Yaks

Yak
A drawing of a yak
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Order:Artiodactyla
Family:Bovidae
Genus:Bos
Species:gruniens
Binomial name
Bos gruniens
Linnaeus, 1766

The yak (Bos grunniens) is a long-haired humped domestic bovine found in Tibet and throughout the Himalayan region of south central Asia. The word yak refers to the male of the species; a female is a dri or nak.

Wild yak (Bos mutus) stand about two meters tall at the shoulder. Domestic yak are about half that height. Both types have long shaggy hair to insulate them from the cold. Wild yak can be either brown or black. Domesticated ones can also be white. Yak milk is pink.

Domesticated yak are kept primarily for their milk and meat; they are also used as beasts of burden, transporting goods across mountain passes for local farmers and traders as well as in support of climbing and trekking expeditions. Often the pack animals are actually crossbreeds of the yak and Bos taurus (common domestic cattle). These are known in Tibetan as dzo or dzopkyo.

It is a known fact that unlike the cows, the yak grunts rather than mooing. Owing to the fact that many of them are killed for food by the Tibetans, the wild yak has become an endangered species.

The term "yak" is also loosely used to describe someone, preferably a male, who has a tendency to be unreasonably silly in specific circumstances. This term was originally derived from the behavior displayed by Weston High School student Jacob Rubens.

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