Congenital cataract and spherophakia leading to starvation in a free-ranging muskox neonate from the Northwest Territories, Canada

Abstract

A muskox neonate (Ovibos moschatus) that died of starvation was diagnosed with congenital lenticular anomalies that included spherophakia and hypermature cataract associated with probable lens-induced lymphocytic uveitis and neutrophilic keratitis. Impaired sight as a result of cataract and associated inflammation likely contributed to abandonment and starvation, although maternal death cannot be excluded definitively. Ocular lesions, such as congenital cataracts and spherophakia in neonates, may be important factors affecting survival in free-ranging animals.