Tibetan yaks found on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau have been tamed and adopted by the Tibetans as the major transport mode for thousands of years. Covered with thick, long hairs (mostly black, but some white), the animals herd together and live on plants growing close to the ground because of the fierce weather sweeping the plateau region. They are good at walking nimbly along icy slopes and on ice. Docile as they are, the Tibetan yaks are extremely tough and can resist the scarcity of oxygen and long periods of freezing cold. They are indispensable to Tibetan herders for their milk, meat, hides and hair (1957)
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