--- title: "Domestic Yak (Bos grunniens) | AnimalTracks.wiki" description: "Oversized heart and lungs, a shaggy coat and a home up to 5,000 m high." image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/yak-1.webp" published: "2026-10-10" updated: "2026-10-10" --- # Domestic Yak (*Bos grunniens*) > **Status**: Checked against 4 sources, listed under Sources below. > **Tagline**: Oversized heart and lungs, a shaggy coat and a home up to 5,000 m high. > **Soundtrack Vibe**: 80s Retrowave & Synthwave // Berlin, "Take My Breath Away" > **Soundtrack Links**: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/15MJ5NThPjj6xhPcts8MiY) > **Vibe Match**: Yaks are raised 3,000 to 5,000 m up, and a yak's heart weighs 1.18% of its body weight against a cow's 0.39%. Take My Breath Away rides long, slow synth breaths, the sound of air running short. ## Biological Superpowers & Stats - **Taxonomy**: *Bos grunniens* - **Danger Level**: Low - **Conservation Status**: Not Evaluated ([IUCN Red List](https://www.iucnredlist.org/)) - **Superpower**: A heart that weighs 1.18% of body weight, against 0.39% in cattle - **Habitat**: Asian highlands, 3,000 to 5,000 m above sea level - **Diet**: Forbs and low herbage, grazed with the lips - **Tags**: mammal, ungulate, herbivore, highlands, cold-tolerant ## Natural History & Behavior ## Lungs and a heart built for thin air People raise the yak (*Bos grunniens*) 3,000 to 5,000 m above sea level in the highlands of Asia, where the air is thin. Its body answers with hardware. A yak has 15 chest vertebrae, one more than a cow, which makes its chest cavity bigger and leaves room for a large heart and lungs. A yak's heart weighs 1.18% of its body weight, where a cow's weighs 0.39%. > **Oxygen grabber** > Yaks keep a high level of foetal haemoglobin throughout life, while it is generally present in other mammals for only 6 to 7 months after birth. This form of haemoglobin, the blood's oxygen carrier, holds oxygen more tightly and can bind and release more of it than other forms. Cattle have a reaction in which lung blood vessels clamp down in thin air, which is called hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction. Yaks have a greatly diminished response of this kind. A 2012 study comparing yak and cattle genomes found that the yak has more genes in families tied to the senses and to energy metabolism. ## A coat with no sweat Yaks have thick outer hair and no working sweat glands, and not sweating helps them cope with cold. The fleece has two layers: long outer hair, and an undercoat of dense, fine down that appears in the colder season. The body is compact, with relatively little skin for its weight. In winter, a compact body, thick coat and no sweating together minimize heat loss. ## Grazing on scraps A yak's tongue is 4 cm long on average, shorter than a cow's, and it grazes with its lips. That keeps the tongue out of the cold and lets the yak crop low plants. In one study of grazing yaks, they consumed forbs throughout the year, but especially during the winter. Forbs are flowering plants that are not grasses. Even so, winter is lean: a yak can lose 25 to 30% of its body weight, or even more. ## Size, age and a long partnership AnAge lists an adult weight of 667 kg for *Bos grunniens*, and a newborn weighs about 18 kg. The yak reaches full size in 6 to 8 years. One captive yak was still living after 26.3 years. Genome studies date the yak's domestication to 7,300 years ago. A 2022 review counted approximately 16 million domestic yaks and 15 to 20 thousand wild yaks in the world. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How long can a yak live? AnAge gives a maximum of 26.3 years for a captive yak. *(Source: [Human Ageing Genomic Resources, AnAge]())* ### How long is a yak pregnant? Gestation lasts about 274 days, a little under nine months. *(Source: [Human Ageing Genomic Resources, AnAge]())* ### Do yaks sweat? A 2021 review describes yak sweat glands as non-functional, and says the absence of sweating helps yaks tolerate cold. *(Source: [Ayalew et al. 2021]())* ### How many yaks are there? A 2022 review put the domestic herd at about 16 million animals, against 15,000 to 20,000 wild yaks in the world. *(Source: [Jing et al. 2022]())* ## Sources 1. [Jing et al. (2022). The adaptive strategies of yaks to live in the Asian highlands. Animal Nutrition.]() 2. [Ayalew et al. (2021). Adaptation Mechanisms of Yak (Bos grunniens) to High-Altitude Environmental Stress. Animals.]() 3. [Qiu et al. (2012). The yak genome and adaptation to life at high altitude. Nature Genetics.]() 4. [AnAge entry for Bos grunniens. Human Ageing Genomic Resources, AnAge.]() *Published October 10, 2026. 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