Yakalo
Encyclopedia
The yakalo is a cross of the yak
(Bos grunniens) and the American bison
(Bison bison, known as "buffalo" in North America). It was produced by hybridisation experiments in the 1920s, when crosses were made between yak bulls and both pure bison cows and bison-cattle hybrid cows
. As with many other inter-specific crosses, only female hybrids were found to be fertile (Haldane's rule
). Few of the hybrids survived, and the experiments were discontinued in 1928.
Yak
The yak, Bos grunniens or Bos mutus, is a long-haired bovine found throughout the Himalayan region of south Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. In addition to a large domestic population, there is a small, vulnerable wild yak population...
(Bos grunniens) and the American bison
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
(Bison bison, known as "buffalo" in North America). It was produced by hybridisation experiments in the 1920s, when crosses were made between yak bulls and both pure bison cows and bison-cattle hybrid cows
Beefalo
Beefalo are a fertile hybrid offspring of domestic cattle, Bos taurus, and the American bison, Bison bison...
. As with many other inter-specific crosses, only female hybrids were found to be fertile (Haldane's rule
Haldane's rule
Haldane's rule or Haldane's law was formulated in 1922 by the British evolutionary biologist J.B.S. Haldane. It describes hybrid sterility in species and is extended to describe speciation in evolutionary theory, in two parts: the rule of hybrid sterility and the rule of hybrid inviability...
). Few of the hybrids survived, and the experiments were discontinued in 1928.