Under such rigorous conditions musk-oxen thrive unless hunted by civilized man. They are strongly gregarious, usually traveling in herds of from six to twenty, but herds containing about 100 have been recorded. Their eyesight is not strong, but their sense of smell is good, and when danger is suspected they dash away with great celerity for such heavily formed animals. If rocky ground is near, they seek refuge in it and ascend steep, broken slopes with astonishing agility.
When brought to bay, the herd forms a circle about the calves and, with heads out, presents to the enemy an unbroken front of sharp horns. So long as the circle remains unbroken such a defense is extremely effective against both dogs and wolves. The only natural enemies of musk-oxen are wolves, and against these and the primitive weapons of the Eskimos they hold their own very well.
When the Greely Expedition landed at Lady Franklin Bay in 1881, musk-oxen were encountered and killed practically on the site where winter quarters were established. Since then several exploring and hunting parties have taken heavy toll from the herds of that region. Some accounts of the wholesale killings do not make pleasant reading for one who desires the perpetuation of our native species. Fortunately for the musk-oxen, the adventurers of these northern quests are few and far between, so that on departing they leave the game animals in their vast solitudes to recuperate from these onslaughts.
Musk-oxen have but a single young, so that between depredations of wolves and overkilling by white and native hunters these animals face the very real danger of extermination threatening so many other game animals in the far North. For this reason, it is hoped that sportsmen who visit these remote game fields will restrain a desire for making large bags.
FLORIDA MANATI (Trichechus latirostris)
The manatis, or manatees, are strange aquatic mammals, with seal-like heads and whalelike bodies. Compared with whales, their flippers are more flexible at the joints, and thus can be used much more freely. They have very small eyes and a heavy upper lip, deeply cleft in the middle and forming a thick lobe on each side. The skin is hairless and covered with fine wrinkles.
These animals inhabit the rivers entering the sea and shallow coastal lagoons on both sides of the Atlantic, in tropical parts of West Africa and of eastern North and South America. The South American species ascends the Amazon and its tributaries well up toward their headwaters.
The Florida manati regularly frequents the coast from eastern Florida to Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies; in summer it sometimes strays as far north as the coast of Virginia.
This species attains an extreme length of more than 15 feet and a weight of more than 1,500 pounds, but the average size is much less. A large specimen exhibited alive at New Orleans the winter of 1912 weighed 1,310 pounds and is reported to have eaten daily from 60 to 100 pounds of grass. One captured near Point Isabel, Texas, measured a few inches more than 15 feet in length.
Manatis were formerly plentiful in the Indian River and elsewhere along the Florida coast, but were shot and netted to the verge of extermination. They were killed not only for amusement by thoughtless sportsmen, but many were killed by residents for their flesh, which was salted down like beef for future use. The flesh is said to be well flavored and not unlike beef.