Flora and Fauna

The Yak

Yaks (Bos grunniens) are both domestic and wild animals found at the higher ranges of the Himalayan mountains. They have been domesticated for well over a millennia and are useful for a large number of reasons. While domestic yaks are found all over, wild yaks are endangered animals and now only found in remote regions of the Himalayas. Yaks are found anywhere from 3,200 to 5,400 meters and will not thrive at lower altitudes.

Wild yaks

Wild yaks are some of the world’s largest bovines. Wild males can stand 2 to 2.2 meters tall at their shoulder, be over 3 meters long and weigh up to 1,000 kg. Females are smaller and travel with males in packs up to 30 strong. All yaks live on a diet of grasses and lichen and are insulated by an oily secretion that is used as a medicine in Nepal. Tibetan wolves have been known to successfully hunt wild yaks despite their much smaller size but wild yaks are usually to large to be bothered by many other predators.

Domesticated yaks

Domesticated yaks are smaller than wild yaks and commonly found across Himalayan communities because of their usefulness. Yaks are used to plough fields and are the primarily beasts of burden in the Himalayas because of their ability to carry large loads across high passes. Yaks are also kept for their milk, which can be made into a hard cheese called chiurpi, or for their meat, which is often smoked and dried. Yak skin is also durable leather and yak manure is a good fertilizer and fuel source. Domesticated yaks can also be crossbred with other cattle to produce hybridized yaks for lower altitudes, called Zopyaks or Dzo.