Overview
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 steppe and mountain areas at elevations up to 20,000 feet (6,100 m). Distribution- In India, the species is currently known from Ladakh region of Jammu & Kashmir (Rawat and Sankar 2011). In China, the species occurs in scattered populations on the Tibetan Plateau (Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Tibet), with the main populations remaining in the Chang Tang Reserve, covering 284,000 km² between in northern Tibet (Schaller and Liu 199, Fox et al. 2004), as well as in the Arjin Shan area of southeastern Xinjiang, and Kekexili Nature Reserve in Qinghai and adjacent areas of the Kunlun Mountains (Harris et al. 1999, Harris and Loggers 2004, Schaller et al. 2007). There are also isolated populations east and south of the main population, in the west central Tibet, south-central Qinghai, and western Gansu.Grubb (2005) mentions the existence of feral populations in a few places within China, but these do not appear to have conservation significance.
Diet
Grasses, herbs and lichens.
Behavior
Females and young live in large herds, which sometimes numbered in the thousands in past years. Adult males are solitary or in small bachelor groups. During the mating season in September, the bulls join the herds and fight for possession of females. After a 9-month gestation period, a single calf is born in June. Females give birth every other year. The calf leaves the mother when one year old, reaches full size at 6-8 years. Found in steppe and mountain areas at elevations up to 20,000 feet (6,100 m). Spends the warm months of August-September in high areas with permanent snow, descending to lower elevations the rest of the year. A sure-footed and strong climber.
Hunting
SCI does not accept wild yaks for the Record Book, but does accept entries for the plentiful and unendangered feral yak which we have a seperate specie page for.
Conservation Status
Listed as Vulnerable by IUCN with an estimated 1200 individuals. It is estimated there are as many as 12 million domestic and feral yaks which are not to be confused with the wild yak.