The yao guai of Zion Canyon seem to be visually identical to the yao guai of the Capital Wasteland, but larger.
Gameplay attributes
Yao guai are extremely fast and powerful creatures, second only to deathclaws in terms of raw strength and speed. Unlike deathclaws, they are less alert; the player may come in contact with one when it is asleep or laying down. Yao guai do not attack bighorners in Zion Canyon. This may appear uncharacteristic, but is consistent with real predators that do not unnecessarily exhaust their food supply.
Unlike the yao guai found in Fallout 3, Animal Friend does not affect them; they will become hostile towards the player character upon detection.
Variants
Yao guai
These creatures are nearly identical to the yao guai found in the Capital Wasteland. They are second to only the deathclaw in terms of raw strength and speed. They are also normally found in groups of two to four.
Yao guai cubs are simply smaller, weaker and less deadly versions of their parents. They are encountered with their parents. At lower levels they may replace encounters with older, larger varieties.
Giant yao guai are larger versions of yao guai. A giant yao guai can easily kill a low-level player if they're not careful. Early in the Honest Hearts add-on, a giant yao guai attacks and kills a green gecko on top of a rock while the player approaches the Dead Horses camp. A few of these can be found near The Red Gate.
Follows-Chalk will often make mention of how there couldn't possibly be anything as bad as yao guai in the civilized world, indicating that more dangerous creatures like deathclaws apparently haven't reached Zion.