What kind of cow is yak? Introduction and pictures of yak breeds

Yak is full of treasures, and Tibetans cannot live without it. People drink yak milk, eat yak meat and burn yak dung. Its wool can be used to make clothes or tents, and its skin is a good tanning material. It can be used not only for farming, but also as a means of transportation on the plateau to provide local herdsmen with necessities such as milk, meat, wool, labor and fuel. It is an important source of life and economy for herders on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and it is also an indispensable animal species in the local animal husbandry economy. Yak, as an "all-round" livestock, is an extremely valuable gene pool in heredity, which is of social and economic significance to human beings.

Yaks in China can be divided into "Hengduan Mountain Type" and "Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Type". * * There are local breeds such as Jiulong Yak, Maiwa Yak, Tianzhu White Yak, Qinghai Plateau Yak, Tibet Alpine Yak, Muli Yak, Shangri-La (Zhongdian) Yak, Parry Yak, Sibu Yak, Nyaya Yak and Xinjiang Yak1. Among them, there are five breeds listed in the China Cattle Variety List: Jiulong Yak, Maiwa Yak, Tianzhu White Yak, Qinghai Plateau Yak and Tibet Alpine Yak.

Yaks abroad mainly include Nepalese yak, Indian yak, Tajik yak, Russian yak and Kyrgyz yak. Besides China, there are other countries and regions that raise yaks, such as Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, India, Nepal, Kazakhstan, Bhutan, (former) Sikkim, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kashmir.