Meet Pretzel, the new muskox companion for Willow

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is excited to introduce Pretzel, a one-year-old female muskox, who will be a companion for fellow one-year-old Willow.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Pretzel to our Arctic Tundra family,” said Curator Jen DeGroot. “Her arrival is critical to ensuring that all of our muskoxen continue to thrive.”

Willow and her mother, Charlotte, have been closely bonding since Willow’s birth in September 2023. They were initially separated from Willow’s father, Hudson, due to Willow’s smaller size. Now that Willow has grown and has been weaned, zoo staff are eager to fully reunite Charlotte with Hudson. Charlotte currently divides her time between Hudson and Willow.

“Muskoxen are social animals, and their wellbeing is best supported in a herd,” DeGroot explained.

However, Willow is still too small to live in the same area as Hudson, making Pretzel’s introduction essential.

“We’re optimistic that Willow and Pretzel will quickly bond, explore their habitat and play together on the grassy hills,” DeGroot added.

Pretzel comes to Point Defiance Zoo from the Large Animal Research Station of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where her care team describes her as “the sweetest muskox” who “has everyone wrapped around her hooves.” Like Willow, Pretzel enjoys playing with swinging and hanging enrichment items.

Pretzel has moved into the side yard of the zoo’s muskoxen habitat and is visible to guests. She and Willow are getting to know each other through a barrier and will soon share a larger Arctic Tundra habitat next to Charlotte and Hudson. As the young muskoxen grow, zoo staff say they plan to have all four muskoxen eventually share the same space.

Muskoxen females typically mature at between one and three years. Currently, Pretzel weighs 234 pounds while Willow weighs 350 pounds. This is a stark contrast to Hudson, who weighs around 800 pounds, and Charlotte who tops 600 pounds.

Muskoxen are an ancient species that has roamed the tundra and prairies of Greenland, Alaska, and northern Canada for millennia. Their populations faced severe declines due to hunting in the early 20th century, but conservation efforts, such as the Northwest Game Act of 1917, have successfully restored their numbers to around 80,000 in the wild.

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