As true residents of the North, muskox are an odd mix of parts. Their great shaggy coats allow them to hunker down almost anywhere in winter -- but that can be by necessity not choice; travelling in deep snow is not easy for animals with stubby legs.

Unlike rangy, long-legged caribou -- the other major Arctic ungulate -- muskox are not well-designed for traversing the huge open spaces that distinguish their native habitat.

But muskox are survivors -- they know how to endure -- and short legs are not enough to stop these eccentric animals in their tracks. Over the last few decades, muskox have managed to spread far and wide over northern Alaska and the Yukon, and are continuing to expand their range across the North Slope.

Muskox had all but disappeared from the North by the late 1850s, most likely because of overhunting. A reintroduction program has restored muskox to parts of their former range in Alaska, and they have been increasing their numbers in the Yukon as well.

"It is interesting to see how these supposedly sedentary animals have moved. They will stay in one spot for years and years and years, then move 60 miles in a short time, and then live there for years," says Dorothy Cooley, the northern regional biologist with the Yukon Government.

For the past eight years Cooley has been tracking the numbers of muskox in the Yukon, counting them from the air and monitoring some animals with satellite collars. In the July, 2001 census, 192 muskox were spotted in a survey area in the northern Yukon.

While this number was a big jump from the previous count of 150, three of the muskox in the Yukon census had originally been collared in Alaska. "With muskox movements in and out of our survey area, even just a few animals can make a big difference when the total population is so small," says Cooley.

All of the muskox in the Yukon and Alaska are descendants of 31 animals transplanted to Nunivak Island in the 1935. Originally shipped to Alaska from Greenland, these muskox multiplied steadily and over time their descendants were transplanted to other parts of the state.

Muskox were released on the Seward Peninsula in 1970 and 1981, and reintroduced into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in 1969 when 51 muskox were released. Another 13 animals were transplanted into the refuge the following year.

There are now between 700 and 800 muskox in ANWR, and they have moved into areas both east and west of the refuge. Adult muskox were sighted in the Yukon as early as the summer of 1973.

Must muskox sightings in the territory are from Ivvavik National Park, but in recent years muskox have also been seen as far south as Old Crow, the banks of the Peel River and along the Dempster Highway.

"The Dempster is one of the few places in North America where you can drive and see a muskox," adds Cooley.

About two-thirds of the total world population of muskox live on Victoria Island and Banks Island in the Northwest Territories. The muskox on Banks Island in Canada have received a great deal of attention in recent years because the muskox population there has increased dramatically while the number of caribou on the island has declined.

Biologists do not think that the muskox directly caused this decline as the caribou on the island were also hunted for years. Cooley also points out that the Banks Island situation is very different from that of the North Slope where there is ample room for both caribou and muskox to spread out. During their migration, the caribou spend only a few months each year in areas where the muskox live.

"There are areas in the world where caribou and muskox do coexist already, so the simple presence of muskox does not automatically mean that caribou will decline. These muskox have already been on the calving grounds -- the most sensitive habitat of the Porcupine Caribou Herd -- for 30 years."

Also the two species may not directly compete for food, as muskox are not as dependent on lichen in winter as are caribou. Since traveling in winter is difficult for muskox, they have learned to stay put and make do with whatever food is close at hand.

"Often they will winter on a wind-blown ridge and they have to eat whatever grows on that slope," says Cooley.

"For example on the Seward Peninsula they eat a lot of grass, but in the Thelon Game Sanctuary (in the NWT), they eat woody plants."

In 1994, the Wildlife Management Advisory Council (North Slope) began drafting a management plan for muskox on the Yukon North Slope. As many groups of people in the North are interested in this plan, it is being expanded to include the traditional territories of the Vuntut Gwitch'in, the Tetlit Gwich'in and the Nacho Nyak Dun. Workshops to develop a larger plan are scheduled for this winter.

For more information on the management plan or on muskox in the Yukon, contact Dorothy Cooley at (867) 993-6461 or dorothy.cooley@gov.yk.ca or the Wildlife Management Advisory Council (North Slope) at (867) 633-5476 or wmacns@web.net.