Bos grunniens or Bos mutus
The yak lives both in the wild and also as a domesticated cattle in the Tibetan plateau of the Himalayas. Domesticated ones are smaller in size (may weigh up to 500 kg) and of brownish, reddish, or creamy white color, as a result of crossbreeding with cattle. Wild ones are larger (may weigh up to 1 metric ton) and of black, or dark brown color. The yak utters a low, guttural sound, hence it is called the grunting cow, or grunting ox. Its wool, horns, skin, meat, milk, and power, are essential for the subsistence of the Tibetan people.
The picture of this woolly yak was shot at the Indianapolis zoo, in April 2001.
Genus Bos
Subfamily Bovinae
Family Bovidae
Order Artiodactyla
Subclass Eutheria
Class Mammalia
Subphylum Vertebrata
Phylum Chordata
Kingdom Animalia
Life on Earth
Index