Musk oxen are a species unique to the Arctic tundra.
In summer, they prefer the shelter of moist lowlands, such as river valleys and lakesides; in winter they move to higher slopes, plateaus, and areas with deep snow accumulation, which facilitates foraging.
Under normal circumstances, musk oxen seem exceptionally docile, stopping to eat some food, then lying flat on the ground to chew their cud slowly, and soon nodding off to sleep.
When they are slightly more awake, they continue to walk a distance, and then repeat the same routine, eating, ruminating, and dozing off.
Though it seems like a lazy behavior, it actually contains the survival wisdom of polar creatures.
This not only reduces energy consumption but also lowers food demands.
Because musk oxen are extremely efficient at conserving energy, the food they need is only 1/6th of what an equally sized cow would require.
It is precisely for this reason that Bi Fang could afford to wait a whole day in pursuit.
Even when walking naturally, he was confident he could catch up to the musk oxen.
Add to that the rich scent on the grassland, proving that the herd of musk oxen had not left long ago, definitely not more than five days.
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Of course, moving slowly doesn’t mean musk oxen can’t run fast; during the breeding season, these behemoths weighing over 350 kilograms can reach speeds close to 50 kilometers per hour.
With their terrifying mass and speed comes an immense momentum; these furry behemoths of the Arctic Circle colliding head-on uses their sharp, massive horns against opponents, shaking the earth at the moment of impact.
What’s more fatal is that, over a lifespan of 10 to 12 years, a male musk ox’s head might endure more than 2100 impacts.
The audience, hearing this frightening number, almost jumped out of their seats.
[2100 times???]
[Momentum of 5000...]
[Can someone calculate how much kinetic energy that is in joules?]
[I did the math, a momentum of 5000 is about 35,000 joules of kinetic energy...]
[The muzzle energy of an AK47 is around 2000 joules (covering face)]
[Wouldn’t getting hit by this thing be like getting shot by an anti-aircraft gun?]
How do musk oxen survive these attacks without their brains turning to mush?
This is the question that lingered in everyone’s mind, unable to be shaken off.
As if seeing the mythical oxen that create mountains.
"People have always believed that animals like musk oxen and bighorn sheep, which use their heads to attack, are somewhat immune to head injuries. It’s as if they possess magical horns."
"But in reality, these impacts do cause damage, not only are they not immune, but the impacts can also cause chronic damage to the musk oxen’s brains, similar to dementia in humans."
Bi Fang’s statement is based on scientific evidence; musk oxen’s behavior is also humanity’s first foray into detecting whether this kind of collision causes damage to animals.
"Within a creature’s brain, there’s a type of protein called tau. Whether due to aging, genetic issues, or mechanical influences, when neurons are damaged, they are torn apart, tau proteins break down and form clumps."
"And when detected with fluorescent markers, the tau proteins in the brains of musk oxen shine like a lit Christmas tree."
"Evolution can lead a species down the astonishing path of self-destruction."
Bi Fang revealed a shocking truth.
All evolution, in essence, is for the better reproduction of species.
The survival of the individual, in fact, is inconsequential.
This was also the cruelest scene in the evolution.
As for whether musk oxen are really suffering from dementia or similar diseases, who would know?
Musk oxen do not have behavioral scales, and humans do not know whether they feel forgetful.
One thing is beyond doubt; their brains are damaged.
"Every year, musk oxen engage in many fights, but if they want to successfully reproduce even once, they have to ram, catalyzing chronic death to the brain. From an evolutionary perspective, as long as musk oxen ’do not die,’ it’s fine."
Viewer: "???"
"For example, the antechinus is a small carnivorous animal native to the Australian Mainland and Tasmania, and they have a feature, which is ’once in a lifetime birth.’
"Meaning they reproduce once and then die. Female antechinus can live for 2 to 3 years, or even longer. Males rarely live past 11 months."
"They have a frenzied mating season, where males can mate for 12 to 14 hours during their reproductive period, then each male will mate with as many females as possible—leading to their death."
"This is somewhat like a beehive, where worker bees do not reproduce themselves to successfully pass on genes, but rather help their mother, the queen bee of the colony, reproduce offspring."
"An ant colony or a beehive is more like a large animal, where the queen ant or queen bee represents the reproductive organs. These numerous worker bees require only a small amount of resources to raise, so in some ways, they are similar to human body cells."
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"So, musk oxen are actually the same. As long as they can promote reproduction, the individual’s survival situation is, in fact, trivial compared to the entire population."
"This also leads to the fact that male musk oxen do not live past 15 years, while female musk oxen can live 15 to 23 years."
"Their lives are not that complicated. So, they may only live to do what needs to be done and that’s it."
Newly made snowshoes were constructed from planks, which offered at least several times better effectiveness than the initial simplistic branch version. They sank mere centimeters into the snow, stopping there and reducing the resistance to the minimum.
Bi Fang moved towards the distance, while the viewers were still caught up in the "harsh truth" they had just heard, unable to pull themselves out of it.
[Do humans have such individual reproductive defects?]
A viewer asked.
"Not clear for the time being," Bi Fang shook his head. This was an area of knowledge he was not familiar with, or perhaps nobody had studied this aspect, but without a doubt, they indeed exist.
But he couldn’t go into detail. Bi Fang was afraid the livestream would be banned, cough cough.
Though the probability is low, it’s still better to speak less about it.
[I have been hurt by wine and lust, to the point of looking haggard! From today onwards, I quit drinking!]
[You don’t even mention it]
[Can’t be lewd]
[By the heavens above, I shall not coexist with gambling and drugs!]
After chasing for an entire day, Bi Fang had no luck. Watching the sun set again, Bi Fang sat down on the ground.
Compared with when he first arrived, where daylight could last over six hours, now it didn’t even reach six hours, the time press was horrifying.
However, it was still too early in the day. After just a short contemplation, Bi Fang decided to continue traveling through the night.
Two consecutive days of clear weather, and the night was not so cold as to be intolerable; it would be a pity not to take advantage of it.
After a day’s chase, the best news was that signs of musk oxen finally appeared on the snow layer, visible to the naked eye, meaning that Bi Fang was only two days behind the musk oxen after the blizzard ended.
Bi Fang was confident he would catch up to them by the next morning.