Shahzad et al., "Seroprevalence of Bluetongue virus in domestic yaks (Bos grunniens) in Tibetan regions of China based on circulating antibodies," Tropical Animal Health and Production, vol.
The domestic yak (Bos grunniens), which was domesticated from the wild yak (Bos mutus), is a long-haired, domesticated bovid that is found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia.
To improve the protection mechanism for the four large ungulates viz., Tibetan antelope Pantholops hodgsonii, Tibetan gazelle Procapra picticaudata, Kiang Equus kiang) and Wild Yak Bos grunniens; we suggest that the distance between the proposed route for the expressway and the present highway and railway should at least be 1500m, and ideally, it should be 2500m.
Yaks (Bos grunniens) are mainly distributed in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and nearby regions; they provide meat, milk, wool and fuel for Tibetan and nomadic pastoralists.
Yak (Bos grunniens) is the most important animal species in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau not only because of its economic value in meat, milk, and usage in agriculture, but also as an ideal model animal for studying the molecular mechanisms of adapting to the cold and low-oxygen environment (Hu et al., 2012).
Yak (Bos grunniens), living in the Tibetan Plateau, has successfully adapted to the chronic cold and low-oxygen environment of high altitude (~3,500 to 5,500 m).