Zoologists in the Tibet Autonomous Region have launched a major embryo transplant program that will hopefully preserve and improve the congenital quality of yaks, a species native to the Qinghai-Tibet plateau.

The program is based on a state-of-the-art biological technology that involves the transplant of embryos from robust, top quality she yaks raised especially for the research into the wombs of other she yaks to ensure quality of the calves, according to sources with the Tibet Regional Academy of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry.

The research is being carried out between the Tibet Yak Research and Development Center and the zoological institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, based in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province.

This is the first time for the embryo transplant technology to be used on yaks, says Dr. Ji Qiumei, who heads the research program. She said the technology has been widely used in reproducing oxen, sheep and goats in China.

She expects the research will preserve the rare highland species, improve its pedigree and therefore boost local animal husbandry.

The Qinghai-Tibet plateau, known as the "roof of the world", is home to about 14 million yaks, or 95 percent of the world's total 14.7 million, according to statistics released at last week's fourth international conference on yaks.

The plateau spans across Tibet, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan, with an average altitude above 3,000 meters.

Tibetan yaks were formerly raised and used exclusively for transportation purposes. Today, with easier access to highways and motor vehicles, yaks are raised more for the wool, dairy and beef processing industries.

Experts say yak beef contains high protein, low fatness and is used as a tonic in Tibetan medicine. Yak beef and fur have been sold to many parts of the world, including Germany, Austria and China's Hong Kong.

(Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2004)