IoT-Based Smart Collar Developed for Himalayan Yaks
#GS-3 #Science & Technology #ICT #Environment #Wildlife #Current Events #National
Why in News
- Indian scientists have created a smart IoT collar to monitor the health, stress levels, and location of high-altitude yaks in remote Himalayan grazing grounds near international borders.
About the Indian Yak
- Known as the ship of the Himalayas, the Indian yak (Bos grunniens) is a high-altitude animal that easily survives severe cold and rocky terrain.
- This animal serves as an important source of daily living and income for local communities across the Himalayan belt.
Distribution
- India currently has a total population of around 58,000 yaks, with nearly 50% of them living in Ladakh.
- Other main regions where yaks are reared include Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
- Wild yaks live mostly in the high pastures of the Tibetan Plateau.
Habitat
- Yaks live in high alpine meadows, alpine steppes, and desert steppes located between 3,200 and 5,400 metres above sea level.
- They prefer freezing cold plateaus and move from one area to another with changing seasons to look for grass, moss, and lichens.
Physical Features
- Wild male yaks can weigh as much as 1,000 kg, while female yaks weigh around 300 kg.
- They have long blackish-brown hair, curved horns, broad hooves, large lungs, high red blood cell counts, and high haemoglobin levels to breathe easily in low-oxygen environments.
Behaviour and Food Habits
- Yaks graze mainly during the daytime and naturally move together in herds.
- Females and young calves stay in larger herds, while adult males usually live alone or form smaller groups.
- Their natural diet consists of short grasses, shrubs, forbs, mosses, lichens, and other low-growing mountain plants.
Reproduction and Lifespan
- Wild yaks enter their mating season in September, and female yaks give birth to calves in June after a 9-month gestation period.
- A female yak typically produces 1 calf every 2 years, and wild yaks can live up to 25 years.
Conservation Status of Wild Yak
- Under the IUCN Red List, the wild yak (Bos mutus) is classified as Vulnerable.
- Under the international CITES convention, it is placed in Appendix I.
- Under India's Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, it receives the highest level of legal protection under Schedule I.