THE YAK. 83 



The bushy tail of the Yak is well known, being highly prized in India, where it is called 

 ' Chdori. ' It is used for switching away flies, and used to be considered one of the emblems 

 of Royalty. The white tails which are brought for sale, are those of tame Yak ; tails of the 

 wild species are black and of much greater size. 



The horns of the Yak are not remarkably large in proportion to the size of the animal : 

 they grow to about three feet in length, and fourteen inches in circumference. The head, 

 however, is very grand ; the horns are finely curved, and the forehead broad and massive, 

 the shaggy hair which nearly conceals the eyes adding much to the wildness of its 

 appearance. 



The neck is thick and muscular, and the withers rise very high, forming a sort of hump. 

 The fore-quarter of the Yak reminds one of the American Bison, but, unlike that animal, he 

 does not fall away behind ; the back being nearly level, and the hind-quarters quite in 

 proportion to the rest of the body. The legs are extraordinarily short and thick, and the 

 hoofs large, the track of an old bull being nearly as large as that of a Camel. 



The cow Yak is considerably inferior in size to the bull, and her horns are small, but 

 otherwise she much resembles him. 



The Yak inhabits the wildest and most desolate mountains ; it delights in extreme cold ; 

 and is found, as a rule, at a greater elevation than any other animal. Although so large a 

 beast, it thrives upon the coarsest pasturage, and its usual food consists of a rough wiry grass 

 which grows in all the higher valleys of Thibet, up to an elevation of nearly 20,000 feet- 

 On the banks of the streams in many places a more luxuriant grass is met with, and it is 

 particularly plentiful in the valleys of Chung Chenmo and Kyobrung, forming the attraction 

 which entices the Yak from the still wilder and more barren country farther north. Yak 

 seem to wander about a great deal. In summer the cows are generally to be found in herds 

 varying in numbers from ten to one hundred, while the old bulls are for the most part solitary 

 or in small parties of three or four. They feed at night and early in the morning, and 

 usually betake themselves to some steep and barren hill-side during the day, lying sometimes 

 for hours in the same spot. Old bulls in particular seem to rejoice in choosing a command- 

 ing situation for their resting place, and their tracks may be found on the tops of the steepest 

 hills far above the highest traces of vegetation. 



The Yak is not, apparently, a very sharp-sighted beast, but its sense of smelling is 

 extremely keen, and this is the chief danger to guard against in stalking it. In the high 

 valleys of Thibet, where so many glens intersect one another, and where the temperature is 

 continually changing, the wind is equally variable. It will sometimes shift to every point 

 of the compass in the course of a few minutes, and the best planned stalk may be utterly 

 spoiled. This is one of the chances which adds to the uncertainty of sport, and thereby, 

 however provoking at the time, greatly enhances its charms. 



Partially white wild Yak have occasionally been seen, but these were probably the 

 result of a cross between the wild cows and domestic bulls. The latter are frequently allowed 

 to roam for months among the mountains where the wild Yak are found, so it is not unlikely 

 that the two species may sometimes inter-breed. The tame Yak is smaller than the 



