Yak
Introduction
This yak lives high up in the mountains of Bhutan.Yaks are one of the largest in the BovidaeBovidae family. They have hooves like their cousins cows, water buffalobuffalo and bison.bison. They are farmed like other cattle and there are only a few wild yak left.
Habitat
The yak live mainly in the Himalayas in Bhutan,Bhutan, Nepal and Tibet. Where it's cold, they live high up in the mountains.
Appearance
Yak are about 3.3m long, 2m tall, and they weigh from 400 to 1000 kg. They have got a strong muscled,muscled, stockystocky body. On their sturdysturdy shoulders they have a hump. The horns are long pointy and curved. The yak use their horns to break up the snow and for defence. Their blackish brown fur is very long and woolly. They have small ears.
Diet
Yak are herbivores.herbivores. They eat grass, herbs, lichenslichens and wild flowers. In the summer they go to the alpinealpine meadows but in winter they go down to the valleys. Like cows, yak have more than one stomach.stomach.
Usefulness
These yak have saddles on their backs for people to ride them.The farmers don't need machines. Instead they use yaks to pull ploughs and to carry loads. The people get milk, meat and wool from them.
Life Cycle
The herds are mostly made up of females. Males stay in small groups or alone. In warmerwarmer weather the yaks breed. They have one calf every two years and sometimes they have twins. Yaks are fully grown after six to eight years and the babies are independentindependent from their mothers when they are one year old. They can live up to 25 years old.
Enemies
Although there are plenty of domesticateddomesticated yak, the wild ones are endangered.
Conclusion
| Fact Box |
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A yak's fur is so long that it nearly goes all the way to the ground.
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Yaks are just like cows. They mostly live high in the mountains where it's cold. Their pointy horns are good for digging for food in the snow and for fighting. Yak are herbivores like cows and they also have more than one stomach. The people use them for food and transport. Like herds of cows, herds of yak are mostly females. It's lucky that farmers keep yak so that the world doesn't lose these amazing animals.
Glossary
| alpine meadows | paddocks in the mountains | independent | they don't need their mothers because they can look after themselves |
| cattle |
hoofed animals farmed for milk and meat
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lichens | a simple plant that grows on rocks, trees and the ground |
| domesticated | used as a farm animal | ploughs | machines that dig up the ground before planting |
| herbivores | only eat plants | stocky | short and wide |
Bibliography
Animals of the World, edited by Felicity Forster, published by Anness Publishers in 2008
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