What is the IUCN conservation status listed for the wild yak, *B. mutus*, which is protected under CITES Appendix I?
Answer
Vulnerable
The wild yak, scientifically designated as *Bos mutus*, holds the official conservation status of Vulnerable as classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This precarious status is significantly different from the domestic form, which boasts a global population exceeding 12 million individuals, largely concentrated on the Tibetan Plateau. To safeguard this declining wild population, *B. mutus* is also protected under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Related Questions
What sound characteristic earned the domestic yak the name Bos grunniens given by Linnaeus?Why did Nikolay Przhevalsky designate the wild yak with the name Bos mutus, translating to "mute bull"?What closer evolutionary relationship do current genomic evidence and mitochondrial DNA analyses suggest yaks share?What is the IUCN conservation status listed for the wild yak, *B. mutus*, which is protected under CITES Appendix I?What is the taxonomic implication if genomic data confirming a closer link between yaks and bison proves accurate for the genus *Bos*?Which historical classification placed the yak in a separate genus or subgenus due to its physiological distance from lowland cattle?What specific profound physiological adaptations enable yaks to survive high altitudes where cattle suffer from altitude sickness?How does the Tibetan language classification of yaks based on sex contrast with generalized Western nomenclature?What is the significance of maintaining *Bos mutus* as the officially recognized entity for conservation status tracking, despite academic discussions about paraphyly?What evidence points toward the domestication of the wild yak occurring over 2,500 years ago on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau?