Wild Yak

The wild yak is a large, long-haired bovine native to the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau and surrounding mountain regions of Central Asia, the ancestor of the widely kept domestic yak but now far less numerous and confined to remote, high-elevation habitat, generally above 4,000 metres. It has a thick, shaggy dark coat that insulates it against extreme cold, along with a large lung capacity and specialized blood adapted to the low oxygen levels of high altitude. Wild yaks graze on the sparse grasses and low vegetation of alpine meadows and steppe, and adult males can be considerably larger and more solitary than the females, which live in herds with young. Hunting and competition with domestic livestock for grazing land have caused significant population declines, and the species is classified as vulnerable.