What’s the difference between a cow and a yak?
The domestic Yak (Bos grunniens) is similar to domestic cattle, such as cows and bulls (Bos taurus or Bos primegenius).
They are both bovids or bovines.
They are both mammals with udders (that provide milk for their calves).
They both eat grass – they are herbivorous grazers.
They are both ungulates – they both have cloven hooves.
The domestic Yak grunts, whereas domestic cattle moo.
Yak with a tail like a horse’s tail
The Yak a long hairy tail like a horse’s tail, wherease cattle only have a tuft of hair at the end of the tail.
Cattle with a small tail that has a tuft of hair at the end
The domestic Yak has long hair, and most domestic cattle have short hair. Highland Cattle, from Scotland, have long hair to keep them warm, but Yaks have longer and thicker hair.
The Yak has outward and forward horns. Most cattle have horns, but not all. The shape and size of cattle horns depends on the breed. Cattle horns can be large or small, and downward or upward.
The Domestic Yak is from the cold mountainous regions of Asia, whereas the Domestic Cow, or Cattle, can be found across many climates and regions.
The Domestic Yak does not like warm regions. Domestic Cattle can live in warm regions.
Cattle
Yak
Cattle
Cattle
Cow (left) and Yak (right)
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM