|
No breeds have been identified in Indian yaks. Indian yaks can be classified into distinct types viz. Ladakhi, Himachal, Sikkim and Arunachal types. Wild yak (Bos mutus) is found in Changthang valley of Ladakh.
According to the (Chinese) Provincial annals of livestock breeds, there are 12 officially recognized breeds of domestic yak in China: the Jiulong yak and Maiwa yak in Sichuan, Tianzhu White yak and Gannan yak in Gansu, Pali yak, Jiali ("Alpine") yak and Sibu yak in Tibet, Huanhu yak and Plateau yak in Qinghai, Bazhou yak in Xinjiang and Zhongdian yak in Yunnan, and one other, the "Long-hair-forehead yak" in Qinghai - which does not, however, meet all the criteria used to define a yak breed. Among these, the Plateau yak, Maiwa yak, Jiulong yak, Tianzhu White yak and Jiali ("Alpine") yak are also included in the publication Bovine breeds in China.
Plateau yak of Qinghai
-
This yak, now classified as a breed, is found on the cold highland pasture of southern and northern Qinghai province where the wild yak distribution overlapped with it, particularly in former times. Crossing between them is thus assumed to have taken place. Its population numbers around three million. The Plateau yak of Qinghai looks similar to the wild yak in body conformation. Among domestic yak breeds it stands tall, has a relatively large body weight and big head. Both sexes are horned. Similar to wild yak, it has greyish-white hair, down its back and around the muzzle and eye sockets. It adapts well to the cold and humid climate at high elevation.
Huanhu yak of Qinghai
-
This breed is found in the transitional zone around the Qinghai Lake in Qinghai province where the grasslands are predominantly semi-arid and consist of meadow pasture and neighbouring areas consist of dry Gobi and semi-Gobi pastures. It is believed that herds of this strain were domesticated and transferred to this area by the Qiang people, the predecessors of the present Tibetans, and by the Tufan people, beginning 10 000 years ago up through their later migrations. Around 310 A.D., Mongolian immigrants used Mongolian cattle to hybridize with the local yak to improve the relatively low productivity of the animals. Accordingly, the Huanhu yak, numbering about one million, contains some remnants of cattle blood from the time of its origins, and this may account for some of its differences from the Plateau yak. Compared to the Plateau yak, the Huanhu has a relatively smaller body size and finer structure, a wedge-shaped head, a narrower and longer nose that is mostly concave in the middle, a smaller but broad mouth, a thinner neck, deeper chest, narrower buttock, longer legs and smaller, but strong solid feet with a hard base to them. Most of the animals are hornless; those with horns have a fine, long and slightly curved set of horns. The colours are varied, but the majority is black-brown.
Tianzhu White yak of Gansu
-
The Tianzhu White breed is found in Tianzhu county of Gansu province, which is located in the eastern end of the Qilian mountains and the northern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Because the white yak hair is easily dyed into different colours, it has been highly valued in local markets. On account of this, herdsmen who had migrated from Qinghai started to select and breed pure white herds about 120 years ago. A more intensive breeding programme started in 1981. Currently, there are around 60 000 of the white individuals. The breed has a medium body size and fine structure, a well-developed forepart but a less-developed rear part and strong but short legs. And there are big differences in size between the two sexes. Compared to the females, the males have larger heads with a wider forehead, longer and coarser horns with a visible contour, a larger mouth and broader muzzle, thinner lips, smaller nose and a coarser neck.
Gannan yak of Gansu
-
Yak raising in the Gannan Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Gansu bordering Sichuan and Qinghai, for long has been based on the same yak from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Frequent exchange of breeding animals continues. There are about 700 000 animals of this breed. It has a strong body conformation and well-developed muscles, a relatively large skull, a short, wide and slightly protruding forehead, a long and concave nose with externally expanded muzzle, a square mouth with thin lips, horned (48 - 97 per cent) or hornless, small ears, round eyes, a well-developed chest and belly and short, strong legs with small feet. Black is the predominant colour. The males have longer and coarser horns with wider distance between the bases and a stronger neck than the females.
Pali yak of Tibet
-
This breed is mainly found in Yadong county of Shigatse prefecture of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, which borders Western Bhutan and India. It has a strong and well-developed body conformation that is rectangular, a short skull with a wide forehead, a big round mouth with thin lips, small eyes, broad muzzle, small nose, a short, strong neck, a deep wide chest and large heart girth, a large belly and short, strong legs with small solid feet. Most of the animals have horns with wide bases. Black is the dominant body colour.
Sibu yak of Tibet
Jiali (Alpine) yak of Tibet
-
This breed is found in the Jiali (Lhari in Tibetan) county of the Nakchu prefecture of Tibet at the southern edge of the Nyenchen Thangla mountains. It has a relatively large body shape with a deep and wide chest, and it is mostly horned. Compared to the females, males have coarser and stronger horns with a wide distance between the bases. Females have a thinner neck, straighter back, a larger belly and shorter legs than the males.
Jiulong yak of Sichuan
-
This breed belongs to the Jiulong county of Sichuan province, which is located on the South Eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. It has a long history of development, but today's herds are the descendants of a relatively small population that survived a severe outbreak of rinderpest some 150 years ago. The population now numbers around 50 000 animals. The Jiulong yak has a large body height and body size, with a deep and wide chest and a medium-sized head. The breed is horned. rales, compared to females, have a shorter head but with a wider forehead and wider-based horns, bigger eyes, thinner lips and well-developed teeth, a finer neck, straighter back and shorter legs. Females have a relatively long neck. Black is the predominant colour.
Maiwa yak of Sichuan
-
This breed numbering around 600 000 animals, belongs to Hongyuan county of Sichuan province, which borders Gansu and Qinghai provinces The breed originated from almost the same locality as the present-day Jiulong yak. However, it was taken by a migratory tribe to its present habitat, passing through southern Qinghai, in the 1910s. During that migration, matings occurred with other domestic yak on route and with wild yak when it first settled in Hongyuan, when wild yak were still known to come down from Qinghai. The resulting infusions of genes are thought to have improved the original type. The better pasture and ecological environment of the new habitat assisted its development. It has a medium-sized head and a wide flat forehead, straight back, a well-developed belly, a long body with short legs and small solid feet. Most of the animals are horned. Black accounts for 64.2 percent of the population's colouring.
Bazhou yak of Xinjiang
-
This breed is found mainly in Hejing county in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Their presence dates to 1890 when around 60 animals were brought from Tibet another 176 animals were introduced in 1920. In the late 1980s, some breeding bulls were purchased from the Datong Yak Farm in Qinghai to refresh the blood. There are now about 70 000 Bazhou yak. This breed has a large rectangular body, a heavy head, a short and wide forehead, big round eyes, small ears, a broad muzzle and thin lips, a wide chest, large belly and strong legs with small, solid feet. The majority (77.3 percent) have fine, long horns. Black is the main colour, but some are black and white, brown or grey and white.
Zhongdian yak of Yunnan
-
This breed is found in the Zhongdian and Deqin counties in the very northern part of Yunnan province, at the southern end of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau where it borders Tibet and Sichuan. In general, the Zhongdian yak has had frequent exchanges of blood with yak in Sichuan. There are about 20 000 animals of this breed. It has a strong body conformation, large round eyes, small ears, a wide forehead, a deep chest, straight back, well-developed legs with large feet and a short tail. Both sexes have horns. There is relatively large variation in body size. The majority of the animals are black (62.4 percent), a black-and-white colouring is found among 27.5 percent of them, while the rest are black with white-spots on the forehead, legs and tail.
A new strain of Datong yak in Qinghai
-
This is the only improved yak population developed deliberately by crossing wild yak bulls with domestic yak females with the intention of creating a new breed of yak. The development is taking place on the Datong Yak Farm in Qinghai. For this purpose, one wild yak bull captured in the Kunlun mountains and two in the Qilian mountains (with an altitude of more than 5 000 m) were taken to Datong Yak Farm and trained for semen collection between 1983 and 1986.
|
Participants