Life on the Roof of the World, Part II

Greetings Everyone,

We’ve been exploring the Tibetan Plateau for animals and birds along with our Greentours group. We’re in Nangqian, the southernmost point on our circuit and about halfway through our journey. On the morning of October 11, we were off to visit nearby Baixha Forest Reserve. We drove down into a canyon stopping where Jesper had spotted a flock of Blue Sheep nimbly negotiating the rocky cliff above the river. The youngsters were encouraged to follow in the footsteps of their elders.

Blue Sheep

While waiting for breakfast, Jesper noticed a very obliging Glover’s Pika sitting on a log to warm up in the morning sun.

Glover’s Pika

The following day we continued our exploration of the southern end of our route in the beautiful Kanda Shan Mountains.

Kanda Shan Mountains

We were on the lookout for White-lipped Deer, a vulnerable cervid that makes these forested ridges home. We located a herd grazing on the open slopes above the road. At this time of year males and females come together for the annual rut. Males jealously guard their harem of females against competitors. 

White-lipped Deer

On October 13, we returned to the main circuit and continued toward the western reaches of our route. We stopped along the way to search for Blyth’s Voles that so far had eluded us. We found a colony but no one appeared to be home. Our patience paid off when Erling spotted a brave fellow who dared to venture above ground.

Blyth’s Vole

We stopped for lunch in the bustling town of Zhiduo where many of the locals still wear traditional dress among a backdrop of modern automobiles. Change is coming fast to the Tibetan Plateau.

Zhiduo

Just outside of town a herd of Argali, the largest wild sheep, was grazing close to the road. They were all females who are much smaller than the males with sport massive corkscrew-shaped horns. We did see a few males a long distance off. They tend to avoid humans as they are hunted for trophies leading in part to their endangered or threatened status.

Argali

One more surprise awaited us before arriving in Qumalai for the night. We were in the lead vehicle and spotted a lone Tibetan Wolf standing next to the road. He saw us and tore off at breakneck speed. Why was he so terrified? When we examined our photos later, Cathy noticed that half of his left rear leg was missing! Although hunting is banned, no doubt he was the victim of a snare set by humans. Wolves are persecuted because they kill livestock. No wonder he fled at our approach. We were happy to see that he could get around just fine on three legs.

Tibetan Wolf 

The next day it felt as if we had finally reached the “Roof of the World” and our day was full of iconic Tibetan Plateau wildlife! Early in the morning, a Tibetan Fox paused to give us a wide-eyed stare. 

Tibetan Fox

Tibetan Gazelle were plentiful and this male gave us a stunning view.

Tibetan Gazelle 

The scenery was spectacular with the Chang Tang mountains looming over the vast Tibetan Plateau.

Tibetan Plateau

Finally, Chiru or Tibetan Antelope, one of the animals I most wanted to see appeared in the grasslands along the highway! There are only 150,000 Chiru left in the world and they reside exclusively on the Tibetan Plateau. Chiru have long been hunted for their soft and warm underfur called shahtoosh. Traditionally this fine wool had been transported to Srinagar in Kashmir, where it was woven into fabric used to make shawls. It takes 3-5 hides to make a single shawl, and since the wool cannot be sheared or combed, the animals have to be killed to collect their fur. Fortunately, hunting is now controlled and the trade in India has been banned. The numbers of Chiru are slowly increasing. We set off on foot to get a closer look. As expected the antelope were wary and moved off. We noticed two males lying down and unaware of our presence. We were able to approach closely to get a great view of their impressive spiral horns and beautiful black faces.

Male Chiru

We arrived at Budongquon, a bustling truck stop at the junction with the main route from Beijing to Lhasa. We weren’t expecting to see much wildlife here but surprisingly there were many animals nearby. When we stopped for lunch, Marc and I set off on foot to check out a small herd of female Chiru a short distance away.

Female Chiru

After lunch, we went off in search of more mammals. Just outside of town a herd of Kiang was lounging right next to the road.

Herd of Kiang

Amazingly a large herd of Wild Yaks was grazing under a power line quite close to the main highway, another species that I most wanted to see! I was thrilled by our close encounter. Much larger than their domestic cousins, Wild Yaks have long shaggy black coats and in males especially, the undercoat may form a long "skirt" that can reach the ground. Horns on the males are much longer than those of domestic yaks. They are considered vulnerable by the IUCN with less than 10,000 individuals left in the wild.

Wild Yaks

What an amazing day of wildlife viewing! Jesper tallied 647 Tibetan Gazelle, 31 Tibetan Fox, 224 Kiang, 325 Tibetan Antelope, and 149 Wild Yak! 

The next day we went off to explore “Wild Yak Valley” and Jesper warned us that the gravel road may be a bit bumpy. I joked that it may very well be paved since it had been two years since Jesper had been in the valley. To our surprise, the road had been paved! More change had come to the Tibetan Plateau. While eating breakfast we heard Tibetan Wolves howling. Erling was the first to spot them on a ridge a great distance away. A pack of 7 wolves reunited with a lot of tail wagging and muzzle licking. We wanted to get a closer view but an icy river blocked our path.

Blocked by an Icy River

We opted to take a walk to look for voles instead. We found one but amazingly it was in the jaws of an Altai or Mountain Weasel!

Mountain Weasel with a Vole

There were many Woolly Hares scampering among the bushes and we finally got good views and photos.

Woolly Hare

We stopped to check out a small herd of Tibetan Gazelle. Phil and I were watching one end of the herd and completely missed the two sparring females that Marc was able to capture in an amazing photo!

Tibetan Gazelle Sparring 

The next day’s drive from Golmud to Dulan wasn’t very eventful as far as mammal viewing was concerned. We did manage to pick up a new species, Black-tailed or Goitered Gazelle. We had seen them earlier on our trip in Mongolia but these were the first spotted in China.

Black-tailed or Goitered Gazelle

On October 17 we set off on foot to explore the Dulan Mountains. We struck out on the Chinese Red Pika but Marc spotted a lone Tibetan Wolf high on a ridge. It was the rutting Kansu Wapiti that stole the show. The same species as our North American Elk (Cervus canadensis), Kansu Wapiti stags sporting massive antlers were bugling across the valley to attract potential mates. At one point 3 stags had come together ready to rumble but a serious confrontation never took place.

Kansu Wapiti Stag

During our last drive from Chaka to Xining on the Tibetan Plateau we didn’t encounter many mammals but by now we had seen so many amazing species that we were thoroughly satisfied. We were happy to see so much wildlife coexisting alongside humans and their livestock but we also realized that big changes are coming to the Tibetan Plateau. We were surprised to pass through many large cities connected by newly constructed 4-lane motorways. A high-speed rail now cuts across the plateau and there are many more herders grazing yaks, sheep, and goats on the grasslands. All this will pose new challenges to the wildlife who now have to compete with livestock for dwindling resources. Highways and rail lines cut off traditional migration routes and more people mean increased hunting or poaching. 

The Chinese Government is starting to acknowledge these threats to wildlife and hopefully will put in more controls to mitigate their harmful effects. The Tibetan Plateau is truly a magical place with animals found nowhere else on the planet. May humans find ways to coexist with these magnificent creatures!

Our sincere thanks go to our Greentours trip leaders Jesper Hornskov and Phil Benstead and to our intrepid drivers who worked hard under tough conditions to get us to all our destinations.

Our Drivers

We hope all is well with everyone.

Peggy and Marc

Our route map:

The Takhi Return Home

Greetings Everyone,

To see the world’s only true wild horse in its native habitat you have to travel to the far reaches of Mongolia. This wasn’t always the case. Przewalski's Horse or Takhi as it is referred to by Mongolians became extinct in the wild in the 1960’s mainly due to human persecution. The last herd was spotted in 1967 and the last individual was seen in 1969. How then can we see these wild horses today? Fortunately, 13 Przewalski’s Horses survived in zoos and all present-day horses are descended from them. In 1992 sixteen horses were released into the wild in Mongolia. One of the areas they were reintroduced into became Hustai National Park in 1998 about a 2-hour drive from Ulaanbaatar. We were on our way to Hustai National Park to see how the Takhi are faring. Once inside the park, we drove along a deeply rutted road in search of the horses on the afternoon of September 22. We spotted a herd high on a ridge about 2 km away. Park policy allows you to approach the horses to within 500 meters so we set off on foot to get a closer view. A herd of 20 were grazing on the grassy slopes above. Although aware of our presence they did not flee and we sat down to observe them.

Takhi Herd

A radio-collared mare seemed to be in charge, The stallion of the group hung back keeping a watchful eye on his harem consisting of several mares and their subadult offspring and two foals. What a privilege to spend time with an animal that once numbered 13 in the entire world! The reintroduction has been a big success and today there are around 350 Takhi in the wild.

Takhi

We were up early the following morning to photograph the Mongolian Gerbils living in a colony near our hotel. At first light, they would pop out of their burrows to warm up in the sunshine.

Mongolian Gerbils

The Park also harbors other mammals such as Mongolian Gazelles. A herd of 250 had recently returned to the park. We spotted them a long way off but set off on foot for a closer view. As we were approaching the herd, two domestic horses came galloping across the Steppe to check us out. I was surprised to see domestic horses in the Park. Despite having a different number of chromosomes, Takhi have 66 and domestic horses have 64, they can cross-breed resulting in fertile foals with 65 chromosomes. It is park policy to keep domestic horses out of the park and particularly away from the Takhi. Perhaps these were geldings used as riding horses by the park rangers.

Domestic Horses

As we continued our approach, the herd of Mongolian Gazelles became wary and we had to keep a safe distance away.

Mongolian Gazelle Herd

Tarbagan or Mongolian Marmots were common along the roadways. They would perch near their burrows and disappear as we drove past. Hustai provides a safe haven for these endangered marmots whose meat is considered a delicacy by the locals. Tarbagan Marmots are known to be carriers of the plague but it is unknown if the disease can be transmitted by eating their meat.

Mongolian Marmot

On the drive back to our hotel we encountered a herd of ten Takhi close to the road. They had come down from the high ridges to scratch on the utility poles along the road. They seemed unconcerned by the Mongolian tourists who approached them closely to get photos with their cellphones.

Tahki Rubbing Against a Utility Pole

We were up very early on our last morning to go in search of Tibetan Wolf. We were accompanied by a park ranger who knew where the wolves tend to hang out. We drove nearly to the top of a high ridge where we got out and proceeded on foot. The ranger could hear the wolves howling but we scanned in vain for them. It was difficult for me to discern the howling of a wolf from the bugling of a Wapiti or an Elk as we call them back home. It was the rutting season and the stags were competing with one another for the right to mate with the females.

Wapiti Stag

Ian Green, our tour leader, spotted four Argali far below in a distant valley. Argali are the largest species of wild sheep but were too far away for a proper photo. We returned to our hotel and packed up for the return trip to Ulaanbaatar. On our drive out of the park, we saw many Brandt’s Voles in colonies along the road. We stopped to take photos before they disappeared down their burrows.

Brandt's Vole

It was great seeing Przewalski’s Horses again after our first visit in 2005 and learning that their numbers are increasing. Once extinct in the wild, they are now considered endangered. In a time when many species are facing extinction at the hand of humans, it’s nice to encounter a true success story. Welcome home Takhi, may you continue to thrive in the wilds of Mongolia!

We hope all is well with everyone.

Peggy and Marc

Our route map:

      Mongolia Mammal List: September 12 - 24, 2018

No.	Species	Scientific Name	Notes
1	Pallas’s Cat	Otocolobus manul	Two seen in Khalzan
2	Brandt’s Vole	Lasiopodomys brandtii	Khalzan & Hustai
3	Mongolian Gazelle	Procapra gutturosa	Khalzan & Hustai
4	Daurian Pika	Ochotona dauurica	Khalzan
5	Corsac Fox	Vulpes corsac	Khalzan & Hustai
6	Red Fox	Vulpes vulpes	Khalzan
7	Siberian Chipmunk	Eutamias sibiricus	Ulaanbaatar
8	Saiga Antelope	Saiga tatarica	Khovd
9	Siberian Jerboa	Allactaga sibirica	Khovd
10	Mid-day Jird	Meriones meridianu	Khovd
11	Tolai Hare	Lepus tolai	Khovd
12	Pallas’s Pika	Ochotona pallasii	Khovd
13	Snow Leopard	Panthera uncia	1 seen in Khovd
14	Siberian Ibex	Capra sibirica	Khovd
15	Tarbagan Marmot	Marmota sibirica	Khovd & Hustai
16	Goitered Gazelle	Gazella subgutturosa	Khovd
17	Mongolian Gerbil	Meriones unguiculatus	Hustai
18	Przewalski’s Horse	Equus ferus ssp. przewalskii	Hustai
19	Wapiti	Cervus canadensis	Hustai
20	Long-tailed Ground Squirrel	Urocitellus undulatus	Hustai
21	Argali	Ovis ammon	Hustai