Overview
Domestic and feral yaks are smaller than wild yaks, with smaller horns and coloration that can vary from black to brown to reddish, or even mottled. Yaks on game ranches in North America are of this type. A huge bovine with a massive build. The shoulders form a hump, behind which the back is nearly straight. Legs are short and stout, ending in large, broad hoofs. Muzzle and ears are relatively small. There is no dewlap. The hair of the head and upper body is comparatively short and smooth, but on the lower flanks it forms a long fringe that extends from chin and throat along the belly and around the shoulders to the hindquarters, reaching almost to the ground. The tail has a mass of long hairs on its lower half that reaches below the hocks. Color is a uniform blackish-brown, except for some white on the muzzle and a sprinkling of gray on the head and face of older animals. The horns (both sexes) are widely separated, nearly circular in section, and smooth. They curve out and up at first, then inward and forward with the tips often inclining backward. Horn lengths from 29-40 inches (74-102 cm) and basal circumferences from 12-18.5 inches (30.5-47 cm) have been recorded by Rowland Ward, mainly from animals taken prior to 1914. Horns of females are much slimmer than those of males.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammal
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Bovidae
- Genus
- Bos
Habitat
Found in a variety of terrain where introduced. Distribution-Asia, North America, United States.
Diet
Grazes and browses.
Behavior
Females and young live in large herds. Adult males are solitary or in small bachelor groups. During the mating season bulls join the herds and fight for possession of females. After a 9-month gestation period, a single calf is born. Females give birth every other year. The calf leaves the mother when one year old, reaches full size at 6-8 years. A sure-footed and strong climber. They are used for riding, as pack animals and for their meat, milk and wool. Strong, docile and sure-footed, they are the most useful domestic animals at higher elevations.
Hunting
SCI does not accept Wild Yaks for the Record Book, but does accept entries for the plentiful and unendangered feral yak which this is the specie page for.
Conservation Status
There is not an IUCN listing. This animal is plentiful across its range and is not the focus of conservation efforts unlike the Vulnerable Wild Yak which is a protected specie. It is estimated there are as many as 12 million domestic and feral yaks, but probably only 1200 wild yaks which are listed as vulnerable.