How Colorado became the unlikely epicenter of American yak ranching

She’s worked with them, lived with them and, for the last decade, has been raising them on her ranch, Smiling Buddha Yaks. AdvertisementNamgyal Sherpa, who manages Smiling Buddha Yaks, checks on a newborn yak calf. Yaks graze at Smiling Buddha Yaks, which encompasses 120 acres of pasture, foothills and mesa tops. Yak bulls at the Pettee Ranch, one of the largest yak operations in the country with about 250 head. Colorado’s San Juan Mountains rise in the distance behind the Tibetan prayer flags that hang in Smiling Buddha Yaks ranch.