Bos mutus

The wild yak is bulky and stout, but slightly smaller than the Indian bison, with a body length of 200 to 260 centimeters, a tail length of 80 to 100 centimeters, a shoulder height of 160 to 180 centimeters, and a weight of 500 to 600 kilograms. Males are significantly larger than females.
The digestive organs of wild yaks are larger than those of cattle, their teeth are hard, their noses are small, their lips are thin, they have strong feeding ability, and their skin is extremely hard. Herders once used them to make cutting boards. There is a layer of teeth on their tongues that can easily eat food. Licking hard plants. The head shape is slightly long and narrow, the face is straight, the nasolabial surface is small, the ears are relatively small, there is no dewlap under the neck, the limbs are thick, the hooves are large and round, and there is a significant bulge in the center of the shoulder, so it looks forward when standing. High and then low. The female has 2 pairs of nipple

Wild yaks are a specialty of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China, distributed in southern Xinjiang, Qinghai, Tibet, northwestern Gansu and western Sichuan.
Wild yaks live in high mountain areas with an altitude of 3,000 to 6,000 meters, in remote high mountain peaks, mountain basins, alpine grasslands, alpine desert grasslands and other environments. In summer, they can even reach altitudes of 5,000 to 6,000 meters and move below the snow line.

Wild yaks are called wild yak in foreign language. They are the wild counterparts of domestic yaks.

Wild yaks live on the hillside all year round and like to eat soft bonza grass. They gnaw it with their teeth in summer and lick it with their tongues in winter. The thorny tongue of the bison is very powerful and is also one of its weapons. They mainly come out to forage at night and in the early morning. Their food is mainly alpine cold desert plants such as needle grass, moss, sedge, and wormwood. During the day, they go to the cliffs of the barren mountains to stand and ruminate, or lie down to rest and sleep.

Wild yaks usually wander and forage on the grassland in groups of 20 to 30. Sometimes they form a large group of 200 to 300, which is said to be to protect their calves. Someone saw with his own eyes that thirteen female bisons all formed a circle with their heads facing the outside to protect a group of calves in the circle and fight against four wolves outside the circle. Wild yaks have a very keen sense of smell. When there is danger, the male beasts must take the brunt and protect the group, while placing the cubs in the middle of the group. Once the natural enemy approaches, the wild yaks will run wildly with their heads down and their tails facing the air, and disappear without a trace. Wild yaks generally do not actively attack people. Their large bodies and calm demeanor show a dignified and honest appearance. Groups of wild yaks will actively escape from enemies and will run away when they encounter people or cars. However, the ferocious and violent wild yaks are just the opposite. They often actively attack various objects passing in front of them and can overturn a moving jeep. Injured wild yaks, both male and female, will desperately attack the enemy until they die of exhaustion.

Because wild yaks sound like pigs, they are also called "pig-sounding cows" in their place of origin, and "Jiyak" in Tibetan. This species often likes to live in groups. Except for some male individuals who often live alone, they usually live together with males and females, young and old, ranging from a few to hundreds or even thousands of them. However, old male animals are lonely in nature and often live away from the group in summer, with only three or four of them together. When a wild yak attacks, it will first raise its tail to warn, so this characteristic of wild yaks must be mastered in field work. Once an old wild yak leaves the group, it will live alone for life.

The estrus period of wild yaks is from September to November. Male yaks become extremely ferocious and often make courtship calls. The competition for mates is very intense. The gestation period of female wild yaks is 8 to 9 months. They give birth in June to July of the following year, with one baby per litter. The baby can move with the group half a month after birth, and is weaned in the summer of the second year. It reaches sexual maturity at the age of 3.

According to records, a hundred years ago, wild yaks were widely distributed, occupying the northern slope of the Himalayas, the Kunlun Mountains and their adjacent mountains. Field surveys in recent decades have shown that due to the expansion of human activities, the distribution range of wild yaks has shrunk to about 1.4 million square kilometers of towering mountains and cold deserts surrounded by the upper reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River at an altitude of 4,000 to 5,000 meters, the Kunlun Mountains, the Altun Mountains and the Qilian Mountains. It is estimated that by the end of 2012, the number of wild yaks in China was about 30,000 to 50,000.

Due to unplanned hunting, the distribution area of wild yaks is shrinking. According to the survey, wild yaks were also quite common in the south of the Qaidam Basin and the east of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, but there are few of them now. Only in the west of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, the southern and northern parts of the Qaidam Basin are there relatively abundant wild yak resources. In addition, a small number of wild yaks are distributed in the Yangkang area northwest of Tianjun County (at the junction with Ulan County).

Listed in the 2012 Red List of Endangered Species of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) ver3.1 - vulnerable.

Listed in the "List of National Key Protected Wildlife in China" as a national first-class protected animal.

Protect wildlife and eliminate game.

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