Domestic Yak

About the Domestic Yak

The yak (Bos grunniens) is a species of long-haired domesticated Asian cattle found throughout the Himalayan region, the Tibetan Plateau, Tajikistan, the Pamir Mountains, and as far north as Mongolia and Siberia. It is descended from the wild yak (Bos mutus).

The English word Yak originates from the Tibetan: གཡག་, Wylie: g.yag. In Tibetan and Balti it refers only to the male of the species, the female being called Tibetan: འབྲི་, Wylie: 'bri or Tibetan: གནག, Wylie: gnag in Tibetan and Tibetan: ཧཡག་མོ་, Wylie: hYag-mo in Balti. In English, as in most other languages that have borrowed the word, yak is usually used for both sexes, with bull or cow referring to each sex separately.

Belonging to the genus Bos, yaks are related to cattle and bison. Mitochondrial DNA analyses to determine the evolutionary history of yaks have been inconclusive. The yak may have diverged from cattle at any point between one and five million years ago, and there is some suggestion that it may be more closely related to bison than to the other members of its designated genus. Apparent close fossil relatives of the yak, such as Bos baikalensis, have been found in eastern Russia... Wikipedia →