Yak calf Pedro said hello to the world Sept. 10 at the Hellabrunn Zoo in Munich, Germany. He was born to 4-year-old Kat and 2-and-half-year-old Norbu, announced the zoo.
Pedro, who takes after his father and was born with an impressive white coat, weighed 12 kilos at birth with a sturdy frame. He is expected to have a shoulder height of up to 2.20 meters and weigh up to 580 kilos, said the zoo.
Yaks experience a gestation period between 257 and 270 days, and then the female goes to a secluded spot to give birth. Nature empowers the young yak calf to walk within 10 minutes of being born. Shortly after this, the pair rejoin the herd, explained Zoo Borns.
Known biologically as the Bos grunniens or Bos mutus, the yak is a native of the Himalayan region and southern Central Asia. The domestic variety of this long-haired bovine is called Bos grunniens, or grunting ox, because of the loud sound it emits. All yaks in zoos across the world are of the domestic variety.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists the wild yak (Bos mutus) or mute ox as "Vulnerable."
