Breeds of Livestock - Yak Breeds

Yaks are a long-haired cousin of cattle. They are found throughout the Himalaya region of southern Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau, and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. Most yaks are domesticated. However there are small populations of wild yaks in these regions.

Yaks diverged from cattle millions of years ago. There is some suggestion that they may be closely related to Bison.

Thousands of years ago yaks were domesticated primarily for their milk, fiber, and meat. Their dried poop is an important fuel in Tibet, and often is the only fuel available on the high treeless plateaus.
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Breeds of Yaks

There are the following breeds of Yaks:

Plateau Grassland

Plateau Grassland Yaks are found on the cold highland pastures in Qinghai province of China. They look similar to wild Yaks, but they are domesticated.

These yaks have a relatively large body and a big head. Both sexes are horned. Like the wild yak, they have greyish-white hair down their back and around their muzzle and eye.

They adapt well to the cold and humid climate of high elevation.

Tibetan

The yaks of Tibet are kept on high mountain pastures, which often suffer from overgrazing. Tibetan yaks are primarily black and have horns.

Valley

Valley Yaks are found in the valleys of North and East Tibet, as well as in some parts of Sichuan and Yuman provinces.

White

White Yaks are found in Tibet, and southwest China. White Yaks were once considered a divine animal.

Today White Yaks are raised for meat, milk, and hides. Their hides are used for leather products.

Wild

Wild yaks usually are found in herds of ten to thirty animals.

They have dense close matted under hair as well as shaggy outer hair.

Wild yaks secrete a special sticky substance in their sweat which helps keep their under-hair matted and acts as extra insulation. This secretion is used in some traditional Nepalese medicine. Many wild yaks are killed by hunters in China and are now a vulnerable species.