Miquel Angel Artús Illana
Female Fight
Fight between two female musk oxen, Norway, 2021
Category - Polar Wonders
This image was captured in Norway’s Drovefjil National Park, where the musk ox (Ovibos moschatus) was reintroduced several years ago for its conservation. It is normal for males of this species to engage in fierce battles during the mating season. What is more unusual and makes the image special is that rather than males, it shows two females. I don’t know the reasons for this behaviour, which followed an unexpected encounter between two herds at the top of a hill: while the male of one of the herds left the scene without fighting, the females chose to confront each other.
500 mm f/5.6 Lens - 1/1600 sec at f/8 ISO 1250