Domestic Yak
Classification:
Order Artiodactyla
Family Bovidae
Bos grunniens
Conservation
Status:
Wild yaks are listed as endangered by USFWS, and are
listed on CITES appendix 1.
Description:
Yaks are stocky, ox-like animals with a broad head and large
humped shoulders. They have thick, wooly fur. The guard hairs are
short on the back and much longer along the sides, forming a fringed
cape that reaches almost to the ground. Their tail is long and
bushy, also with long guard hairs. Both sexes have horns. Wild
yaks can stand 6 ½ feet tall at the shoulders and weigh up to 2,200
pounds. Females are much smaller, reaching only a third of the
males’ weight. Domestic yaks are smaller than the wild form, and
have weaker horns. While wild yaks are always blackish brown,
domestic yaks can have reddish, brown, black, or mottled coloring.
Range:
Wild yaks are found only in a mountain chain extending
from the northern tip of India, along the border of Tibet, and into
the Chinese province of Qinghai. Domestic yaks can be found
throughout the Himalayas in association with people.
Habitat:
High-elevation plateaus and mountain slopes with sparse
vegetation. Yaks spend the warmest months at elevations up to
20,000 feet, migrating to lower elevations for the rest of the year.
Diet:
In the wild they eat grass, herbs, shrubs, and lichens. In
the zoo the receive prairie hay, alfalfa, LRZ grain (custom
herbivore diet)
Life
Cycle:
Wild yaks begin breeding in September. Mature males join the
females’ herds for approximately four weeks. Fighting between males
often looks fierce, but rarely results in injury. After breeding,
gestation lasts nine months. Most calves are born in June. In the
wild, females have a single calf every other year. Domestic yaks
have less predictable reproductive cycles, with some females giving
birth every year. Calves are independent by one year of age, and
reach full size at 6-8 years.
Did You Know?
· Wild yaks might have been domesticated more than 4,000 years ago
· They are used in travel and as draft animals, and are also valued for their milk, meat, wool, and dung (which is used as fuel).
· They require very little food, and like their wild relatives, they can withstand temperatures as low as -40°F. During blizzards, yak herds can lay motionless for days, facing away from the wind.
· Domestic yaks can reproduce with other varieties of domestic cattle.