Tibetan Yak

Yaks have a classic 'old world' appearance, Also known as the Tibetan Bison, the yak is a close genetic relative of the American bison. True Native Wild yaks are black with a grey muzzle, the shoulders of a yak are high and humped, horse-like tails, and long 'skirts' of hair that hang down their sides to the ground, and have a broad drooping head. Their short legs have broad hooves and large dewclaws to help them man-oeuvre over steep mountainous terrain. The bulls are very large and some bulls attain heights of about 6 feet at the shoulder hump, and weigh up to 2000 lbs, and may live more than 20 years. The horns are curved and grow out from the sides of the head and curve upwards. Both male and female yaks have horns, though those of the females are considerably smaller and shorter. The bulls horns can grow up to 95 cm / 38 inches in length.

The Yak is found throughout the Himalayan region of south central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. Yaks are native to the high country, and can live easily at elevations of over 22,000 feet .The hair of the wild yak is black and short, except on the flanks and tail where it forms a long, shaggy fringe. Their dense coats and thick hides are necessary to protect them from the bitter cold of the high mountains. Our Yaks are the furthest northern herd in North America, our winters are long and cold up here, and our yaks grow the thickest longest coats of hair you will ever see on any ranch, thus making them an impressive trophy.

You do not have to surf the internet to much to see photos of small Asian children riding yaks or yaks being used as beasts of burden carrying a pack, but these animals are often crossbred with domestic cattle, as domestication is easily attained when this is done. When crossed they often times loose the large hump on their shoulders. The males are used as pack animals and the females are used for milk animals. There has been many attempts by the nomads of Asia to domesticate young drongs (a young yak) as domestic animals, but they have never entirely succeeded. But if the young are bottlefed they can be domesticated. For my purpose, we found if pure yaks are raised in a "wild" setting and not exposed to humans at an early age, there instincts tell them to fear humans, and make a very wily animal, identical to the North American Bison. This is the way we raise our bull yaks here at Silvertine. Starting with Full Blood 100% pure Tibetan Yaks, turning them out onto the preserve at a young age, and allowing them to live "naturally" and without human management, thus making a animal we have to "hunt" for, just like their ancestors.

We also offer the "Royal" Yak as an exotic as well. The Royal is identical to the Black Native Tibetan Yak except it is Black and White in color, to the best of my knowledge it was developed through crossbreeding with Cattle, and then bread back to pure Yaks over hundreds of years. Now they have been established and recognized as a breed of yak. Their hides are very nice and make a beautiful throw rug in any trophy room.  

About Yak Meat . . .

Yak in North America are typically raised for their lean meat. The Bull Yak makes an excellent trophy because of its size, but the bonus is you get a truck load of  some of the healthiest, best tasting meat in the world.

Yak is a sweet and delicately flavored red meat, lighter tasting than beef, juicier than buffalo and elk, and never gamey or greasy. The taste of Yak is best described as beef-like, but more delicate in flavor. It is naturally very lean as the fat is located primarily on the outside of the carcass and is easily trimmed off resulting in low marbling which makes yak some of the most heart healthy meat on the market today. Yak must be tasted to truly be appreciated.

Yak meat is a dark red meat that is naturally very lean, 95 - 97% fat free. But because of its high Omega 3 oil, Conjugated Linoleic Acid, Oleic Acid, and Stearic Acid content (35% higher than beef!) it remains very juicy when cooked unlike most game or other exotic meats such as buffalo.

Yak meat is higher in protein, minerals, and vitamins than beef while remaining much lower in saturated fats, triglycerides, cholesterol (Lower than even salmon or most other fish). It is lower in calories than beef, bison, elk, or even skinless chicken breast. In addition, yak has a very low, 30% less than beef, percentage of Palmitic Acid which has been found to be harmful to humans.

The bottom line; Yak meat is a healthy, delicately flavored red meat!