Muskox
Did you know?
Muskoxen have secret weapon against the cold – a two-layer coat. Their soft underwool, called qiviut (“kiv-ee-ute”) is warmer than sheep’s wool and softer than cashmere. They shed it in spring.
NEWS: We have a muskox calf! Read all about him and mom Charlotte.
Discover Muskoxen
Meet our Muskoxen
Protecting Muskox
THE THREAT: Muskoxen were hunted for meat and hides in the 19th and 20th centuries, and their populations plummeted.
TAKE ACTION: The Northwest Game Act of 1917 allowed for conservation efforts that helped their recovery, and there are now around 80,000 muskoxen in the wild. Conservation works!
Arctic Stories
What a year this has been! From clouded leopard AI to a new muskox calf, from Zoolights to HeroRATs and everything in between, we’ve captured this year in our best photos of 2020.
Glue? Tape? Dye? It’s all part of our mission to help protect polar bears in the wild, with a new scientific study that Zoo guests may soon watch in action. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, with its beloved polar bear Blizzard, has worked for years with the non-profit Polar Bears International (PBI) to tell the … Continued
TACOMA, Wash. – Boris, an elderly polar bear believed to be the oldest male of his species on the planet, was humanely euthanized at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium on Sept. 1 following a significant decline in his health. He was 34, a one-time circus bear who found a stable home in Tacoma, where he … Continued
