Historical Human Interaction and Population Dynamics

Key Insight

The muskox population on Banks Island faced significant human impact, notably after the 1851 abandonment of HMS Investigator. Copper Eskimos, previously isolated, used salvaged iron and canvas to improve tools and shelters, leading to annual hunting excursions. They skillfully drove muskoxen onto hilltops where dogs held them at bay, using copper- and iron-tipped arrows to kill animals with precise anatomical knowledge. Archaeological sites like PjRa-18 contain over 27000 bone pieces from approximately 250 muskoxen, evidencing extensive hunting that led to a population collapse by about 1890.

Wider commercial exploitation contributed to further declines in other regions. In the 19th century, muskoxen in the eastern subarctic were exterminated by Indigenous hunters to supply American whalers and for trade with the Hudson's Bay Company. In the early 20th century, Norwegian fur trappers in northeast Greenland killed hundreds for meat, bait, and to feed sled dogs and zoo-bound animals. Zoos played a direct role in mass killings between 1899 and 1926, as securing a single calf required killing an estimated five adults, resulting in some 2000 deaths before an international agreement ceased the practice.

Despite these historical pressures, muskoxen have demonstrated remarkable recovery. After being virtually unseen on Banks Island from 1918 to 1952, surveys in the early 1970s confirmed between 1200 and 1800 animals, skyrocketing to 16000 to 18000 by the early 1980s. This phenomenal resurgence, partially unexplained, is strongly linked to lush sedge meadows and grasslands in areas like the Thomsen River Valley, Sadlerochit River drainage, and other high Arctic refugia such as Bailey Point and Mokka Fiord. Today, populations stand at approximately 1000 in Alaska, 40000 in Canada, and 1500 in Greenland, though these numbers are vulnerable to environmental and human disruptions.