Hunting season open for musk oxen stranded on ice off Alaska

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska opened hunting season for musk oxen stranded on ice floes off the western coast of the mainland last Thursday.

Musk oxen, a species indigenous to Alaska, get stranded on the sheets of floating ice after wandering onto the sea ice when it is breaking up, KTOO Public Media reported Friday.

Most musk oxen in Alaska are found in the coastal waters near Nunivak Island and Nelson Island.

Residents do not need a hunting permit or a tag to kill musk oxen and can take up to two of them.

Hunters must submit photos to the state Department of Fish and Game verifying that the musk oxen were killed on free-floating ice floes surrounded by seawater within 48 hours of killing them.