Shaggy

Hi, kids! I’m Shaggy, a musk ox. Musk oxen like me live in the Arctic tundra in northern Canada, Greenland, Alaska, and Russia. It’s really cold up here, but God has equipped us with just the right features to live here all year. We have a thick coat with two layers. The first layer is thick and long to keep the snow and rain from the second layer, which is shorter but very warm. I have the warmest wool of any animal! And that’s a good thing because I need it when winter comes!

I belong to the bovine, or “cow”, kind along with domestic cows and buffalo. God created the original members of the bovine kind with the genetic information to make cows that can survive in very warm climates and musk oxen like me that can survive in one of the coldest environments on earth. We have a very wise Creator!

Class: Mammalia
Order: Cetartiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Genus/Species: Ovibos moschatus
Size: 4–5 ft
Weight: 500–800 lbs
Diet: Roots, mosses, lichens, grasses, and flowers
Habitat: Arctic tundra in Canada, Greenland, Alaska, and Russia

Verse

“But God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Apologetics Focus

Though now I live in the freezing cold Arctic, did you know that there weren’t any polar ice caps when God first created the world? Because God’s original creation had just one landmass with a greater percentage of land that was likely closer to the equator, everything was nice and warm. But during the global Flood of Noah’s day, that land mass broke apart into the seven continents we have today. Volcanoes that erupted during the Flood warmed the oceans, and ash in the air blocked out sunlight. This made the water warm and the air cold, leading to lots of snowfall and an Ice Age. As the effects of the Flood started to wear off, the glaciers retreated to the Arctic where they are today.

The polar ice caps remind us that earth has been through some pretty tough times. But God cares for the earth and is in control of it, and he is still reaching out to people. The Bible is a great big love letter to us, telling us how we can be saved. It says, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart God that has raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

Learn More

• Musk Ox
• American Bison