A huge and imposing cow of an animal, the wild yak (Bos mutus) has stocky, high and humped shoulders and a broad, drooping head. Both males and females have horns, which grow out of the sides of the head and curve upwards halfway along their length. The horns of females are shorter than those of the males, reaching just 51 centimeters, compared to 95 centimeters in males; females are also just one third of the body size of males. For protection against the extreme cold of Tibet, the wild yak has a dense undercoat of soft, closely-matted fur, covered by dark brown, long and shaggy hair that almost reaches the ground. The legs are relatively short and have broad hooves that are slightly splayed to aid walking through thick snow.
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