I'm a Yak

I'm a yak, I am big and strong With a thick wooly coat to keep me warm I climb the high mountains throughout the day My long-curved horns keep predators away I'm a yak, with my pack My coat is black, grey, white or brown My stomach breaks twigs and grasses down It makes lots of cud then I chew and chew When I swallow it up it glides on through I'm a yak, with my pack I reach my full size after 6 years old Then I scare off the wolves who are terribly bold Snow leopards try and go after me But I fight on back until they stop and flee I'm a yak, with my pack Our females make milk for yogurt and cheese Also known as chhurpi, if you please My long hair is used for tents and ropes While my undercoat is made into blankets and coats I'm a yak, with my pack My dung is used for cooking and for heat Without fuel to burn the people could not eat The nomads here eat barley and buckwheat It's a hard life for them at fourteen thousand feet I'm a yak, with my pack I am very loyal and I carry heavy loads But make me mad and I just might explode Cages are confining and not for me We need to be up high and roam on free We are yaks, with our packs We can live for up to twenty years Grazing the tundra without a lot of fear But our land has gotten warmer and is melting our snows We hope we can survive, but who really knows We are yaks, with our packs Some say we're majestic or mystical We're even in stories that are mythical But as we walk off in to the mist and the clouds Remember us as animals, strong and proud We are yaks, with our packs We are yaks, with our packs We are yaks, with our packs We are yaks, don't give us flack We are yaks, with our packs We are yaks, with our packs We are yaks, with our packs