Once
decimated by hunting, wild yaks may be returning
January
2013. A team of American and Chinese conservationists from the Wildlife
Conservation Society and University of Montana recently counted nearly
1,000 wild yaks in a remote area of the Tibetan-Qinghai Plateau. The finding
may indicate a comeback for this species, which was decimated by overhunting in
the mid-20th century.
990
yaks in Hoh Xil National Nature Reserve
The team counted 990 yaks in a rugged area called Hoh Xil - a national nature reserve nearly the size of West Virginia but devoid of people. The remote region lies in the mid-eastern Tibetan-Himalayan highlands, home to some 17,000 glaciers - an area sometimes called the "3rd pole" due to its Arctic-like conditions.
The team counted 990 yaks in a rugged area called Hoh Xil - a national nature reserve nearly the size of West Virginia but devoid of people. The remote region lies in the mid-eastern Tibetan-Himalayan highlands, home to some 17,000 glaciers - an area sometimes called the "3rd pole" due to its Arctic-like conditions.
Third
largest mammal in Asia
Wild yaks are the third largest mammal in Asia, second only to elephants and rhinos. Adults are estimated to be the size of bison, but - because the area where they occur is so isolated - wild yaks have never been officially weighed. Fifty years ago, the Tibetan steppe was dotted with wild yak much in the way that bison once stretched across vast North American prairies. Like bison, wild yaks were slaughtered. Yak skulls still litter high elevation haunts up to 17,500 feet.
Wild yaks are the third largest mammal in Asia, second only to elephants and rhinos. Adults are estimated to be the size of bison, but - because the area where they occur is so isolated - wild yaks have never been officially weighed. Fifty years ago, the Tibetan steppe was dotted with wild yak much in the way that bison once stretched across vast North American prairies. Like bison, wild yaks were slaughtered. Yak skulls still litter high elevation haunts up to 17,500 feet.
Wild
yak population estimates across the Tibetan-Qinghai Plateau are unknown, though
conservationists believe they may be making a comeback due to conservation
efforts by Chinese park officials and provincial governments. Recently, the
Qinghai provincial government has launched several conservation related
policies and regional projects in order to develop a sound basis for wildlife and
environmental conservation in this region.
"Wild
yaks are icons for the remote, untamed, high-elevation roof of the world,"
said Joel Berger who led the expedition for WCS and the University of Montana.
"While polar bears represent a sad disclaimer for a warming Arctic, the
recent count of almost 1000 wild yaks offers hope for the persistence of
free-roaming large animals at the virtual limits of high-altitude
wildlife."
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