What is it about?
Aging wildlife is often difficult because birth date is often unknown. For hunted species like muskoxen, the jaw is a useful tool for estimating age. Tooth eruption pattern, jaw measurements, and close study of dental features such as cementum can help estimate age.
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Why is it important?
Knowing how old an animal is might seem like a small detail, but is an important piece of the bigger picture when trying to understand wildlife populations. Without birth records, methods to accurately determine age becomes a useful clue to know how long animals are living, how often they reproduce, and how their health changes as they get older. For species like muskoxen, this kind of information is essential for tracking population trends, identifying potential stressors, and making decisions that support their long-term survival. By using something as simple as a jaw to estimate age, we gain insight into the current status and trajectory of a population.
Perspectives
While aging muskoxen might seem like a niche topic, and it absolutely is, this article represents an important step forward in how we study and understand this species. By improving how accurately we can determine age, we also improve the quality of health data and open doors to deeper research questions. Muskoxen are a vulnerable species in the rapidly changing Arctic, where rising temperatures and unpredictable conditions are reshaping their world. To understand the response to these stressors a key indicator is age and if certain ages are susceptible. I hope this article sparks curiosity about this remarkable Ice Age survivor and shows how even research that may seem small or mundane plays a vital role in the bigger picture of conservation and wildlife health. For me, this work is about more than just counting years on a tooth; it is about piecing together the life histories of a species that has endured for thousands of years and helping ensure they continue to thrive in the future.
Erica Suitor
University of Calgary
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: A refined guide for aging muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) based on mandibular examination, PLOS One, September 2025, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0328994.
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