yak

a kind of animal – mammal – four-legged – grass-eating – related to the ox family – large with brown or black, long, shaggy hair, large head, wide forehead with large, straight ears growing sideways, a pair of horns spread out and upwards, front facing round, clear eyes, long, blunt muzzle, thick neck, a small hump on the back, straight, legs, long bushy tail; size: (wild yak) 6 feet tall at the shoulder, 9 feet long, and weight: 1000 Kg. (1 ton) (male much larger than female), and (domestic yak) 3-5 feet tall at the shoulder, 5-7 feet long, and 400-500 kg. (some individuals may grow up to 800 Kg.; and male larger than female); feeds on (eats) grasses, shrubs and lichen; lives for 20-25 years; found in the highlands of Central Asia – in the Himalayan mountain range – in Tibet, Nepal, Indian, Mongolia, and China

wild yak (?)

domestic yak

Domestic yak:

male ~~ bull; (in Nepalese) gyag

female ~~ cow; (in Nepalese) dri or nak

baby ~~ calf

group ~~ herd

voice (call) ~~ grunt

home ~~ —

Special Features:

yak as beast of burden

The yak is very well suited for the extreme cold weather of the highlands: it has to layers of hair – short, thick, matted inner hair, with long, shaggy outer hair; it produces a kind of sticky substance from its sweat glands which keeps the inner hair matted and warm; the sweat glands are few in number; and the lung and heart are large, and the body cells are designed to retain more oxygen!

There are only a few herds of wild yak found in the remote parts of the mountain rages.  Some animal experts are in the opinion that the yak we see in the zoos are mostly the large size ‘domesticated yak’!

The wild yak had been hunted so much for their meat, skins and hair, that the population had been reduced to very low numbers until laws were passed against hunting them.

yak being milked

The domestic yak has been bred for its milk, meat, skin and hair.  The have also been used as beasts of burden (pack animals) – for carrying goods and people, and for ploughing the fields!

yak hair

The native Nepalese and Tibetans make use of every part of the yak: tails used as hand fans, and hair made into ropes, rugs, etc; skin/hide is made into shoes, bags, and in making coracle-like boats; even the sticky substance in their sweat is used in the folk medicine!

Yak racing is a kind of entertainment cum ritual at traditional Tibetan festivals; and more recently, ‘yak polo’ and ‘yak skiing’ have become a popular ‘tourist attraction’ activities!

Figures of Speech:

1.

yak (noun)  =  noisy talk; chatter; prolonged and meaningless talk

2.

to yak (verb)  =  to talk continuously and meaninglessly for a long time

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