UK’s only musk-ox calf born in Scotland

Highland Wildlife Park's female musk-ox, Karin, has given birth to the Park's first ever musk-ox calf. Picture: Contributed

• UK’s only musk-ox calf born at Highland Wildlife Park in Kingussie

• Birth is part of programme to return musk-ox to Scotland

Little Belle is the first musk-ox calf to be born in the UK in the last 17 years as part of a plan to reintroduce the Arctic species to Scotland.

She was born last month at the Highland Wildlife Park in Kingussie, Inverness-shire, to the UK’s only musk-ox pair.

Her first few weeks were spent finding her feet indoors but she is now starting to venture out into her enclosure under the watchful eye of her mother Karin.

Belle’s birth, to parents Karin and Myse, is also a significant step forward in the plan to bring the musk-ox back to Scotland for the first time since the 1920s.

Animal husbandry experts at the Highland Wildlife Park imported 11-year-old Karin and three-year-old Myse in 2012.

A special enclosure had to be built at the park, as adult musk-ox are muscular and destructive.

Douglas Richardson, Head of Living Collections at Highland Wildlife Park, said: “Although strong and fairly belligerent, the musk-ox is a very challenging species to manage well, especially when it comes to breeding and infant survival.

“The adults are pretty robust, but their offspring can easily become ill from a wide variety of causes.

“Our success to date with Belle gives us a good indication that our husbandry and preventative medicine regime are on the right track.”