YAKS

Yaks are approximately what you would get if you could cross a buffalo with a sheep. Reared for their wool, meat, and milk, yaks have long been a domestic beast. Indeed, they were so rare in the wild, that it took the Seventh Umbral Calamity to release them from their pens and encourage them to run feral. (1)

Yaks are so ill-suited to summer months, they must be sheared on the regular so as not to perish of the heat. Fortunately, they are now mostly found in snow-ridden areas such as Coerthas or Garlemald. (1) (2)

(1) Encyclopaedia Eorzea Vol. 1, p. 277
(2) Mob distribution as of 6.0

Known species/types of yaks:

- Forgotten ovibos
- The Last Yak
- Longhair yak
- Ovibos

- Territorial ovibos
- Wooly yak
- Surabhi

FORGOTTEN OVIBOS

Having escaped from their pens in the wake of Garlemald's devastation, ovibos have free range over the snowy fields, seeking new graze. With no known owners of the beasts in sight, Garlean survivors hunt them for meat. (3)

(3) FATE: Trespassers Will Be Eaten

Habitats:
- Garlemald, the Eblan Rime (FATE only)

Combat Rating: 79

Special note:​

Though ovibos are cultivated as much for their milk as anything else, those known as "forgotten ovibos" do not give milk.

THE LAST YAK

Not all who wander are hostile, it would seem. Ishgardian knights stationed in the Western Coerthas Highlands speak of the Last Yak, who saved their brethren from dying when caught in the open in a blizzard.

As they suffered in the ever-deepening cold, the great beastkin trundled out of the snow to them. They dubbed it the Last Yak, believing it would be the last thing they would ever behold--but to their great surprise, it permitted them to burrow into its fleece, and bore them back to their camp. (4)

In gratitude for its timely aid, the knights fed the Last Yak well on ale and bread, and an adventurer escorted it to its herd the next morning. The knights firmly believe that the Last Yak may well be a servant of Halone--not unreasonably, as its heroism is not normal behavior for a yak gone feral. (4)

To this day, the knights are delighted when they see their old savior, feed it royally and celebrate it, and then see it escorted safely back to its kin. (5)

(4) Levequest: Don't Come Back
(5) Levequest: The Second Coming of Yak

Habitat: Coerthas Western Highlands, Falcon's Nest (levequest only)

Combat Rating: 50

LONGHAIR YAK

Longhair yaks are apparently particularly fierce among their brethren, for Ishgardian patrols in the Coerthas Western Highlands call them "fiends" and cull them regularly. (6)

(6) Quest: The Stiff and the Spent

Habitats:
- Coerthas Western Highlands, Twinpools (quest only)

Combat Rating: 52

OVIBOS

Garlemald may be technologically advanced, but food still comes from traditional sources, such as crops and cattle. Of cattle, they cultivated the ovibos yak, which has now returned to the Eblan Rime wild, with no herders to hold them back. (3)

Ovibos can be hunted for meat and wool, but for the culinarian, their primary value is their milk, which has a unique flavor among dairy. (7)

(3) FATE: Trespassers Will Be Eaten (forgotten ovibos)
(7) Item tooltip: Ovibos Milk

Habitat: Garlemald, the Eblan Rime

Combat Rating: 82

TERRITORIAL OVIBOS

With ovibos running wild, it was inevitable that the strongest among them would begin to stake claims to new holdings. (3) Treasure hunters who seek buried troves in Garlemald have on occasion been ambushed by the creatures, which are drawn by the musk sprayed by trapped chests.

Curiously, they are unconcerned with other, more familiar predators who also answer the call, such as icetraps and wolves; they would much sooner trample Spoken targets into a snowy grave.

(3) FATE: Trespassers Will Be Eaten (forgotten ovibos)

Habitat: Garlemald

Territorial ovibos are seldom seen, except when lured by a trap. Those seeking treasures using a Saigaskin Map should take caution

Combat Rating: 90

WOOLY YAK

Wooly yaks rove wide and numerous upon the frozen plain of the Coerthas Western Highlands. Still valued for their fleece, they are oft hunted so that ever more blankets may be spun. (8) Curiously enough, the hide of a yak, when laid upon a fire, can turn its smoke bright purple. (9) Yak milk is also much used in Ishgardian cuisine, though it has a peculiar odor that many may find unsavory. (10)

Though most such creatures are herbivores, it seems that hunger has driven wooly yaks to eat carrion, such as the Dreaming Dragon of Ashpool. (11) Perhaps it is for that reason that Clan Centurio regularly puts forth bounties on yaks. (12)

Fortunately, one yak has found a reprieve--of sorts. Rather than being chased all over the highlands, it is routinely sheared at the Firmament Fetes, using an aetheromatic clipper. (13)

Habitat: Coerthas Western Highlands, Twinpools

Combat Rating: 51

(8) Quest: Winter Is Coming
(9) Quest: Purple Flame, Purple Flame
(10) Item tooltip: Yak Milk

(11) FATE: Requiem for a Dragon
(12) Hunt: Wooly Yak
(13) FATE: Shear-a-Yak