I Am A Musk Ox Farmer | INDIE ALASKA
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- Опубликовано: 16 июн 2013
- Musk Ox Farm Director Mark Austin is responsible for the largest (and possibly only), modern domestication experiment. For a number of years, he has been raising musk ox in Alaska's Mat-Su Valley.
Austin first came to Alaska in college and quickly fell in love with the opportunities and lifestyle provided by living on, what he calls, "the fringe of society."
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Video:
John Norris
Travis Gilmour
Story:
John Norris
Music:
Starship Amazing
The Muskox (Ovibos moschatus) is the only extant member of the genus Ovibos, it is one of the only two extant members of the tribe Ovibovini, the other being the Takin (Budorcas taxicolor), which is found only in Central Asia, Ovibovini is one of the three tribes that now belong to a new subfamily called Ovibovinae, the others being the tribes Hemitragini (Tahrs) and Naemorhedini (Gorals, Serows, Chamoises, and Mountain Goat), Ovibovinae is a subfamily of bovids that lives mostly in cold-climate habitats, it is actually known that Ovibovinae is most closely related to the subfamilies Hippotraginae (Grazing Antelope) and Alcelaphinae (Hartebeest, Wildebeests, Hirola, and Tsessebees).
Woah! Thank you for that fantastic fun fact! We love learning even more about the subjects we cover.
Your doing a great job. The animals look so healthy. UK Veteran
Musk Ox are so adorable, especially the babies.
I need this ox in my life. I want one to take me on an Alaskan adventure pulling me on a sled.
This is a dream we can all get behind
Absolutely loved this video. Mark did an amazing job of capturing what it's all about. If I didn't already work there I think I might have to go on a tour!
What a awesome video, thanks!
You could always drive out to Palmer and take a tour. It looks like you're in Alaska so it doesn't seem like a stretch to get the full hour long tour and have them answer your questions.
In ‘73 I saw a muskox farm a few miles south of Fairbanks. Funded by the U.S. government grant, it was a trial run by the University of Alaska - Fairbanks. I seem to remember the Veterinary School at WSU, Pullman WA was part of the operation. The questions they were trying to answer was could qiviut be harvested from penned muskox, and could a market for qiviut be created. If market was created, would farmed muskox pencil out.
At the time wild Alaskan herds were still fairly small.
July 20, 2019, Friday. I have seen the development of the raising of the musk ox in another countries like Siberia, USA, Canad, etc. where the herds of the musk ox is seen growing today. The American Musk Ox is more prone to be domesticaded, not the European one which is more prone to the fight.
They're both the same exact animal. The musk oxen in Europe are introductions that came from imported American musk oxen. Differences in behavior are probably due to how the different farms raise, manage and breed them.
You are enjoying your life sir......
sure seems that way huh?
LOVE THIS!
They are awesome.
amazing life...
very cool!
Keep up the good work it will pay off
Lindo demais parabens pelo trabalho. Grande abraço Brasil
hugs!
Amazing job
can you ride a musk ox
I think this is a great idea. Think of the fresh meat and fur interior Alaskans could enjoy - yarns, yes - supply will NEVER meet demand.
Amazing! Is it possible to buy a yak wool from you?
Are these still available in farm ?
There are arguments saying the farm animals we use today weren't domesticated. If you look at the animals they came from it would be impossible for primitive farmers spending countless generations to change the animals to tame. They probably were genetically altered quickly
is it possible to buy a musk ox skull ?
Hunt one
Why? 😬
There are places online.
PALEOLÍTICO VIVO" en España 🇪🇸
Are they native to Alaska?
Thanks... I meant to ask "if they were native to Alaska," but I typed "or." I'm gonna edit my original comment.
Greenland
Yes, they are native to ALaska, however they were mostly all killed off and most musk ox in Alaska came from other herds in other regions.
Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong but I have a pretty good idea what's actually going on here. This is a state-enforced monopoly, otherwise there would be private commercial muskox operations from Alaska to Nebraska to Vermont...and don't tell me they haven't made any progress in domestication over SIXTY YEARS?! How many more centuries will they need to get results?
Yeah, yeah, I know this was supposed to be a noble endeavor to try and get the gasoline-huffers off welfare but if muskox breeding and knitting operations are restricted by law and regulation to this one state-run operation it WILL remain a "roadside attraction."
pinz2022 I would raise them in Pennsylvania
This is an interesting comment and seems to have merit. Yes, indeed, why aren’t more folks engaged in this? Thanks
they require trace minerals that are only found in the tundra & arctic and would get pricey to have to supplement year-round, plus they have very little heat tolerance because of those coats
Musk oxen are raised in other states as well. There's some in Montana.You can purchase and raise them for the fiber but you must live in a cold area and your state may require special alternative or non-traditional livestock licenses. Their undercoat is so warm you wouldn't want to wear a sweater knitted from 100% qivuit unless you lived in the arctic or Antarctica, as it would be extremely hot and uncomfortable. Its usually mixed with tencel, peace silk, banana fiber, rose fiber, etc to lessen the warmth. Musk oxen thrive and love extremely cold weather and will become stressed if temps get too high. Thus, the reason that musk oxen must remain in the highest parts of the upper states or Canada.
This ox produces musk?
Yes during mating season the males give off a strong oder.
No, but they smell similar musk.
What the hell
Alaska needs a world class infrastructure - a state freeway connecting all of Alaska, bullet train/freight train, more airports etc.
agent no just leave the Wild alone
I'd like to ask this gentleman if breeding records of these critters have been properly maintained since the project began in the 1950's and if the animals you see here ARE selectively bred descendants of the original stock. It doesn't look like there was a single geneticist or zoologist on staff or they would have been introduced; it seems to be just this dude, his missus and a handful of undergrads from the university keeping the place going. I don't see any visible evidence of any science being done.
Lame. For such an interesting topic, this video shows nothing about what it means to "domesticate" a species. He gives no background for how/why he was able to join and be the ED of a Musk Ox farm. Who is this guy? Also, no information is given about what value there is to domesticating musk ox. The quiviut fiber is awesome, but there's nothing about the harvesting of it. I like this Indie Alaska series, but this one was not worth the time or money.