The domestic yak (Bos gruniens) and wild yak (Bos mutus) are large, long-haired, ungulate mammals of the family Bovidae, similar to cattle and bison.
The species, Bos gruniens, means braying ox, and the species, Bos mutus, means mute (mute) ox.
The yak, like the cow, is an augulet because it has cloven hooves.
Wild yaks are black or dark brown, while native yaks can be rusty-brown, gray and cream.
Yak has short ears and wide forehead, smooth dark colored horns.
The male, called a bull, has horns extending from the sides of his head and curving forward.
The female, called a cow, has shorter horns that are more erect.
The tail is long and looks like a horse’s tail (long and hairy) rather than a cow’s tail (with a tuft of hair at the end).
Yak can be 105–138 cm (41–54 in) tall.
Male horns are 48–99 centimeters (19–39 in) long.
The horns of females are 27–64 cm (11–25 in) long.
Unlike cows, yaks do not moo.
The yak makes a whirring sound.
A female (cow) is pregnant for 257-270 days before giving birth to a calf.
The calf becomes independent after about a year.
Yak can live more than 20 years in captivity and less in the wild.
Yak
Yak
yak (calf)
Photographer: Martina Nichols
Martina Nichols: Similar but different in the animal kingdom