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YAK
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The long horned, shaggy coated yak is one of the
hairiest species of cattle. It is one of the few animals able to
thrive on the barren Tibetan plateau where the air is icy and thin.
Herds of wild yak, each up to a thousand, once roamed the desolate high
country of central Asia. Because of over hunting, probably only 500
wild yaks remain today. The domestic yak is numerous, however, and
plays a vital role in the lives of the tribes that live in the mountains
north of the Himalayas.
Habitat: The wild yak lives high among the snow-covered mountains of Tibet at altitudes between 13,000 and 20,000 feet. Its thick skin and long shaggy cot, which almost reaches the ground, protect it from the bitter cold. Its coat is so thick and warm that the yak can sleep comfortably directly on the snow.
Despite its heavy and ungainly appearance, the yak is actually an agile mountain climber. Sure footed and hardy, it wearily covers great distances through its rocky homeland. During the cooler summer months of August and september, the wild yak used to tember over the highest snow covered ground, only moving to lower, more sheltered areas as winter approached. Today the remaining wild yaks have been driven by man's presence into more remote areas.
Breeding: Like other cattle, female yaks, or cows, and their young gather together in large herds, while the males are either solitary or live in small bachelor herds. Females mate at one to three years of age, but males do not mate until the can establish a harem of females, usually when they are five or six years old. At the start of breeding season, the mature males, or bulls, join the main herds and begin competing for access to the females. During this period the males engage in fierce, noisy fights that are mainly tests of strength and seldom result in injury.
Food & Feeding: The yak feeds on lichen, herbs, and course grasses that grow high in the mountains. Was the snow melts during the brief summer, fresh vegetation sprouts high in the mountains, so the yak herds roam up into higher pastures. When winter returns , the yaks descends to graze the valleys.
The yak is able to thrive on a meager diet because its digestive diet because its digestive system is so efficient. Like other ruminants, or cud chewers, yaks partially digest their food before regurgitating it and chewing it a second time. They swallow the food once again. Eventually the food passes through three more stomachs that digest every bit or nutrition from it..
Yaks & Man: The yaks greatest strength and its ability to survive at high altitudes have made it invaluable to many nomadic mountain peoples. Domestic yaks are both ridden and used as pack animals. Their wool is spun into yarn for clothing, and their milk is drunk and made into cheese and butter. Both wild and domestic yaks are killed for their meat and skins.
The domestic yak is some what smaller than its wild counter part and its coat is less shaggy. The domestic yak is also more docile than the wild yak. Because of their hardiness, yaks are often crossbred with other breeds of cattle. Thus, if the true species is to be preserved, wild yaks must be protected.
Key Facts: Sizes, Weight, breeding, lifestyle, related Species
Height: Height: Up to 6 1/2 at shoulder
Weight: Males up to 2,000lb, Females up
to 800 lbs
Length: Up to 6 1/2 ft at shoulder
Breeding:
Sexual Maturity: Females 1 - 3 years,
Mles at least 5 years
Gestation: 9 months
No of young: 1 calf
Lifestyle:
Diet: Grass, lichen, and ground vegitation
Life span: Up to 25 years
Call: A deep grunt, mainly during the
breeding season.
Habit: Cows and calves live in large herds.
Bulls live aone or in groups of 2 or 3.
Related Species: The yak is one of 5 speicies
of oxen which includes domestic cattle, Bos taurus
Distribution: The wild yak is rare in
the high plateaus of its range in central Asiua, north of the Himalayas.
The domestic yak is more widespread.
Conservation: Threatened by hunting, the
wild yak is classified as endangered. In China numbers have fallen drastically.
Only about 500 now exsist in the wild.
Special adaptions of the Yak:
The yak has a number of special adaptations
that enable it to live in the extreme cold of the Himalayan mountains.
Body: The yak has a short, compact body
and thick, shaggy fur that keeps it warm in the severely cold climate.
Legs: Short and powerful giving the yak
balance and agiltiy on the steep, icy mountain slopes.
The yaks cleft, or split, hooves help
it grip the often icy and rocky ground.
Did you know:
The yak was first domesticated in Tibet over
3,000 years ago.
The wilds yak's original scientific name, Bos
grunniens, means "grunting ox"
The wild yak only grunts during the breeding
season, while the domestic yak grunts continuously.
The yak's stomach contents ferment at an internal
temperature of 104º F, providing the animal with central heating so
it can survive temperatures of 0º F.
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