Domestic yak
species of mammal
The domestic yak (Bos grunniens) also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox, or hairy cattle is a long-haired domesticated bovid found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. It is descended from the wild yak (Bos mutus).[1]
Yak | |
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A yak in the Nepalese Himalayas. | |
Domesticated
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Family: | Bovidae |
Subfamily: | Bovinae |
Genus: | Bos |
Species: | B. grunniens
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Binomial name | |
Bos grunniens Linnaeus, 1766
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History
changeScientists have used genetics and archaeology to study the history of yaks. They have found that there were domesticated yaks on the Tibetan Plateau 2,500 years ago.[2]
Use
changeYaks are kept for their milk, wool, and meat. Also, they are used for transportation. Their dried droppings are burned as fuel in fires.
References
change- ↑ Grubb, P. (2005). "Order Artiodactyla". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 691. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ↑ Louis, Washington University in St. "Earliest evidence for domestic yak found using both archaeology and ancient DNA". phys.org. Retrieved 16 December 2023.