Editing Muskox (section)

== Ecology ==
During the summer, muskoxen live in wet areas, such as river valleys, moving to higher elevations in the winter to avoid deep snow. Muskoxen will eat grasses, [[arctic willow]]s, woody plants, lichens ''(above lichens are excluded from the menu)'', and mosses. When food is abundant, they prefer succulent and nutritious grasses in an area. Willows are the most commonly eaten plants in the winter. Muskoxen require a high threshold of fat reserves in order to conceive, which reflects their conservative breeding strategy. Winter ranges typically have shallow snow to reduce the energy costs of digging through snow to reach forage.<ref name="iucn" /> The primary predators of muskoxen are [[Arctic wolf|arctic wolves]], which may account for up to half of all mortality for the species. Other occasional predators, likely mainly predators of calves or infirm adults, can include [[grizzly bear]]s and [[polar bear]]s<ref name="Lent 1988" /> and [[wolverine]]s.{{Dubious | date=May 2023 }}{{Citation needed | date=May 2023 }}