Wild yak, Chinese Name: wild yak, endemic species: endemic to the Qinghai Tibet Plateau
Morphological characteristics of wild yak body heavy, thick, but slightly smaller than India wild cattle, body length is 200 - 260 cm, tail length 80 - 100 cm tall at the shoulder, 160 - 180 cm, weighing 500 - 600 kg, is significantly larger than the female male. The central uplift was meat, so standing is low.
Head slightly narrow, flat face, nose and lip surface is small, the ear is relatively small, without dewlap, neck limbs, hoof big and wide circle, the female has 2 pairs of nipples. Wild yak, upper and lower limbs, head hair short and compact, lower side of the body, shoulders, chest and abdomen and legs are long, the length is 400 mm, especially in the neck, chest and abdomen hair, almost drooping to the ground, forming a curtain around, like hanging in the body of the raincoat in general that can shelter, more suitable for the snow ice climbing down, tail hair appears fluffy like clusters, hypertrophy, sagging to heel, in cattle is very special. Male and female, male, female, male, female, male, female, male, female, male, female and male. But the angle of the male body was obviously larger than that of the female. There are 14 pairs of ribs, than other cattle on a volume of no meat; vertical, shoulder central uplift meat, short limbs, abdomen wide; the angle of the head is conical, smooth surface, extends from both sides on the first, then bent upwards and backwards, tip slightly bent backwards, as crescent general. The horn length is usually 40 - 50 cm, nearly 1 meters long angle, the distance between two wide. Most of the hair color is brown and black, only a week, lips, face and kiss back along the display of cream of the gray white, older males tend to have a reddish back. The tail color black, there are also individual brown individuals. Male and female angle, the brown black.
Habitat and distribution, wild yak is the Qinghai Tibet Plateau in the vicinity of the specialty animals, is a Typical Alpine animals, very cold. Located in the south of Qinghai, Xinjiang, Tibet, northwest of Gansu and Western Sichuan and other places. Perched above 3000 - 6000 meters high mountain meadow, mountain peaks, various environment of the few people tread mountain basin, alpine steppe, alpine desert steppe in the summer, or even to an altitude of 5000 to 6000 metres, on the lower edge of the snowline. Wild Yak with Hardy, cold, thirsty, hunger resistant ability, strong adaptability to the environmental conditions of alpine grassland, so many wild ungulates and livestock to use and the arrival of the shrub, alpine meadows, it can be useful to.
Living habits, wild yak is the ancestor of yak, once distributed very widely, and now there is only on the Qinghai Tibet plateau. Wild yak body weight up to 1000 kg or more, the body is dark brown, body side and legs under the thick hairy, suitable for cold environment in life. The bison throughout the year living in the hills, love to eat soft state in the summer with water caltrop, teeth bite, winter licking. The buffalo spiny tongue is very powerful, but also one of its weapons.
Wild yak is usually wandering, only 20-30 foraging in the grasslands, sometimes a 200-300 head form a large group of activities, it is said that in order to protect the calf. You have seen thirteen female bison are head towards the periphery in a circle, circle inside a group of calves, four head against the outside of the circle of the wolf. Wild yak generally do not take the initiative to attack people, its large body, showing a pair of take it leisurely and unoppressively demeanor, dignified, simple and honest.
Wild yak in alpine steppe or desert desert area, most of the day in the food intake, while drinking while roaming, no fixed residence, only the general distribution area. In the cold winter, the plant is covered by snow and ice, so it is often in a larger range to do a short distance migration. Good run, up to 40 kilometers per hour. Gramineae and Cyperaceae plants are the main part of wild yak food, due to the special structure of wild yak tongue, can long-term to cushion plants for food, and thus become particularly resistant to coarse food species. The main natural enemies of wild yak is the wolves, the latter often in winter in the siege of aging, and the frail young wild yak chasing on the ice to be slipped to tear the food.