HomeCuriosity CornerJune 17 - Muskox! What?

June 17 – Muskox! What?

 Posted on June 17, 2021

This is an update of my post published on June 17, 2010:

June 17 - Muskox! What?
On this date in 1869, the English explorer Henry Kelsey spotted a muskox. He described it as an “ill-shapen beast.”


It is the first recording of a sighting of a muskox other than the native peoples of North America.

Muskoxen live in the Arctic, in Greenland, Canada, and Alaska. They are valued for their meat, milk, and fine wool—so much so, that they have been reintroduced in Siberia and introduced for the (apparently) first time in Scandinavian countries.

June 17 - Muskox! What?

I found it interesting that muskoxen are more closely related to sheep and goats than to oxen.

Their name in English refers to the strong, musky smell when they are in rut. The various native names for the creatures refer to their appearance rather than their smell:

umingmak = “the bearded one” in Inuktituk
mâthi-môs = “ugly moose” in Woods Cree

mâthi-mostos = “ugly bison” also in Woods Cree



Also on this date:

June 17 - Muskox! What?Eat Your Vegetables Day 





June 17 - Muskox! What?
Iceland’s National Day



June 17 - Muskox! What?


Artist M. C. Escher’s birthday




June 17 - Muskox! What?
Stewart’s Root Beer Day






June 17 - Muskox! What?

Bunker Hill Day



June 17 - Muskox! What?

World Day to Combat Desertification





June 17 - Muskox! What?


Father’s Day in Guatemala and El Salvador


June 17 - Muskox! What?


National Garbage Man Day






June 17 - Muskox! What?

World Tessellation Day





June 17 - Muskox! What?

Turtle Days

(June 16 – 19, 2021)

June 17 - Muskox! What?

Anniversary of the “Steal Treaty”

June 17 - Muskox! What?


Dump the Pump Day

(Third Thursday of June)


Plan ahead:


Check out my Pinterest boards for:
  • June holidays
  • June birthdays
  • Historical anniversaries in June

And here are my Pinterest boards for:


  • July holidays
  • July birthdays
  • Historical anniversaries in July

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