Dec. 7th 2016
We returned a few days ago from Ikh Nart, my first trip to interview herders to potentially receive puppies this year. The nature reserve’s diverse landscape gave me the opportunity see some more interesting wildlife (Mongolian gazelles and longhorn sheep, no ibex this time), and my first time seeing camels!
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- The ger camp of one of the herders we visited.
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- Some soon-to-be protected goats!
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- Batbaatar interviewing a herder.
Ikh Nart is a 66,000 hectare protected area, established by the local community in partnership with the Denver Zoo. Four different cooperatives operate in the reserve, each with a different focus (agricultural development, conservation, construction, and handicrafts). Wolves are known to inhabit the rocky areas of the reserve and herders report varying degrees of livestock losses due to predation – so it is certainly a place of interest for MBDP.
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- A motorbike outfitted with skins to make for a warmer ride.
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- Driving around Ikh Nart while it snowed gently.
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- Waiting for a herder to return to his ger camp from herding. This hanging sheep skin looked really beautiful in the afternoon light.
We experienced the many of the variables and challenges that come along with doing fieldwork in the countryside. On our first day there, we visited about seven ger camps and no one was home at five of them! I’m learning more and more how this work is never cut-and-dry. We have also been trying to use a specific protocol for picking herders by going through co-op leaders and recommendations from administrators, but we’re coming to see that not all co-ops are organized the same way, and the realities of Mongolia are untouched by our desire to have a repeatable and consistent protocol. Regardless, we were able to meet several interested families. It’s a really exciting step in the process to start meeting herders and hearing about their lives, their herding practices, and what they think of our project. It also gives me the chance to see a ton of different gers!
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- The interior of one of the gers that we visited.
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- A ger door depicting four animals.
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- Two motorbikes and a ger.
Not to mention, we came across one of my favorite things – ancient rock art! Batmonkh, an administrator for Ikh Nart and our guide, told us these were likely 3,000 years old. Unfortunately, several parts of the rock had been defaced.
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- Greg checking out the rock art.
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- An ibex carving made hundreds or thousands of years ago, “added to” with some silver spray paint.
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- More carvings. These are perhaps more recent because they are text.
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- Batbaatar and Batmonkh admiring the rocks.
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- A cat hanging out at one of the ger camps.
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- The rocky landscape of Ikh Nart provides shelter and passage way to animals like the grey wolf, who otherwise tend not to cross large open areas.
The camels were another highlight of the trip. They definitely had some attitude. These weren’t wild camels, but they seemed wary of humans. Or at least, they looked like they wanted to spit on me.
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- about thirty Bactrian camels gathered near a sulfur water spring in Ikh Nart.
