I can’t say how happy I am that  yakbreedersowners@yahoogroups.com got going! I wish this level of interaction existed when we started with yaks. I wish I could answer the questions concerning  health routines, vaccinations, and such definitively. If you come from a cattle perspective, you will find that there are more than a few points of view, from Joel Salatin, to my family in Montana (not homogenized at all), to the view point of those who manufacture vaccines. Vets are just as varied. We are working with a bovine that, in its native, domesticated state, has experienced little attention from schooled vets, let alone any injections. That said, we have a huge database and experience from the cattle men and women here on the North American Continent, not to mention the folks who raise native Bison. The important thing, in my opinion,  is the obligation we have to the yak’s genetic potential. For yaks to fully express that potential requires minimal interference from us. That doesn’t mean we should not care for, and ensure the health of, individual animals, but we should allow natural advantages of yak genetics to express their superiority over mass marketing power. For those of us committed to advancing the incredible potential of yaks, we must always ask. “How does this choice improve the yak?”

Please Fire Back!

http://www2.wspa.com/spa/news/local/article/hollywild_baby_yak_named/28712/

http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2009/10/25/life/local/doc4ae388846865f749597765.txt

http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/10/23/24250/

The Passionate Foodie: Yak Burgers

Thanks for the great article.

The herds of yaks you will see in Nepal are domesticated and have bells around their necks. As they are herded down the Everest Base Camp Trek trail, they fill the mountainside with a distinct enchanting sound. What is less enchanting is when a herd of sturdy yaks blocks your passage on an Everest trek; you will probably have to step aside, deferring to their massive horns.

A Yak by Any Other Name

In English, the word yak (which is worth eight points in Scrabble) is used to refer to the whole of the species; however, to a native of the Everest region of Nepal the term ‘yak’ only means the male animal, with the word ‘dri’ or ‘nak’ referring to a female.

Although you may see the domesticated variety, Bos grunniens, while Everest trekking, the wild Yak, Bos mutus, is considered extinct in Nepal and Bhutan. Yaks are quite closely related to the African buffalo, the American bison, and the European bison, except they are adapted to living between 4,000 and 6,000 metres above sea level. They can still be found at these altitudes in Tibet, and there are some isolated populations in China, too.

The type of yak you are most likely to see at the start of an Everest Base Camp Trek is a hybrid: half yak, half cow. Locally, these are called Dzo (male) and Dzomo (female). They are smaller than yaks, and their shorter hair means they are better at handling warmer climates at lower altitudes. As you ascend on your Everest trek, you will notice that Yaks replace their hybrid cousins as they are extremely well adapted to higher altitudes. As well as having a higher concentration of red blood cells, they even have an extra pair of ribs to accommodate their larger sized lungs.

Food & Fuel

Of course, apart from a form of transport, another use for the yak is for food. Yak meat is high in protein, containing only one sixth of the fat of beef, and makes a fine Everest trekking meal when served with noodles. Nothing of the yak is wasted in Nepal; the horns are used as cutting implements, and even the head of the yak is sometimes served for dinner, especially as part of New Year celebrations.

The yaks themselves eat grass, and often have to burrow through several feet of snow to reach their food. They have learned to eat snow when they are thirsty and unfrozen water cannot be found.

Yak milk (or rather, dri milk) is full of goodness, with twice the fat of cow’s milk. It is yellowy in colour and is mostly used for butter and yogurt. These make good energy foods to keep you fuelled-up for your Everest Base Camp Trek. It is so fat-rich that it can also be burned as lamp oil.

You’ll eat the majority of your meals along the Everest Base Camp Trek at Nepalese tea houses. These provide convenient rest stops where trekkers can put their feet up, eat, sleep and acclimatize to the mountain environment.

Some of the tea houses will cook meals over a traditional yak dung stove. Although you may shudder to think of your food being so close to manure, this is in fact a brilliant, environmentally friendly way of cooking. Trees are sparse in Nepal and considered too important to burn, and so the dung of yak is dried and used as a convenient source of renewable fuel.

Hairy Bovines

The other way yaks can provide warmth is with their fur. Yak fur can grow to as much as two feet long, and might be used for clothing along with yak wool, and can also be made into ropes and sacking. It is even used to make hairy tents. The yak fur allows smoke from inside the tent to escape, while the oil in the fur keeps water from penetrating inside.

When you add up all the benefits that this local beast can offer, from transport, baggage, shelter, clothing, tools, food, drink, and fuel for heating and lighting, I am sure that you will agree that on your Everest base camp trek, the yak is more useful than a Swiss Army Knife – by far!

About the Author
Kirsty Parsons is the Marketing Coordinator for Everest Base Camp Trek, an adventure website which features the classic Everest Base Camp Trek, as well as several alternative Everest trekking routes in the Himalayan region.

Article source: http://keyknowhow.com/travel/the-yak-all-purpose-animal.html