WEBVTT - How Do Yaks Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey Brainstuff Lauren Vogelbaum.

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<v Speaker 1>Here For those who make the track up the peaks

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<v Speaker 1>of the Himalayan Mountains in Central Asia, it's not uncommon

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<v Speaker 1>to spot a yak, a herd animal that looks a

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<v Speaker 1>bit like a large hunched cow with handlebar shaped horns

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<v Speaker 1>wearing a shaggy shawl. These hardy, agile creatures can withstand

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<v Speaker 1>temperatures as low as negative forty degrees, which is the

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<v Speaker 1>same in celsius and fahrenheit, which is fun, and their

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<v Speaker 1>impressive lung capacity allows them to breed easier than any

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<v Speaker 1>hiker they'll encounter, even when on the job as a

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<v Speaker 1>pack animal. Even those of us who live elsewhere and

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<v Speaker 1>forego the climb still have plenty of yack siding possibilities.

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<v Speaker 1>In the United States, for example, small farms in Colorado

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<v Speaker 1>and some of the northern coastal states are raising yaks

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<v Speaker 1>in growing numbers, increasingly popular for their easy maintenance, valuable fiber,

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<v Speaker 1>and tasty meat and milk. Yaks are in the same

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<v Speaker 1>genus as cattle, but they are different species, and DNA

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<v Speaker 1>and archaeological records show that they were first domesticated from

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<v Speaker 1>wild yaks more than two five hundred years ago in

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<v Speaker 1>the Tibetan Plateau. Yaks are known to be friendly and

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<v Speaker 1>even playful creatures. They aren't typically aggressive toward humans, but

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<v Speaker 1>like most mamas, they can get pretty protective of their young.

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<v Speaker 1>They're also easy to train, and they are good at surviving

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<v Speaker 1>harsh elements. The herd will cuddle up together during a snowstorm,

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<v Speaker 1>always making sure to keep the calves safe in the

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<v Speaker 1>middle of the pack. But despite their many cowl like features,

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<v Speaker 1>there's no mooing here. Sometimes known as the grunting ox,

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<v Speaker 1>yaks make a low grunting noise sort of like a pig,

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<v Speaker 1>to communicate with each other or when they get excited

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<v Speaker 1>and want to play. Otherwise, they're relatively silent creatures. Yaks

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<v Speaker 1>are genetically adapted to survive in altitudes up to twenty

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<v Speaker 1>thousand feet or six thousand meters, atopping the list of

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<v Speaker 1>high altitude mammals. Their lungs are so unusually lard that

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<v Speaker 1>they require an extra pair of ribs. A yak has

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<v Speaker 1>fourteen pairs of ribs instead of thirteen like a cow,

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<v Speaker 1>just to support those lungs. That greater lung capacity, along

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<v Speaker 1>with a greater number of red blood cells than other bovines,

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<v Speaker 1>allows them to get enough oxygen out of the thin

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<v Speaker 1>mountain air. Also, their poop doesn't stink. It's not that

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<v Speaker 1>they think they're better than everyone else, but when yaks

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<v Speaker 1>are given sufficient access to water and forage to eat,

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<v Speaker 1>they're dung has little to no odor. That's a big

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<v Speaker 1>perk for those collecting the dried excrement for fuel. The

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<v Speaker 1>Tipetan plateaus don't have trees, making yak dung the only

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<v Speaker 1>easily obtainable fuel in some areas. In fact, when it

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<v Speaker 1>comes to providing useful food and goods, these shaggy bow

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<v Speaker 1>vines are a bit of a yak of all trades.

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<v Speaker 1>Their milk is used to make several types of cheese,

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<v Speaker 1>including a dried in smoked variety that can be stored

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<v Speaker 1>for years. But the thick, fatty butter made from yac

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<v Speaker 1>milk is the real star. A mixed with black tea

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<v Speaker 1>and salt, it creates pocha, sometimes known as Tibetan butter tea.

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<v Speaker 1>This tea provides loads of vital calories in areas with

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<v Speaker 1>sparse resources, and it's such a big part of the

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<v Speaker 1>culture that the Dali lama drinks it daily. The locals

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<v Speaker 1>make sure that none of the butter goes to waste,

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<v Speaker 1>though it's also used to fuel lamps, bring shine to

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<v Speaker 1>fur coats, and create a base for traditional butter sculptures.

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<v Speaker 1>Yak meat has long been another important source of nutrients,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's slowly growing in popularity around the globe. It's

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<v Speaker 1>leaner than beef, with a similar but perhaps more mild flavor,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's perhaps more efficient to rear yaks for meat

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<v Speaker 1>than it is cattle. Since yaks are very efficient absorbing nutrients,

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<v Speaker 1>they only consume a third of the food that cows do.

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<v Speaker 1>Their wool can also be used for everything from sturdy

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<v Speaker 1>rugs to the softest sweaters. Their coarse outer fur can

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<v Speaker 1>be woven to make things like tents, ropes, and saddle bags.

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<v Speaker 1>Their mid coat might go to make outerwear, but the

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<v Speaker 1>most valuable yak fiber is their super soft undercoat. As

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<v Speaker 1>yaks shed this ultrafine layer in the spring, it's combed

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<v Speaker 1>out and spun to make warm, ohso soft clothing that

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<v Speaker 1>rivals the luxury of cashmere. A vital part of Himalayan

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<v Speaker 1>culture and economy, Yaks have earned their reputation as highly

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<v Speaker 1>adaptable and uniquely beautiful bovines. Mongolia celebrates their beloved yaks

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<v Speaker 1>during multiple annual yak festivals. In addition to tasting lots

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<v Speaker 1>of yak cheeses and other local dishes, you can watch

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<v Speaker 1>yak rodeo events, demonstrations of yak fi, yberworking, competitions for

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<v Speaker 1>the best dressed yak, and yak racing, which apparently is

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<v Speaker 1>the slowest event of the day, with most yaks crossing

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<v Speaker 1>the finish line at a casual amble if they haven't

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<v Speaker 1>gotten distracted and wandered off halfway. Today's episode is based

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<v Speaker 1>on the article Yakta Yak seven fun Facts about Yaks

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<v Speaker 1>on how Stuffworks dot Com, written by Katiecarmen. The brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how Stuffworks

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<v Speaker 1>dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more

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