The yak ( Bos grunniens ) is a long-haired, short-legged mammal. It is an ox-like animal that was likely first domesticated in Tibet. Yaks thrive at elevations of 14,000–20,000 feet, mainly in China, but also in Central Asia, Mongolia, and Nepal. Wild yaks are sometimes classified as a separate species ( Bos mutus ) to differentiate them from domestic yaks. However, they can interbreed with various kinds of cattle. Domesticated yaks number at least 12 million and were bred for their ability to be trained and for high milk production. Their long hair is essential for survival, providing insulation against the extreme cold of their native high-altitude environments. They are also used for plowing and threshing, as well as for meat, hides, and fur.

Where do yaks live in the world?

Yaks are long-haired mammals that thrive at high altitudes of 14,000–20,000 feet, mainly in China, but also in Central Asia, Mongolia, and Nepal. They have adapted to the cold with a dense, double-layered coat that provides insulation against temperatures as low as -40 °C. Wild yaks once ranged from the Himalayas to Lake Baikal in Siberia. Today, they are mainly found in northern Tibet and the Ladakh steppe of India. They graze on grasses and herbs in the lower plains and retreat to higher plateaus for mosses and lichens. Additionally, wild yaks can be found in the Kunlun Mountains, where they share habitat with other ungulates like the Tibetan gazelle and goat antelope.

What do yaks look like?

The yak ( Bos grunniens ) is a long-haired, short-legged mammal that lives at elevations of 14,000–20,000 feet, mainly in China, but also in Central Asia, Mongolia, and Nepal. In China, they are known as "hairy cattle" because they are heavily fringed with long black hair over a shorter blackish or brown undercoat that keeps them warm in temperatures as low as –40 °C. Domesticated yaks can have variable coloring, with white splotches being common. Wild yaks are larger than domesticated yaks. Wild yak bulls can stand up to 2 meters tall at the shoulder and weigh over 800 kg, while cows weigh less than half as much. Like bison, the yak's head droops before high massive shoulders. Males have horns that are 80 cm long, while females have horns that are 50 cm long.

How do yaks survive in cold mountain environments?

Yaks are well-adapted to survive in cold, high-altitude mountain environments. Their dense, double-layered coats provide insulation against extreme cold, with coarse outer hair and a soft undercoat that traps body heat, allowing them to thrive in temperatures as low as -40 °C -40 °F . Yaks have a greater lung capacity than cattle, and they also have more and smaller red blood cells, which improves their blood's ability to transport oxygen. They are adapted to the low oxygen partial pressures of high altitude, and their hemoglobin has a high oxygen affinity, which allows for full saturation of the blood with oxygen at a lower partial pressure.

How do people use yaks in their daily lives?

The yak is a long-haired, short-legged mammal, likely first domesticated in Tibet. They are used as beasts of burden for Himalayan trade routes. People also use them for plowing and threshing, and as sources of meat, hides, and fur. Yak butter is a main dairy product, and their dried dung is a fuel source on the treeless Tibetan Plateau. Their long hair provides insulation against the extreme cold in high-altitude environments. Wild yaks graze on grasses and herbs in lower plains and retreat to higher plateaus for mosses and lichens.

What differences exist between wild and domesticated yaks?

Wild and domesticated yaks share a common ancestry, but they have distinct characteristics. Wild yaks, sometimes classified as a separate species ( Bos mutus ), are larger than their domesticated counterparts ( Bos grunniens ). Wild bulls can stand up to 2 meters tall and weigh over 800 kg, while cows weigh less than half as much. Domesticated yaks have more variable coloring, often with white splotches, unlike the typically dark coat of wild yaks. Domesticated yaks were bred for tractability and high milk production. They serve as beasts of burden and are used for plowing, threshing, and providing meat, hides, and fur. Wild yaks migrate to lower plains for grasses and herbs and retreat to higher plateaus for mosses and lichens.

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A black yak (Bos grunniens) stands on dry grass with snow-covered Himalayan mountains in the background in Nepal.

A yak (Bos grunniens) with long shaggy dark fur and curved horns grazes on grass in a field with leafless trees in the background.

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Related Topics:: pack animal; Why do yaks have long hair on their bodies?; What is a female yak called?; wild yak

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yak

mammal

Also known as: Bos grunniens

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What is a yak?
The yak (Bos grunniens) is a long-haired, short-legged mammal. It is an ox-like animal that was likely first domesticated in Tibet. Yaks thrive at elevations of 14,000–20,000 feet, mainly in China, but also in Central Asia, Mongolia, and Nepal.

Wild yaks are sometimes classified as a separate species (Bos mutus) to differentiate them from domestic yaks. However, they can interbreed with various kinds of cattle. Domesticated yaks number at least 12 million and were bred for their ability to be trained and for high milk production.

Their long hair is essential for survival, providing insulation against the extreme cold of their native high-altitude environments. They are also used for plowing and threshing, as well as for meat, hides, and fur.
3 Britannica Sources
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Where do yaks live in the world?
Yaks are long-haired mammals that thrive at high altitudes of 14,000–20,000 feet, mainly in China, but also in Central Asia, Mongolia, and Nepal. They have adapted to the cold with a dense, double-layered coat that provides insulation against temperatures as low as -40 °C.

Wild yaks once ranged from the Himalayas to Lake Baikal in Siberia. Today, they are mainly found in northern Tibet and the Ladakh steppe of India. They graze on grasses and herbs in the lower plains and retreat to higher plateaus for mosses and lichens. Additionally, wild yaks can be found in the Kunlun Mountains, where they share habitat with other ungulates like the Tibetan gazelle and goat antelope.
4 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What do yaks look like?
The yak (Bos grunniens) is a long-haired, short-legged mammal that lives at elevations of 14,000–20,000 feet, mainly in China, but also in Central Asia, Mongolia, and Nepal. In China, they are known as "hairy cattle" because they are heavily fringed with long black hair over a shorter blackish or brown undercoat that keeps them warm in temperatures as low as –40 °C. Domesticated yaks can have variable coloring, with white splotches being common.

Wild yaks are larger than domesticated yaks. Wild yak bulls can stand up to 2 meters tall at the shoulder and weigh over 800 kg, while cows weigh less than half as much. Like bison, the yak's head droops before high massive shoulders. Males have horns that are 80 cm long, while females have horns that are 50 cm long.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How do yaks survive in cold mountain environments?
Yaks are well-adapted to survive in cold, high-altitude mountain environments. Their dense, double-layered coats provide insulation against extreme cold, with coarse outer hair and a soft undercoat that traps body heat, allowing them to thrive in temperatures as low as -40 °C -40 °F.

Yaks have a greater lung capacity than cattle, and they also have more and smaller red blood cells, which improves their blood's ability to transport oxygen. They are adapted to the low oxygen partial pressures of high altitude, and their hemoglobin has a high oxygen affinity, which allows for full saturation of the blood with oxygen at a lower partial pressure.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How do people use yaks in their daily lives?
The yak is a long-haired, short-legged mammal, likely first domesticated in Tibet. They are used as beasts of burden for Himalayan trade routes. People also use them for plowing and threshing, and as sources of meat, hides, and fur. Yak butter is a main dairy product, and their dried dung is a fuel source on the treeless Tibetan Plateau. Their long hair provides insulation against the extreme cold in high-altitude environments. Wild yaks graze on grasses and herbs in lower plains and retreat to higher plateaus for mosses and lichens.
4 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What differences exist between wild and domesticated yaks?
Wild and domesticated yaks share a common ancestry, but they have distinct characteristics. Wild yaks, sometimes classified as a separate species (Bos mutus), are larger than their domesticated counterparts (Bos grunniens). Wild bulls can stand up to 2 meters tall and weigh over 800 kg, while cows weigh less than half as much. Domesticated yaks have more variable coloring, often with white splotches, unlike the typically dark coat of wild yaks.

Domesticated yaks were bred for tractability and high milk production. They serve as beasts of burden and are used for plowing, threshing, and providing meat, hides, and fur. Wild yaks migrate to lower plains for grasses and herbs and retreat to higher plateaus for mosses and lichens.
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1. yak
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

yak, (Bos grunniens), long-haired, short-legged oxlike mammal that was probably domesticated in Tibet but has been introduced wherever there are people at elevations of 4,000–6,000 metres (14,000–20,000 feet), mainly in China but also in Central Asia, Mongolia, and Nepal.

Wild yaks are sometimes referred to as a separate species (Bos mutus) to differentiate them from domestic yaks, although they are freely interbred with various kinds of cattle. Wild yaks are larger, the bulls standing up to 2 metres tall at the shoulder and weighing over 800 kg (1,800 pounds); cows weigh less than half as much. In China, where they are known as “hairy cattle,” yaks are heavily fringed with long black hair over a shorter blackish or brown undercoat that can keep them warm to –40 °C (−40 °F). Colour in domesticated yaks is more variable, and white splotches are common. Like bison (genus Bison), the head droops before high massive shoulders; horns are 80 cm (30 inches) long in the males, 50 cm in females.

It is not known with certainty when yaks were domesticated, although it is likely that they were first bred as beasts of burden for the caravans of Himalayan trade routes. Yaks’ lung capacity is about three times that of cattle, and they have more and smaller red blood cells, improving the blood’s ability to transport oxygen. Domesticated yaks number at least 12 million and were bred for tractability and high milk production. Yaks are also used for plowing and threshing, as well as for meat, hides, and fur. The dried dung of the yak is the only obtainable fuel on the treeless Tibetan plateau.

Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters

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Ruminant grazers, wild yaks migrate seasonally to the lower plains to eat grasses and herbs. When it gets too warm, they retreat to higher plateaus to eat mosses and lichens, which they rasp off rocks with their rough tongues. Their dense fur and few sweat glands make life below 3,000 metres difficult, even in winter. Yaks obtain water by eating snow when necessary. In the wild, they live in mixed herds of about 25, though some males live in bachelor groups or alone. Yaks seasonally aggregate into larger groups. Breeding occurs in September–October. Calves are born about nine months later and nursed for a full year. The mother breeds again in the fall after the calf has been weaned.

yakDomesticated yak (*Bos grunniens*) in Tibet Autonomous Region, China.

Wild yaks once extended from the Himalayas to Lake Baikal in Siberia, and in the 1800s they were still numerous in Tibet. After 1900 they were hunted almost to extinction by Tibetan and Mongolian herders and military personnel. Small numbers survive in northern Tibet and the Ladakh steppe of India, but they are not effectively protected. They are also endangered because of interbreeding with domestic cattle.

In the family Bovidae, the yak belongs to the same genus as cattle as well as the banteng, gaur, and kouprey of Southeast Asia. More distantly related are the American and European bison. Bos and Bison diverged from water buffalo (genus Bubalus) and other wild bovines about three million years ago. Despite its ability to breed with cattle, it has been argued that the yak should be returned to its former genus, Poephagus.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.

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