Yak
Bos grunniens Linnaeus, 1766
Status not recordedmammals
The yak (Bos grunniens), also called the grunting ox or domestic yak, is a mammal in the family Bovidae, subfamily Bovinae and tribe Bovini. It is a giant, terrestrial and diurnal herbivore, with an adult body mass of 416.5 kg and reported values from 350 kg to 1 tonne.
Quick facts about the yak
Its gestation period is 272 days, a litter has 1 young, and it reaches sexual maturity at 2 years. Its lifespan is given as 25 years, with a highest reported value of 26.3 years.
- Weight
- 350 kg – 1 tsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 25 years – 26.3 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 258 days – 272 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2.03 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 0.775src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the yak
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the yak live?
Not recorded
What is the yak?
The yak (Bos grunniens) is a species of long-haired domesticated Asian cattle found throughout the Himalayan region, the Tibetan Plateau, Tajikistan, the Pamir Mountains, and as far north as Mongolia and Siberia. It is descended from the wild yak (Bos mutus).
From the Wikipedia article “Yak” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yak&oldid=1382411587), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the yak endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the yak classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familyBovidae
- genusBos
- SpeciesBos grunniens Linnaeus, 1766
Synonyms Bos grunniens grunniens
Other names and names in other languages (56)
- Domestic yakEnglish
- Grunting oxEnglish
- ȜeacOld English
- قطاسArabic
- قطاس أليفArabic
- ياك مستأنسArabic
- ثور التبت المستأنسArabic
- གཡགTibetan
- Jak divokýCzech
- YakokseDanish
- HausyakGerman
- WildyakGerman
- ΓιακGreek
- GruntbovoEsperanto
- JakkEstonian
- غژگاوPersian
- jakkiFinnish
- YackFrench
- Yak domestiqueFrench
- GeacIrish
- IacGalician
- યાકGujarati
- יאקHebrew
- יאק הביתHebrew
- házi jakHungarian
- YakoIdo
- ヤクJapanese
- იაკიGeorgian
- ҚодасKazakh
- 야크Korean
- JakasLithuanian
- JaksLatvian
- याकMarathi
- စာမရီBurmese
- BéégashiiʼilíNavajo
- jakNorwegian Bokmål
- चौंरी गाईNepali
- jak zwyczajnyPolish
- یاکWestern Panjabi
- IaquePortuguese
- Домашний якRussian
- සෙමරාSinhala
- Jak divýSlovak
- ЈакSerbian
- grymtoxeSwedish
- చమరీ మృగంTelugu
- จามรีThai
- Evcil YakTurkish
- Evcil Tibet SığırıTurkish
- Tibet sığırıTurkish
- ЯкUdmurt
- قوتازUyghur
- Як свійськийUkrainian
- Bò Tây TạngVietnamese
- 牦牛Chinese
- 家氂牛Chinese
Relatives of the yak
Other species in the same genus Bos.
Aurochs
Bos primigenius
Gaur
Bos gaurus
Wild yak
Bos mutus
Banteng
Bos javanicus
Kouprey
Bos sauveli
Gaur
Bos frontalis
CompareYak vs AurochsYak vs GaurYak vs Wild yakYak vs Banteng
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is a yak?
The yak is a mammal in the family Bovidae and the genus Bos, within the order Artiodactyla.
How heavy is a yak?
An adult yak has a body mass of 416.5 kg, with reported values from 350 kg to 1 tonne.
What does a yak eat?
The yak is a herbivore.
How long does a yak live?
The yak's lifespan is given as 25 years, with a highest reported value of 26.3 years.
How long is a yak's gestation period?
A yak's gestation period is 272 days, and a litter has 1 young.
When does a yak reach sexual maturity?
A yak reaches sexual maturity at 2 years (742.5 days).
Who named the yak?
The yak, Bos grunniens, was named by Linnaeus, 1766.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Yak (Bos grunniens). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/yak
“Yak (Bos grunniens).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/yak.
@misc{yak_2026,
title = {Yak (Bos grunniens)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/yak},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}