Yak

For other uses, see Yak (disambiguation).

Yak
Conservation status
Vulnerable
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Bovidae Genus: Bos Species: Bos grunniens

The yak (Bos grunniens, but also Poephagus grunniens, though this new name is not universally accepted) is a long-haired bovine found throughout the Himalayan region of south Central Asia, the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia. In addition to a large domestic population, there is a small, vulnerable wild yak population. In Tibetan, the word yak refers only to the male of the species; a female is a dri or nak. In most languages which borrowed the word, including English, yak is usually used for both sexes.

Yaks are herd animals. Wild male yaks stand about two meters tall at the shoulder, the females about one third of that size, and domesticated yaks about one meter. Both types have long shaggy hair to insulate them from the cold. Wild yaks can be brown or black. Domesticated ones can also be white. Both males and females have horns.

Domestic yaks mate in about September; the females may first conceive at about 3-4 years of age, calving April to June about every other or every third year, apparently depending upon food supply. This gestation period is approximately 9 months. In the absence of more data, wild animals are assumed to mirror this reproductive behavior. Calves will be weaned at one year and become independent shortly thereafter. Yaks may live to somewhat more than 20 years.

Wild yaks

Wild yaks (Tibetan: drong) can weigh up to 1,200 kg (2,400 lb). They usually form groups of between 10 and 30 animals. Their habitat is treeless uplands like hills, mountains and plateaus between 3,200 m (10,500 ft) and roughly 5,400 m (18,000 ft). They eat grasses, lichens and other plants. They are insulated by dense, close, matted under-hair as well as their shaggy outer hair. [1] Yaks secrete a special sticky substance in their sweat which helps keep their under-hair matted and acts as extra insulation. This secretion is used in traditional Nepalese medicine. Many wild yaks are killed for food by the Tibetans; they are now a vulnerable species.[2]

Thubten Jigme Norbu, the elder brother of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, reports on his journey from Kumbum in Amdo to Lhasa in 1950 that:

"Before long I was to see the vast herds of drongs with my own eyes. The sight of those beautiful and powerful beasts who from time immemorial have made their home on Tibet\'s high and barren plateaux never ceased to fascinate me. Somehow these shy creatures manage to sustain themselves on the stunted grass roots which is all that nature provides in those parts. And what a wonderful sight it is to see a great herd of them plunging head down in a wild gallop across the steppes. The earth shakes under their heels and a vast cloud of dust marks their passage. At nights they will protect themselves from the cold by huddling up together, with the calves in the centre. They will stand like this in a snow-storm, pressed so close together that the condensation from their breath rises into the air like a column of steam. The nomad have occasionally tried to bring up young drongs as domestic animals, but they have never entirely succeeded. Somehow once they live together with human beings they seem to lose their astonishing strength and powers of endurance; and they are no use at all as pack animals, because their backs immediately get sore. Their immemorial relationship with humans has therefore remained that of game and hunter, for their flesh is very tasty."Tibet is My Country: Autobiography of Thubten Jigme Norbu, Brother of the Dalai Lama as told to Heinrich Harrer, p. 151. First published in German in 1960. English translation by Edward Fitzgerald, published 1960. Reprint, with updated new chapter, (1986): Wisdom Publications, London. ISBN 0-86171-045-2.

Domesticated yaks

A Tibetan yak.

Domesticated yaks are kept primarily for their milk, fiber, and meat, and as beasts of burden. They transport goods across mountain passes for local farmers and traders as well as in support of climbing and trekking expeditions; their dung is even burned as fuel. Yak milk is often processed to a cheese called chhurpi in Tibetan and Nepali languages, and byaslag in Mongolia. Often the pack animals are actually crossbreeds of the yak and Bos taurus (common domestic cattle). These are known in Tibetan as dzo or dzopkyo. Yaks grunt, and unlike cattle are not known to produce the characteristic bovine lowing sound.

Yak fibers are soft and smooth, in several colors, including shades of gray, brown, black and white. They are about 1.2 inches long and are combed or shed from the yak and then dehaired. The result is a splendid downy fiber that can be spun into yarn for knitting.

In sport

In parts of Tibet, yak racing is considered a high source of entertainment at traditional Tibetan festivals.

More recently, sports involving domesticated yaks, such as yak skiing, or yak polo, are being marketed as tourist attractions in Central Asian countries.

Gallery

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Yak

Wikispecies has information related to:

Yak

• http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/2892/summ
• ARKive - images and movies of the wild yak (Bos grunniens)
• h2g2 Yaks Edited Guide Entry
• International Yak Association (IYAK)
• European Yak Association (EYAK)
• Article on Yak breeds in FAO archives
• Yaks: The Official Animal of Tibet
• AnimalInfo.Org: Animal Info - Wild Yak

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