Yak is an animal living in the mountains. Description, lifestyle, photo

From ancient times to our days, the animal yak tries to avoid society and neighborhood with man. If you look into the manuscripts of the Tibetan chroniclers, you can learn that these mighty bulls in luxurious fur coats, it turns out, were considered a great evil for the human race. To affirm or deny this assertion is unambiguously not possible. But, unfortunately, it is clear that yak is an animal that, getting to the territory, mastered by a person, quickly dies. The herds of these magnificent handsome men are getting smaller and smaller. In their natural form, they are found only in the Tibetan mountains.

Unique and amazing animal yak! The description of its appearance, photos, as well as how it lives, how it feeds and how this particular fauna representative multiplies, you will find in the next. It's always interesting to discover something new for yourself.

The appearance of yaks

It is impossible to deny how beautiful these long-haired mountain animals are. Yak, the description and photo of which you can see in the article, differs from other large artiodactyls by its lush long coat.

Among the bulls of the Polaroid family, this handsome man is considered to be the strongest. Yak - an animal in the external appearance of which surprisingly combines the features of a bull and a bison, a ram and a goat. The horse, he "lent" the tail. This hero can reach a weight of 1000 kg, but this applies only to males, females are much smaller, their average weight is 350-380 kg.

The body of the named animals is long and powerful, the head is of impressive size, planted low. The legs are short, if we consider them in relation to the body. And because of the long coat, the limbs are practically invisible. On the back is a hump. Long (up to 1 meter) and thin horns are found in both males and females. They are placed widely apart, with a bend upwards and with a slight inclination forward.

Wool is what the yak can be proud of. The animal has a luxurious fur coat, which can really be envied. It is so long that it hangs almost to the ground. There is also a dense, dense undercoat that heats the animal's body in the most frosty winters. Throughout the body, the coat is flat, and on the legs it forms a "skirt" - so much so in these places is shaggy and long.

The color of these herbivores is often dark brown or black. The whole fur coat of the yak is monophonic, only on the muzzle there may be light or white spots.

Lifestyle

The grunting bull is an amazing animal! People managed to tame it and domesticate it, but, anyway, the yak is a mountain animal and in any case will aspire to its native landscapes, where it feels most comfortable.

Watching how a mighty, shaggy bull walks at a great height along a narrow mountain path, you marvel at how graceful, without a shadow of fear, it balances above the abyss. Very much, he loves this handsome mountainous heights - at the foot he is almost impossible to see.

By the way, wild yaks, having met a man, without hesitation, attack him. Fortunately, at an altitude of 6,000 meters, where they like to spend most of their lives, such meetings are extremely rare. People can not be high up in the mountains due to lack of oxygen.

House yaks, by the way, also prefer to stay away from people, they are calmer next to their own kind.

Jacob is called grunting bulls because at the first sign of threat these animals make sounds resembling grunting. If the herd is in danger, the toddlers are surrounded by adult bulls and thus defend.

Animal yak: diet

In the winter, yaks are able to obtain their own food, while other artiodactyls can not pluck the grass from the frozen soil. Their favorite treat is stunted plants. Very mobile and thin lips of bulls allow them to eat normally even in the most frosty winters.

The menu of bulls consists of grass, lichens, moss, young shoots and leaves of plants. The female that feeds the calf needs intensive nutrition, because if the baby does not have enough milk, it will not be able to develop normally and grow weak.

During the first month of life, a small yak feeds only on the mother's milk, then gradually begins to switch to vegetable food.

Reproduction

The marriage period for yaks comes in early autumn. To win the favor of his chosen one, the bulls organize cruel battles between themselves. The strongest female demonstrates her benevolence. Pregnancy lasts 257 days, and the offspring appears every two years.

Offspring

Calf yak comes to light weighing about 12-13 kg. A year later, this baby increases the body weight by approximately 10 times. Compare shaggy cub can with a lamb, only on his head can be seen bone growths, which will soon turn into horns. The hotel usually passes during the spring season. The newborn yak immediately stands firmly and confidently on his feet. And before the onset of cold weather the animal has time to grow stronger and mature. The first year of life the calf spends in the literal sense near my mother's skirt, whose long coat protects the baby from the cold.

Diseases

Farmers engaged in the cultivation of domesticated yaks, have to face health problems with their pets. Most often, animals are exposed to diseases during the flocks of the herd in the warm season. Calves, like adult individuals of this species, can develop anthrax and tuberculosis.

It's sad to realize that such amazing and beautiful creatures are on the verge of extinction. Yak is an animal that is listed in the Red Book. In the wild to meet these handsome men becomes more problematic. Basically people are familiar with the domesticated breeds of these bulls.

It is worth thinking about how to restore the population of horned handsome men in magnificent fur coats, and to give them the opportunity to live in the wild without fear of extermination.