spread they've been recognized in law as a domestic species.
Hi Gustav! Thank you for sharing, it is really great to hear from Swedes about this. I hope this issue can gain some momentum and the future of this tiny herd can be secured! - Cheers, Duarte
Oh yes please. Like our swedish goverment fucked up massivley by forcing the wolves to bottleneck. It's literally unethical how we treat our wolf tribes imo.
@@ts2495 I come from Härjedalen, and I am lucky enough to have gotten to see Myskoxen. Magnificent animals. If you go to Vemdalen ( the village I’m from) you can travel towards the Helax mountains you can be lucky enough to see them around that massive area.
Having 10 left is basicly abismal, if you manage to help saving them thats one hell of an achievement
Well our involvement for now is only this video and trying to get some momentum for the research. We hope some good ideas come up and we can actually do something! We certainly would use our budget to help them :) - Cheers, Duarte
We must not allow this beautiful animal to become extinct. As gorgeous as the bison who was brought back from extinction, so must we help the muskox. Thank you Mossy Earth! 💕🙏
As a Swede I' m heartbroken that these amazing animals arent a protected species.. Have been i Härjedalen a cupple of times and even been at the Muskoxcenter in Tännes to learn more about them , amazing place 👌🏻and a must visit.. Really do hope they will be protected just like our wolfs, we need them and Mother Earth aswell 🌱
@@ts2495you have to be kidding to say that they are kind animal lovers when recreational hunting is legal in the whole region. Deluded ideas of kindness doesn't work well when it comes to conservation.
@@mohba01 you are one of those who think humans should only eat leafs?
@@zoom5024 I am one of those who actually teach low IQ shills like yourself about wilderness and conservation and get paid for it ! You can easily jump to conclusions that it's about 'eating leaf' ...but hey, thanks for being dumb , I really need the dough 😂
@@mohba01 I don't know if it's the same for Europe, but here in America hunters are usually the people most interested in protecting the areas they hunt in, and the people that contribute the most financially for conservation. You can't hunt anymore if there's nothing to hunt. Of course poachers will always be a problem but it is one that can be mitigated. Hell, here hunting is necessary in some areas because otherwise the deer/coyote populations would get out of control and cause much bigger problem. It's never that simple, get off your grandstand and read a little.
@@KermRiv it's too late for America, there is no wilderness there anymore. They've already killed everything.
In Canada they are not really in any spotlight because they live so far in the north. I have never seen one in person, but I hope I can do a trip to the Canadian territories someday to do that. I think the denser population of the Scandanavian countries will be really important to these animals getting better attention.
Hope you get to see them on your next trip north! Lets hope we can help these Scandinavian muskoxen so they can thrive like the Canadians. - Cheers, Duarte
When I was in the Northwest Territories I had to stop many times on the highway to allow the herds of muskox to pass. It was a beautiful sight.
@@MossyEarthSeems like contacting The Canadian Wildlife Federation or the federal government's Ministry of Environment and Climate Change would be a logical place to start trying to set up a relocation/breeding programme.
As a swede, thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing this!
Great stuff as usual. As a Swede I find it very odd that its not recognized as a species here, our newspapers need to report on this.
It’s kind of astounding that you’ve been to my home. After following this channel for a couple years and wanting to help both monetarily and as a videographer it’s strange to know you’ve already begun work in my remote little region. Growing up in Jämtland, still living here, and loving the mountains, I’ve seen these guys both here and in Norway. Just by chance. And each time is incredibly inspiring. If you ever want help with filming or editing projects up here in Scandiland I’m more than happy to offer whatever time I can spare. Your work is vastly important and appreciated. Have a good one! /Ted
Hi Ted! Please drop an email at team@mossy.earth and ask to be forwarded to Duarte. I would love to connect with you on future work. - cheers, Duarte
A friend was trekking in Jamtland and it was really misty. Suddenly, 30m away, two muskox came out of the mist. My friend got a really nice photo that I have seen. The situation just was about 2 minutes, and then the fog rolled in again and the muskox where gone.
Now that is some luck! - Cheers, Duarte
Expanding conservation laws for reintroduction would probably be helpful. Not only for this case but to establish a process by which animals can be reintroduced into the wild properly.
We need more big animals in Fennoscandia. Personally I would welcome the Muskox back
Hopefully it can find its place with a bit of help :) - Cheers, Duarte
There’s ALWAYS something we can do regardless of where we reside in the world!🕊AB🇨🇦🕊 Why are you posting a defeatists response on every comment?
🕊🇨🇦🕊I am shocked that Sweden hasn’t recognized this animal that’s been on the land for such an extraordinary amount of time. We have over 85,000 in our 🇨🇦country primarily in the Arctic Islands. Surprisingly, there is an introduced free ranging population in Quebec! ✨I would think that we should easily be able to send over at least 100 animals which wouldn’t even put a dent in our existing population. I will circulate this documentary add this to my prayers🙏🏻 oh I love learning new things and it’s quite interesting that they are related to goats when for sure I would’ve thought they were part of the bison family! All the best with everything, sending love to Sweden from great North Americas 🕊♥️🇨🇦♥️🕊
Great work team! Epic creatures that deserve proper protection and help. Makes me think of the european bison, it looked bleak for them but they recovered!
Well the Muskox are doing fine in other places so it is truly a Swedish problem in this case. Lets hope we can do something about it! - Cheers, Duarte
I live in Sweden and had no idea. Great to see you putting light on this situation.
The first time I read the Swedish name for Musk ox, I misread it. I read "mysoxe", which would be translated to "cuddle oxe". I later learnt the correct name and was slightly dissapointed
😂
"Mysoxen" is actually the name of a hotel in Sveg in Härjedalen. 🙂
But they do look very mysiga, so that name would make total sense!😊
Glad to see Muskox getting some attention. Pleistocene Park has gotten their first new lot of them in about a decade. It really is wonderful to see so many reintroductions.
I'm just wondering what it would take in order to get them recognized as a protected species in Sweden? Is it something that needs a petition to start to show interest and then taken to the government?
Is it possible, to do something like what they did with european bison? I think mixing the herds would be essential, and maybe gps trackers could also help I think.
i really gotta become a member, you got so many cool projects i wanna support 🥺
No rush Franz but your support for these projects is really welcome as it is what makes it all possible :) - Cheers, Duarte
Love this so much! Thanks for helping the world!
Thank you for the support Miles! - Cheers, Duarte
I like the idea of tracking the history of the Muskox in Sweden before it was hunted to extinction. You could also contact the pertinent groups in Alaska and Canada as how they manage their herds and the potential of trading breeding stock. By the way that bit of "wool" you showed from Brutus is called " qiviut" and it a very valuable and expensive wool which might help encourage people to think more favorably of muskoxen.
It looked so fluffy and long, I bet that wool has great insulation properties. It might be worth researching its usefulness, especially for someone who does hands pinning or small batches of wool. By the look of it the animals shed their coats off and you would need to collect it from the environment without disturbing them and affecting their breeding season. 🤔 I hope we all can play a part in bringing these musk ox back to their homeland ranges. They look like they evolved in the same kind of way/time/environment as Scottish highland cows did, though being a different species. Blessings from South Eastern Australia, Dot
Watch BiteSizeVegan on wool. Many shearers physically abuse the sheep to get them to submit, and cut so fast for profits that they cut the sheep and sew their cuts up without painkillers. Idk but often when people use and profit off of animals they abuse the animals.
@@dotcassilles1488 The warm wool is brutally expensive. The guard hairs are low value. But the inner hair is valuable. Unfortunately the only way to collect it is by labor intensive combing. (Shearing them will cause them to freeze.)
I'm so glad to see this video! I visited The Muskox Centre in January, and was so impressed by their work that I went back this summer. It's really a shame that there's no political will to rewild Sweden. Quite the opposite. All the reindeers you mentioned for example are domesticated, we don't have any wild ones left (in part because of the domesticated ones). Swedes often think that we're good when it comes to saving nature, but we're really not. We even have licenced hunting of predators like wolf, lynx and wolverine, even though their numbers often only are a few hundred individuals.
People like Mats and his Wife but also Ida are such gems and wonderful people. Wish I got to meet more people that works with and for Nature. While I’m not rich enough to make a difference that way I will for sure share and talk about this topic with family and friends and be sure to send this video to all the different political parties in Sweden in hope that they will care. Being a Mossy Earth supporter for 13 months now and being a Swe I’m grateful for all the work that is being done across Europe by you and us the supporters!
Thanks for your efforts!!
Thank you for your support! - Cheers, Duarte
Amazing! Let's get the Muskox conversation started! Really hope this video can help increase the wild Muskox population in Sweden in some way in the future.
I have nothing to add to the conversation except to express my best wishes for these animals.Long live Swedish Muskox!
God bless nature, god bless you, mossy W!
Thank you Aku! - Cheers, Duarte
Wow! Perfect timing, two days ago I asked around if a international rewilding organization was interesting in getting paired up some with active swedes/local organization and now I see that you actually have this active project. I'm on it! Already sent a text to someone in the biology department of Gothenburg uni. Muskox center is a great visit btw. Great video as always! Hopefully get back soon.
Pleistocene park introduced a herd of musk oxen amongst other herbivores such as bison, camels, caribou, and horses into Siberia to help restore the steppe grassland ecosystem and slow down the melting of permafrost
Exactly, they are that dot there in Russia I think! - Cheers, Duarte
I vehemently believe that every arctic country should have a pleistocene park equivalent. The future of not only the permafrost but our planet as a whole depends on it.
Almost every year me and my family drive down to Samnanger (near Bergen) to meet my grandparents. And when we do we pass over Saltfjellet and sometimes Dovrefjell. And every time we look out the window to look for Muskox, but we've never seen any. I really wish there were more, and that goes for many other animals that live in Norway. Like Lynx, Arctic foxes, and Wolves. It is such a shame how many of these amazing animals have had their populations decimated, or have become exinct. Imagine how fantastic it would be if Mammoths and Great Auks were still around.
sadly there is not a population of muskox on Saltfjellet or in the surrounding era
Amazing how brutus beat the odds! I hope this video stirs things up and gets things moving in a better direction.
Love your initiative to promote research. You're really in there for the long run and it's really reassuring to see how serious and professional you are with all your project. I feel like having some political discussion about the Muskox is the first big step before anything substantial can be done. Maybe you can look if there are study in groenland or Canada that were already made and that can start this. Best of luck with the project mates
I’m literally flabbergasted… I’m Swedish and in school back in the 1970s we were taught at school that muskoxen are natural to Sweden. How cannot it not be regarded as a Swedish animal? It’s a brilliant idea to contact the Swedish Government Offices and the Swedish Natural Protection Agency, Naturvårdsverket. Write to them and ask about this and include this video. It would be really great with some positive news these days… Thank you so much, Mossy Earth! 🙏🏻
How about linking the Norwegian and Swedish populations closer together through some kind of genetic exchange program? You will also need some kind of pr campaign in sweden to raise awareness for them.
The Norwegian population is geneticly the same as the Swedish since the Swedish heard is decent from the Norwegian one.
Well apart from the dna introduced in the järvsö project that was mentioned but that would be more to the benefit of Norwegian heards
Wouldn't it be easier to have an exchange program with Canada or Greenland? They have bigger herds with more diversity.
@@Tvillingklippan it’s about genetic diversity. If the herd consists of only 11 individuals they’re gonna need to broaden their genetic pool so that the next generations are being born with a good immune system or without disabilities. The higher genetic diversity the higher the chances of survival.
Agree!
I’m optimistic for the future of these guys! Wonderful video!
Glad you enjoyed it! - Cheers, Duarte
So incredible animals! Every time that some species are in a bad situation is really sad! 😢 But thanks to you and video like this, it can help the nature and the animals! Last month we also made a video about normality in Northern Europe, like Lapland and Norway and during our road trip was amazing to see the animals like the reindeer ❤
🙌🏻👏🏻
Hopefully on a future trip in a decade or so you can see some Muskox! (from a very big distance ideally so they are not disturbed) - Cheers, Duarte
@@MossyEarth yeahhh would be amazing! We were focus to see some moose also, but unfortunately we didn’t! But the nature give us the present to see a whale, and was amazing 😍
As someone who is from and lives in Härjedalen, i am grateful for the exposure of these awesome animals and our beautiful province.
Thank you for bringing up this important topic because I live in Sweden and have never heard of this problem. I realy hope that the youtube hivemind can help if only in a small way. Please continue the important work!👍
Man they're so beautifull
Agreed! Truly magnificent animals :) - Cheers, Duarte
an obstacle to their success could also be due to an unfamiliarity with their geography. old herds have matriarchs/patriarchs who know where to go and when. new herds will be faced with many decisions that are not so different than gambling. Just a thought that may or may not be helpful 😊 love your videos, grateful for your service to Mama Nature and all her diverse children 🙏🏼🙏🏼
What an extrodinary creature!
Indeed it is! Hopefully we can help:) - Cheers, Duarte
Indeed it is! Hopefully we can help:) - Cheers, Duarte
Thank you for making this video! I'm currently working on an animated short film about the musk oxen from Dovrefjell and Härjedalen! I traveled to Norway and Sweden for research for this project and paid a visit to the Muskox Centre as well, of course. Ida and Jonas were super kind and helpful and I felt honoured to be able to study their beautiful cows, including Brusa, from up close. There is so much to learn about these beautiful species - I could study them for years, really - and I plan to get a lot more attention to the herds of musk oxen in Scandinavia with my film. The issues with governing herds, the lack of new DNA in the gene pools, issues with politics, tourists that don't respect the animals and the warming climate are all issues that we want to address to keep the herds in Scandinavia safe. Super happy this is getting attention! I'll make sure to shout from the rooftops as well. Together, we can make a difference for these beautiful animals and the ecosystem in general!
As a Swede, this was my favorite animal growing up, and it truly warms my heart that somebody is trying thier best to ensure that future generatins can also read about Muskoxen lurking in the Swedish forest.
Just finishing up a PhD myself (fish guy, not mammal, though I do a bit of genetics), and I wish the best to whoever tackles this project! I am also teaching a course in ecological restoration at a junior college right now, and we have a lecture on fauna reintroduction tomorrow. I was thinking about swapping out one of the case study videos for something a little more... fresh today when I was reviewing the slides and notes, and guess what appeared in my feed! In all seriousness, if the Mossy Earth crew swings through Montreal on their North America trip, I have some outreach I could arrange with students... and maybe talk research too! Cheers from Canada!
As a Canadian, I’ve always thought of muskox as roaming the tundra with caribou (wild reindeer), so it seems very strange to see them wandering the forests and wintering on mountains! I’m sure the Canadian government has some research, but not sure if that is very helpful in this different situation. I hope you get some help politically and in your research. What an interesting species and such important work, so it seems it would be a place a researcher could really make a difference and even make a name for themselves. Wouldn’t radio collars and/or the use of drones help to keep track of the populations and their migration? Especially, the wandering males looking for females. Drones are especially useful in more open places, a lot of places in Africa are using them to keep eyes on herds at risk. Are there any more muskox in zoos or private reserves? This alone would be interesting research, albeit a sad situation. Seems like this kind of isolation makes them good candidates for genetic diversity, like the one that bred the captured female. Even collecting semen samples and possibly doing some artificial insemination to improve diversity or breeding between facilities for offspring that could be released into a more natural situation, like the Centre would help population diversity. Anyway, thank you for caring about these big and hairy beauties!
This channel is really the only thing keeping me from falling into a complete depression over the state of the natural world. Thank you for giving hope!
If you guys could set up a partnership program with another country who has a large diversity of muskox and have all the logistics figured out in partnership with the centre for research materials, tracking suggestions and relocation for genetics, that could be a big incentive of sorts to get the Swedish government more involved. Also, I'm not an expert but up North in Canada we have muskox, moose, and reindeer and there has got to be some people or organizations that can answer some of the questions you're posing
I enjoyed seeing the work that folks are doing on so many levels to take care of this beautiful planet. I am hoping that Sweden will find a way to include the care of these muskox in the wild.
Every once in a great while I come across people like Mossy Earth who are using the interwebs for the best possible reasons and it makes me happy.
It seems to me international collaboration is crucial for ensuring the genetic diversity of the small muskox population in Scandinavia. Would love to see people getting involved in this! 🐐
I saw a muskox in West-Greenland (i walked the Arctic Circle Trail) live in person and they are such amazing animals! I really want them to populate more areas and get more populated over time. And i will defenetly ask my former University for a Master Thesis about this topic. The things you said in the end of the video will be good requirements on a scientific master thesis. In my studies i learned a lot about oecology and all things you said at the end of the video so its probably possible to do a master thesis about this. My university is the 'Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Umwelt' in Nürtingen/Geislingen in Germany :)
Great video. Thank you! A few thoughts: In my country (Canada), and I presume also in Greenland, muskoxen are not forest animals. This video shows them in a forest environment that they are not evolved for. For example, their defense against their primary non-human predator (wolves) is to create an outward-facing circle with the vulnerable young in the middle. This can only work in the type of open tundra that they inhabit in Canada. In a forest they would be easy pickings for wolves. This forest environment seems to be far better suited to bison, moose, etc. For this herd to function over the long term they must be in a different habitat than that depicted in the video.
The wild herd do not live in the forest but high up in the mouintins above the tree limit. It is much more easy to film at the center so I think most of the images was taken there.
Wonderful animals hope they can be helped here :D Thanks for a you do ❤️
Hopefully we can help them out! Thank you for the support! - Cheers, Duarte
@@MossyEarth Just wish i could support much more 😔 but until then
I hope you can save the muskox, good luck!
One idea I have for helping out this heard would be to make it an official animal in Sweden. That way it is allowed to study them more. I will definitely talk about the Muskox with my friends and family members!
Hey, thank you for the great video about this fascinating species. I do have question about how they interact with the ecosystem in Sweden. What benefits do they give? What are the differences to the effects of other large herbivores, like moose or deer? Greetings from Germany 💙
We have all of these questions too, which is why we need more research :) - Cheers, Duarte
Looove this ❤ I live in the north of Sweden and if we can live with moose, bear and reindeer (and other stuff) we can live with these awesome huge goats aswell.
Implement EU-wide biocorridors. connections are more important than habitats. Not only for muskox, for every single member of every single biosystem. Natural way of doing this is restore and protect moving water, streams, little trickles, small rivers. Natural habitat at least up to lets say1 *width + (width x (1/Width[m]))* (or something like that) away from the water. Difficult, but very effective.
Long live the GOAT of Goats.
The GOAT of goats indeed! :D - Cheers, Duarte
It's not technically a goat, goats constitute the tribe Caprini with nine extant species within three genera: the Western Tur (Brachyceros caucasicus), the Eastern Tur (Brachyceros cylindricornis), the Markhor (Aegoceros falconeri), the West Asian Ibex (Capra aegagrus (cladistically including the Domestic Goat (Capra aegagrus hircus))), the Central Asian Ibex (Capra sibirica), the Alpine Ibex (Capra ibex), the Occidental Ibex (Capra pyrenaica), the Nubian Ibex (Capra nubiana), and the Walia Ibex (Capra walie), the muskox does not belong to the tribe Caprini, therefore it is not a goat, the muskox is one of the only two surviving members of tribe Ovibovini, the other is the takin, goats and ovibovinoids belong to different subfamilies of the Bovidae family, goats (tribe Caprini) belong to the subfamily Caprinae along with the sheep (tribe Ovini), while ovibovinoids (tribe Ovibovini) belong to the subfamily Ovibovinae alongside the tahrs (tribe Hemitragini) and naemorhedinoids (tribe Naemorhedini), in fact, caprines and ovibovines are not closely related, the Ovibovinae subfamily forms a clade with the subfamilies Hippotraginae (Grazing Antelope) and Alcelaphinae (Hartebeests, Wildebeests, Damalisks, and Hirola), while the Caprinae subfamily forms a clade with the subfamilies Antilopinae (True Antelope and Gazelles), Cephalophinae (Duikers), and Neotraginae (Dwarf Antelope), with the Caprinae + (Antilopinae + (Cephalophinae + Neotraginae)) clade being the sister offshoot to the Peleinae + (Reduncinae + Bovinae) clade, while the Ovibovinae + (Hippotraginae + Alcelaphinae) clade is basal to both.
@@indyreno2933 Well I will have to settle for the GOAT of Ovibovini then. Thanks for the info.
@raclark2730, again, muskoxen are not goats, goats are more closely related to cattle than goats are to muskoxen.
@@indyreno2933 Its a joke on the abbreviated pop culture term GOAT - Greatest of all time. I understand they are not actually goats. 👍
They look so beautiful!
They are so beautiful!
I am from Sweden, and this is the first time I've heard of this. I didn't even know we had these animals :( I am so shoked that this isn't a bigger matter in Sweden.
I think that finding a way to get muskox gently into the minds of the public is how we increase their popularity. I feel that art is one of the best ways of doing this. Perhaps commisioning a mural to be displayed in the streets of Stockholm will be a pleasant reminder to passers-by of their importance. Or maybe a public art exhibition, built off of photos and films that people have made through their encounters with the beasts. As someone who is about to move from Scotland to Sweden for my master's in marine science (I'm about to binge your videos on kelp), I'll be hoping for an encounter with the muskox while exporing the country.
While I am not an expert on any field closely related to wildlife conservation nor do I want to write a Master's or PhD thesis (since I just finished one hahaha), I believe that the second idea you guys put forward is fantastic. Fostering or promoting any kind of valuable research is extremely beneficial. I hope someone with the background and passion for this manages to tackle this relevant task.
After watching Mossy Earth videos for a long time, it's nice to see you visiting my home country :D And muskoxes sure are cool looking animals! I wish we had more of them here!
I walked "Moskusstien" at Dovrefjell this summer. I didn't see any of them, but I very much enjoyed the signs telling us that Musk Oxen don't flee if they feel threatened, they charge. The later sign was stating that any injury you suffer at the hooves or horns of the animals are your own fault.
Beautiful video as always ❤
As a Swede who's starting a masters in forest science this is a super interesting topic. What kind of effect the vegetation would have and if the forestry sector could cooperate with the muskox
What a pity the government isn't supportive of the return of muskoxen, I hope that changes soon!
I believe the Muskox has the same function as the Visent had in the south of Sweden when they were here, and I think it is important that we preserve them and help them on the way. I would like to se the Visent restored in Sweden as well. Like we did with the wild boar in the south. The diversety of the larger species of animals are really important to a sustinable fauna in this country.
I have shared your Muskox video on facebook... hoping to get a large safe space for the herd in Sweden.
Such a fascinating project! If ever possible, introducing some Greenlandic or North American specimens.
Shameful how a country like Sweden does not care, and does nothing to help and protect such animals! So much space and money, and zero efforts. Very dissappointing.
Unfortunately it's like this with EVERY country
Not only do we need the Swedish gov to recognize this wonderfull muskox but the European union as well. Absolutely great that you use your reach to make more studies possible
it is amazing to hear about this animal. great work and keep up! love to hear how we can help and the progress later on
Of course we will have muskox in Sweden. Bureaucracy and other things that always get in the way. The muskox existed in Sweden 10,000 thousand years ago. So with a little will, I think it can be described as a Swedish species. Sweden needs large grazing animals and they would certainly attract tourists. Thank you for the fine work you do at the muskox center and Mossy Earth
I'd love to know more about how the Canadian populations are doing! Are there plans to reintroduce muskoxen to parts of Canada where they used to live? Does the Canadian EPA consider them protected? Could Sweden learn something from the muskoxen management (or lack of) in Canada/Greenland? Thanks for such as fascinating long-form video, excellent quality as always -- cheers!
I was always a fan of nature and seeing people trying to get the young group to be more interested in it is so nice to see! I love how u people go around in many countrys and show what work can be done to help the local population of animals and plants. Keep up the great work!
I liked that this video was a little longer than usual and discussed the issues so thoroughly. Your videos are getting better and better! also thank you for addressing the history of prior reintroductions that may have been well-intentioned but were handled poorly. We need to learn from these missteps
Incredible video and species, looking forward to the updates on this project !
Import some from Greenland!
Would be ideal! - Cheers, Duarte
Ask the EU for the money to obtain 50 from North America!@@MossyEarth
Absolutely beautiful animal. Come on sweden the Muskox deserve a place in this world. I will spread the word about them generate interest
When I was in high school, my field of choice being animal handling as a Zoo keeper, I had a special behavior study on the Muskox in Kolmården Zoo, Sweden. They were only three in the enclosure, a bull, a cow and their calf. It was pretty sad to see them, because they were simply standing around the whole 24 hours we studied them from afar. Don't remember which one was sick, but the veterinarian had to tranquilize one of them and take some samples as well as give it something. Got to sit right next to it at that time. They do be smelling musky. I just now read up on the calf, Willy, and apparently he had grown up and was to be re-introduced to the wild, however he had wandered over to Norway and had gotten too close to people, and was threatened to be put down. Sadly, in the attempt to tranquilize and move him he would later succumb and die from undernourishment due to complications. A couple years later I was studying in another 1 year education program about flora and fauna, this being 12 or so years ago, and we made a trip to see these hairy creatures in the wild. We did manage to spot them from about a mile away, the teacher catching some good pictures with his camera. I don't know much about what to do apart from what is already suggested, to make the Swedish government accept them in as a protective species. They don't do harm to a degree that many other animals do, so just like said in the video there should definitely be space enough for them to grow if we let them and help them do so. I also had a tuft of muskox-hair, though sadly I lost it when visiting a wolf enclosure.
Also, Mats & Karin seem great
They are really nice! Well worth meeting them if you travel up north at one point ;) - Cheers, Duarte
Interesting, I live in southern Sweden and I have never heard of these problems. They definitely need more exposure. We have a zoo here that has myskoxen it's strange to me that they don't highlight more of this in their information about it.
Much respect for Ida and mossy earth/ give me time for helpful answers
Glad you enjoyed the video! Lets hope we can do something about all of this :) - Cheers, Duarte
Great video as always❤.
Thank you! - Cheers, Duarte
Brilliant video and such a fascinating story!
Thank you Paul! Glad you enjoyed it :) - Cheers, Duarte
Thank you for this 🙏🏼
Thank-you for your work for these Animals and Ecosystems!🌏
In my opinion deploying multiple small groups of muskox from greenland should solve the inbreeding problem and muskox going away in search of another herds.
Also move them further north because no one lives there
@@oskar8421 wouldn't that make them barely possible to track though? Atleast until regulations get to a point of it being a native Swedish animal.
@@maksiksq True, but the big debate really in sweden why were not bringing the bison in for example is that they will disturb the people.
@@oskar8421There's still Sami people and their reindeer herds. It's not completely empty land
@@d.b.2215 If there was no deforestation they could probably have coexisted since one of the big reindeer problems is that they eat reindeer moss that is only found in very old forests. And if there were plenty of them they wouldnt need to move around as much