New yak breed brings herders renewed hope

Scientists have spent years propagating the hornless species to improve livestock and livelihoods

Under the touch of petite scientist Yan Ping, a tall and powerful black yak, weighing more than 400 kilograms, becomes as obedient as a lamb.

Unlike other yaks, this one has no horns. It is a new breed cultivated by Yan and her team from the Lanzhou Institute of Husbandry and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. It is expected to help herdsmen on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, known as the "roof of the world", out of poverty.