Close Encounters Of The "Yak" Kind - Intro

The yak is a long-haired member of the bovine family, domesticated in Tibet thus also referred to as the Tibetan Yak..

Yaks shed their fiber in the spring so it is often collected by combing during their shedding time. The fiber has a good crimp and is not too slippery for spinning.

This male Yak is priced at $5,000 at the Yak show at Cow Palace.


These are two baby Yaks, priced at $2,000 each or two for $3,500.


Yak breeders post their pedigrees on the bulletin board.

The microns of Yak fiber is believed to be 14-22, staple length around 1.5 inches. This is a scarf handspun and hand knit by a spinner. Most of the Yak breeders are not fiber artists or spinners. According to the owner of this scarf, a Yak on average produces 1 to 2 pounds of fiber each year. Color: mainly dark brown, some gray,black and de-pigmented white.

This is a closer look of the Yak scarf. The price tag on this scarf is $125.