Yak Facts

About the yak

Yaks range over the Tibetan Plateau and the wider Himalayan region, Tajikistan and the Pamir Mountains, and north into Mongolia and Siberia. They descend from the wild yak and belong to the genus Bos, alongside cattle and bison. A thick coat of long fur hangs below the belly, and both sexes carry a hump over the shoulders, larger in bulls.

Domestic bulls weigh 350 to 585 kg and cows 225 to 255 kg, while wild bulls can reach 1,000 kg. A bull's horns sweep out sideways and curve back, measuring 48 to 99 cm. Cows have smaller, more upright horns of 27 to 64 cm. Wild yaks are blackish to brown, but domestic ones often show rusty brown and cream patches, and their ears are small and foreheads broad.

Did you know?

• Linnaeus named the yak Bos grunniens, meaning grunting ox, in 1766.
• Since 2003, wild yaks have officially gone by Bos mutus, meaning mute ox.
• The yak lineage may have branched off from cattle anywhere from one to five million years ago.