Yakhistorian from Washington state

[yakhistorian]

Hi, everyone,

I have been happily overwhelmed exploring ZooChat--what an incredible resource! It seems like such a nice community of helpful and very knowledgeable folks.

From the time I was little, I dragged my parents to every zoo, animal park, game farm and 4H fair available to feed my hunger for all things animal. In the past I volunteered at the Binghamton Zoo, at Last Chance Forever and other wildlife rehab centers, and was lucky enough to live within walking distance of the San Antonio Zoo for eight years. I have been very fortunate to have had hand's-on experiences with a wide variety of furred, feathered, scaled and slimy creatures, enjoying every one.

About 10 years ago, I was on the trek of a lifetime--in southern Siberia--and encountered my first herd of yaks. They were incredible--playfully bucking and running, tails over their backs, skirts flying, so much more energetic than cattle. It was love at first sight.

Fast forward to today: --and the love affair is going strong. I now raise yaks on our farm here in Western Washington. My avatar is my herd bull, Rogue. I am a member of the International Yak Association ( Tibetan Yak | Learn About Raising Yaks | Yak Association ) and I chair the History committee for our group. As such, I have the daunting task of trying to trace the arrival of yaks to North America, and their spread through Canada and the United States.

Yaks appear to have been imported from England (courtesy of the 11th Duke of Bedford, Herbrand Russell, Woburn Abbey) to Canada as livestock around 1909. They may have had an earlier presence here as zoo exhibits. Can any of you shed light on this? Many of the yak breeders in the U.S. acquired their stock in the 1990's from sources in Canada such as Al Oeming's Game Farm in Alberta. Others came from places like the Catskill Game Farm and Southwick's Zoo in Massachusetts.

I am hoping people here at ZooChat can help me with names, dates, stories, photos, contact information--anything, no matter how obscure, could be of value to my research. We are concerned with the genetics of our animals, so, being able to trace the various lineages to their source is my ultimate goal.

I am not very knowledgable on what resources may be out there concerning early zoo acquisitions or avenues by which zoos sold or otherwise dispersed their excess stock, but I am eager to learn.

Thank you for letting me introduce myself.

Sincerely,
Dianne

 

[DavidBrown]

Hi Dianne, welcome to Zoochat. I love yaks. I have no knowledge of yak history other than that the Oakland Zoo had one in their children's zoo in the 1990s (since bulldozed and renovated, and now sadly yak-less). There was also a guy in Fresno who tried to raise yaks (no joke). This article says that he got some of his yaks from Washington state, so maybe he got them from you: http://articles.latimes.com/1998/jul/22/food/fo-5869

 

[yakhistorian]

A real Shaggy Yak tale--or would that be "tail"?

Hi David,

What a story! No, those Washington yaks did not come from me. I know of at least a half dozen others who raise yaks here--any of them could have been the supplier. I am certainly glad it wasn't me--I would be livid to hear of any yaks from my farm coming to such a needlessly sad end.

Read between the lines, and you can see that there was some very obvious ignorance regarding yaks in general. "Royal" is simply the name designated for the black-and-white (think "pinto" or "piebald") color pattern. These yak are in no way "classier," although they are preferred by fiber artists because the white wool and hair can be dyed different colors. I have two Royals, as well as two Imperials, a Trim, an Imperial Trim, and a Native Black--again, just color names. They are all classy--and sassy--and just plain lovable:

Tibetan Yak colors | yak color patterns | yak images | Tibet images

Bonadelle appears to have confused domestic yak with their wild brethren, Bos mutus, when he states they thrive at 14 to 19,000 feet. Domestic yak are found from sea level up to "only" 10,000 feet, along with their herders.

Yak running even on the coldest winter day will pant like dogs after a very short sprint. They are endurance walkers, not runners.

And, the bull most likely gored the zebra because the zebra came too close, not because the yak was "grouchy"--yak bulls are territorial and very protective of their herd.

Bonadelle may have assumed he could just treat the yaks like his Watusi and water buffaloes. Wrong! Domestic yaks, Bos grunniens, do just fine in the heat--provided they have access to plenty of shade and a pond that they can immerse themselves in. There are a number of farmers and ranchers in Texas, Virginia, Oklahoma, New Mexico and California who raise yak.

Finally, healthy adult yaks can defend themselves quite handily against predators, including coyotes, cougars, bears and wolves. In fact, they are now being used as livestock guardians on some sheep ranches:

Guard Yaks | Wolf Ridge Icelandics

All in all, sounds like a case of more money than sense, impulse buying, and too little, too late. A real shame--for the yaks who had to suffer, and for the loss to the U.S. yak gene pool.

 

[Blackduiker]

Welcome to ZooChat Dianne. The Los Angeles Zoo received a pair of Yak as a gift from the now closed Catskill Game Farm to commemorate their opening in 1966. I vaguely remember seeing them on exhibit there in the 1960s. I believe the San Diego Zoo use to exhibit them as well.

 

[yakhistorian]

Thank you, Blackduiker, it's good to be here. And thank you for that information. The Catskill Game Farm may have been key in getting yaks distributed around North America. I would love to find out more about their yaks, but have not yet succeeded in getting in contact with anyone who may have information or access to the records.

I DO know that when they had their dispersal sale, at least a couple of yaks ended up being sold to ranches in Texas that provide canned trophy hunts to people willing to shell out thousands of dollars for the experience. Mind you, these are all Domestic yak, Bos grunniens, yet the clients are pretty much led to believe they are shooting a wild animal. Of course, actual Wild Yak, B. mutus, are a protected species (CITES Appendix I, protected in China since 1962) and wouldn't be able to survive the Texas climate very long anyway.

I think it is kind of hilarious that these folks think they are actually hunting a wild animal on par with a Cape Buffalo or Bison--and even more astonishing that they then will have the head of a Domestic yak mounted and displayed on their trophy wall. Not much different from mounting a Holstein or a Hereford...Mind you, I have no problem with hunting in general--and I am quite aware that revenue brought in by these hunts helps prevent the ranches from being turned into Walmarts. And certainly, the life of a "Game yak" free-roaming thousands of acres is certainly better than being fattened in a feedlot. But I wonder how many of these "yak hunters" eventually discover that the animal they so proudly shot was no more "wild" than a milk cow...