Maiwa

Maiwa yak in Sichuan

Has a medium-sized head and a wide flat forhead, straight back, a well-developed belly, a long body with short legs and small solid feet. Most of the animals are horned.

Belongs to Hongyuan country of Sichuan province, which borders Gansu and Qinghai provinces.

The breed originated from almost the same locality as the present-day jiulong yak. However, it was taken by a migratory tribe to its present habitat, passing through southern Qinghai, in the 1910s. During that migration, mating occurred with other domestic yak on route and with yak when it first settled in Hongyuan, when wild yak were still known to come down from Qinghai. The resulting infusions of genes are thought to heave improved the original type. The better pasture and ecological environment of the new habitat assisted its development.