468 



THE CLOVEN-HOOFED ANIMALS. 



Propagation of the The cow gives birth usually to a 

 Species of the single young one, or very rarely to 

 Ox Tribe. two. The calf is always perfectly 



developed and able to follow its mother almost im- 

 mediately after birth. The mother gives evidence 

 of the strongest maternal love and treats her calf 

 with great tenderness, suckles, cleans, licks and 

 caresses it and defends it against any dangerous 

 attack with the most reckless courage. The bulls 

 of some species assume the office of protector and 

 guardian of the calves when they have grown suffi- 

 ciently to be weaned by their mothers. 

 The Entire Tribe of All species of Oxen may be more 

 Oxen Adaptable or less readily tamed and trained to 

 to Domestication, devote themselves to the service of 

 Man; they soon become accustomed and attached 

 to their keeper, respond to his calls and yield obedi- 

 ence even to weak children; but they do not evince 

 a special preference for their master above others, 

 deporting: themselves toward every one with equal 

 kindness when once they are tamed. 

 Hunting of Oxen The hunting of the wild species of 

 an Exciting and Oxen is a dangerous pursuit; an 

 Noble Pursuit, irritated bull especially is an ad- 

 versary not to be lightly regarded, and one to be 

 approached with the utmost caution. But in this 

 very element of danger is to be found the reason 

 which renders this sport popular to the true hunts- 

 man and for the fact that among some nations this 

 kind of sport is regarded as truly noble and surpass- 

 ing all others of its kind. 

 Physical Pecul- The Yak or Grunting Ox (Bos grun- 

 iarities of the mefis) has a body of sturdy build and 

 Yak. a moderately large and very broad 



head which tapers uniformly from the long, flat 

 forehead to the club-shaped muzzle. The eyes are 

 small and of a dull expression, and the ears are 

 small and rounded. The horns are set on the rear 

 portion of the dome of the skull, one on each side 

 of the frontal ridge. In shape they are horizontally 

 compressed, rounded in front but ridged on the back 

 surface. They curve first backward, then again for- 

 ward and upward, and the tips point outward and 

 backward. The neck is short, like that of the com- 

 mon bull. The outline of the back shows promi- 

 nent projections and depressions in the region of the 

 shoulders and then slopes gently toward the tail. 

 The tail itself is long and tipped with a bushy tuft 

 which reaches to the ground. The outer covering 

 of the body consists of uniformly colored, long hairs 

 of fine texture, which sometimes fall all over the 

 face and also form a heavy, wavy, mane- like append- 

 age which falls, curtain-like, on the withers and 

 along both sides of the body. Adult Yaks are of a 

 beautiful deep black, tinted with brown on the back 

 and sides; but the muzzle is of a grayish hue, and a 

 silvery gray stripe extends along the back. Old 

 Bulls attain a total length of fourteen feet two 

 inches; the height from the ground to the top of 

 the hump is six feet four inches, and the horns are 

 from thirty-two to thirty-six inches long. A full- 

 grown cow, however, barely attains a length of nine 

 Feet four inches, and a height of five feet four inches. 

 Range and The plateaus and mountain ranges of 

 Habits of the Tibet and adjacent countries harbor 

 Yah. tnc Yak; table-lands of from thirteen 



to twenty thousand feet elevation are its favorite 

 haunts. The barren soil of its bleak home is covered 

 with wiry grass only in those spots which raging 

 storms bury under the snow in winter. Amid such 

 wastes the Yak satisfies its frugal wants, secures pro- 



tection from human attacks and thus succeeds in its 

 struggle to maintain its existence more easily than 

 one would suppose. 



Notwithstanding its great strength, the Yak is in- 

 ferior, in physical endowments, to the other animals 

 of the mountains. It is true that it vies with the 

 wild Sheep and the Ibex in climbing, and is equally 

 as sure-footed among the loftiest and wildest crags, 

 ridges and steep declivities; but when it runs over 

 level ground any Horse can overtake it. Among its 

 perceptive senses that of smell surpasses all others 

 in keenness. That its intelligence is of a low grade 

 is attested not only by its disproportionately small 

 brain, but still more by its behavior in danger. The 

 most notable characteristic of the Yak is its laziness. 

 Early in the morning and at night it seeks its food; 

 the remainder of the day it devotes to rest, which it 

 takes either standing or lying down. The only sign 

 of life it then gives is the chewing of its cud, but for 

 which it might, from its motionless attitude, be easily 

 taken for a stone monument. 



A single calf is born to the cow of this species, 

 and is suckled and kept under its mother's care for 

 presumably over a year, as the Mongols say that the 

 Yak cow gives birth to young only once in two 

 years. In its sixth or eighth year the Yak is said 

 to be full grown, and in its twenty-fifth year it dies 

 of old age, unless its life be prematurely ended by 

 disease or a sportsman's bullet. No other enemy 

 which might prove fatal to it climbs to the heights 

 where the Yak makes its home. 



Yak Hunting a The pursuit of the Yak is as attract- 

 Dangerous ive to a bold and well armed hunter 

 Sport. as it is dangerous. The powerful ani- 



mal, if not mortally wounded, is apt to charge at the 

 sportsman without hesitancy, and even if the latter 

 has courage, skill, presence of mind and the best of 

 arms, he can never count with certainty upon felling 

 with a second shot the beast which, mad with rage 

 and pain, rushes at him. A bullet from the most 

 powerful rifle can only inflict a mortal wound in the 

 head when it penetrates the small area occupied by 

 the brain and lacerates that organ; and a body-shot 

 is fatal only when it pierces the heart. For these 

 reasons the Mongols fear the Yak as they would a 

 demon, and go out of their way to avoid it. If they 

 do summon up the courage to hunt it, they do so in 

 parties of from eight to twelve or more, and fire at 

 the Yak only from ambush. 



Kenlock praises the excellent flavor of the Yak's 



flesh, though he always found it very lean, and he 



esteems the tongue and marrow bones as delicacies. 



The Yak In all those countries which harbor 



Is Extensively the Yak in their high mountains, this 



Domesticated, beast is also found in a state of bond- 

 age as a useful and important domestic animal. 

 The tame Yak differs little from the wild one in 

 respect to shape and hair, but it varies from the 

 parent stock in the matter of coloring. Yaks of a 

 pure black hue are rare; generally even those most 

 resembling the wild ones show white spots. Brown, 

 red and mottled individuals are frequently to be 

 seen. Several strains have already been artificially 

 produced perhaps by crossing with other species of 

 Oxen. Occasionally tame Yaks have reverted to 

 the wild state and after a few generations have re- 

 gained, their original color. The tame herds, like 

 their wild kinsmen, thrive only in cold, lofty moun- 

 tainous regions, and sicken and perish in countries 

 where the climate is hot, while they bear intense 

 cold with great indifference. 



