About Himalayan Yak
- Yaks belong to the genus Bos and are therefore related to cattle (Bos primigenius species).
- Domestic Yak (Bos Grunniens) descended from the wild yak (Bos mutus).
- Distribution:
- Yak is found throughout the Himalayan region — Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, North Bengal, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir — while wild Yak is found in Tibet.
- It is also found as far north as Mongolia and Russia.
- National Research Centre on Yak:
- The Government of India established the ICAR-National Research Centre on Yak, in 1989 at Dirang, Arunachal Pradesh as a dedicated centre for research into yak husbandry.
- Yak Census 2019:
- According to a census carried out in 2019, India has some 58,000 yaks – a drop of about 25% from the livestock census of 2012.
- The drastic decline could be attributed to less remuneration from the bovid and discouraging the younger generations from continuing with nomadic yak rearing.
- The sale of yak milk and meat is limited to local consumers.
Last updated on Sep, 2026
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