The largest animal of this cold desert is the yak (dong), a wild ox. First described only a century ago by the famous Russian naturalist explorer, N. M. Przewalski, the wild yak is definitely more imposing than its placid domestic counterpart. Immensely shaggy and weighing about a ton it has curved horns whose tips can be as wide apart as 90 cm. and measure 76 cm. over the curves. It can easily be differentiated by its long black hair, which is tinged with gray at the muzzle. Spending its summers at a height above 6,000 meters, in winter it moves in herds to the lakes, marshes and lower valleys. It is this highly insulated shaggy coat which helps Yak to survive in such extreme cold. Yaks are found in the wild in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Yaks have been domesticated in Ladakh for thousands of years and are a very valuable animal in the Himalayan economy. Their they used yaks as a beast of burden to carry loads and to plough fields. The local people also drink its milk and eat its meat. The Yak's thick hair is used to weave blankets and ropes and Yak dung provides fuel in the treeless areas of Ladakh and the Tibetan Plateau.