Bovine Spotlight: Yak

Bovines... cows... you know them. Most of them, I am afraid to say, are rather uninteresting. As it turns out, cows don't have the most interesting of lives. They are either milked or turned into hamburger. They also don't look all that great unless they are turned into cartoons to make them cute. But don't worry. It's not a total loss. We still have yaks!

Yaks are nearly the largest bovine in the world coming in at 7.2 feet tall with a body length of 11 feet. They are quite heavy. The adult males can weigh up to 2,205 pounds. The females are generally lighter by a third. They also have hair. They have lots and lots of hair. No, this isn't fur. This is long-bushy hair, and it is probably what makes the yak so interesting.

Yaks are located in a number of places in the world, but not in America. They can be found mainly in the Himalayas. Yaks are also found in Mongolia and Russia. They prefer more treeless areas. They are mostly commonly seen in alpine tundra where there is plenty of grass available. Yes, they love grass. It's such a bovine thing to like grass.

Yaks are herd animals which means they like to stay in groups. As one might wonder, yaks are big enough to defend themselves if they need to. They have large horns on their head which work wonderfully when backed up with some ramming speed. Wild yaks generally dislike dealing with humans, however. If you were to approach a herd, the yaks would likely put a lot of distance between you and them rather than try to fight you off.

These bovines are slow breeders. They only mate once a year and 8 months later, they produce one calf. The calf can walk in about ten minutes after birth. It has to be weaned for an entire year before it can become independent. That really is a lot of work. This animal is not really as prolific as other animals I have spotlighted. Sadly, it has taken its toll. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has given the Yak a rating of VU--meaning that they are vulnerable to becoming endangered. It is not as bad as it could be. They would need to drop past 4 other levels before actually suffering extinction.

Yaks can be domesticated. People for thousands of years have used yaks for their milk, meat, and as beasts of burden. Likely the weirdest thing I learned was that their dropping--when dried--can be used as a source of fuel. This fuel is heavily used to this day in Tibet.

I am happy to say that there is a Yak in fiction. In the 2016 Disney film "Zootopia," there was a minor Yak character named Yax. He was the owner of a nudist colony and seemed to be surrounded in flies at all times. Hilariously, he was voiced by Tommy Chong which fit the character like a glove. The flies were likely a reference to the fact that manly people believe Yaks smell really awful. It's all that hair. As an interesting, little tidbit, the Yak does not only fail to stink, their fur actually repels bad scents. Additionally, even their droppings have no determinable smell to it--which is great considering it is used as fuel. Still, Yax being stinky works well, despite it being incorrect.

I know that Yaks are shy--which denotes timidity--but I cannot help but see them as big and tough fellows who are hard to talk to. I can imagine seeing them in a tavern sitting at a table all by themselves. If I attempt to speak to them, I just get ignored. Antisocial behemoths. It rather drifts away from their true selves, but I am kind of going by their looks more than the study. That's probably how I'd do it.

Yaks are hairy wonders of the animal kingdom. They are one of the few bovines that are interesting--yes, there are others. Animals that look interesting tend to get more respect from me than the ugly ones. I mean look at cows. I look at them, and I just think about going to Burger King. But not yaks. Yaks are cool. I like yaks.

Thank you for reading this blog! If you enjoyed it, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Moo.

Yax from "Zootopia"