DOMESTIC YAK

May 13, 2019

At least 300 yaks have starved to death in the Mukuthang valley in Sikkim after getting trapped by heavy snowfall. While between 10 and 15 yaks usually die each year, this year's toll is the highest on record.

About:

Scientific name: Bos grunniens.
Common name: Domestic yak.
Taxonomy: Yaks belong to the genus Bos and are therefore related to cattle (Bos primigenius species). Domestic Yak (Bos Grunniens) descended from the wild yak (Bos mutus).
Features:
- Yaks have long shaggy hair with a dense woolly undercoat over the chest, flanks, and thighs to insulate them from the cold.
- Yaks grunt and, unlike cattle, are not known to produce the characteristic bovine lowing (mooing) sound, which inspired the scientific name of the domestic yak variant, Bos grunniens (grunting bull).
- While wild yaks are generally dark, domestic yaks can be quite variable in colour, often having patches of rusty brown and cream.
Distribution: It is found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia.
Relationship with humans: Yaks are a source of local milk, milk products, transportation and wool.
National Research Centre on Yak: The Government of India established the ICAR-National Research Centre on Yak, in 1989 at Dirang, Arunachal Pradesh as a dedicated centre for research into yak husbandry.