Yak Attack

Words by Adam Blakey
Photo by Narelle Fountain

On the high altitude grassy plateaus of Mongolia, a new sport is taking the masses by storm and it’s called Yak Polo. Featuring a bunch of wild club-wielding Mongols riding surprisingly quick hairy cows, Yak Polo has been a pop hit with both locals and visiting tourists alike not only keeping one and all entertained but also bringing to attention the plight of this unique and shambolicly styled animal. Yak numbers have been on a steady decline in recent years, falling from an estimated one million beasts in their pre-modern world prime to just under 450,000 at last count. Most Yaks are domesticated and contribute significantly to Mongolian agriculture through wool, milk, butter and meat, though there are small herds of wild yak, who hang out in leather jackets down at the pinball arcade and will never be tamed. It’s interesting to note that when Genghis Kahn and his armies took off to rule the planet they did so with powdered Yak milk in their bumbags which gave them extra strength and sustenance for all the rape and pillaging. In more recent years Yaks have also become an important part of the tourism trade with yak treks and yak racing particularly sought after by the passing traveller. But for our money you can’t go past the Yak Polo – the sweat, the dirt, the matted hair and the giant gusts of steam that hiss from the nostrils with every fierce driving attack up field… and then there’s the yaks. It might not be the most beautiful sport in the world but it sure beats watching Tiger Woods sew up another a major.