Wild Horses

There they are! A breeding group of 5 adults and 2 foals, the white one was lying down the whole time we were observing them. They were not skittish at all.  I was getting all misty-eyed about these being the ancestors of every horse alive in the world today, down to the pony, Tar Baby, that Laurel and I got for the girls years ago. Then we went to the research center  (we were in (K)Hustai National Park, which is one of 3 Mongolian homes to these horses that have been re-introduced from zoos and breeding programs in Europe, where the only ones were living prior to 1994) and talked to a young Mongolian biologist who said that it's more like the Takhi and today's domestic horses share a common ancestor. Well, duh! I reminded myself of the anti-evolutionists who declare "I'm not descended from a monkey!"
Still, it was cool to see them. And impressive to hear about the re-introduction, which has been very successful. About 40 mares foaled in Hustai in May, with a few more to go. The herd here numbers about 220 now. At one other reserve, the reproduction rate is not as great although the herd is growing. But in the third place, there have been no foals born at all. Some of the research is about why that might be.
Although domestic animals are "absolutely illegal" in the park, when I asked about the horses I had observed there, the biologist said that they have found that with a few other animals roaming about, the park's population of wolves (around 30-40 individuals) will sate their hunger on various animals and not just baby Takhi. 
Most of the Takhi are the "buckskin" coloring that I have always liked so much, but look at that spotted foal! And the one lying down appeared to be all white. Their manes stand up like a brush, they are thick-necked and sturdy.

date-line Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia

Hey, when we said "keep the home fires burning", we didn't mean the whole damn county! We are getting somewhat mixed messages about the current state of things, but it sounds most like FOR NOW the homes of people we know (including our own) are safe. All praise and gratitude to what here in Mongolia is known as "Blue Sky", the dominant force behind it all.

As we returned yesterday to UB from a 4-day jaunt around one of the valleys of Terelj National Park with an organization called "Ger-to-Ger" (horses and ox-carts being the modes of travel, dairy and starch {since, to the bafflement of locals, we eat no meat} being the foods), we had lunch and sat out the afternoon's rain in a ger that had a tv (oh, yes) and we saw that UB was demonstrating and rioting! Here's what I have gathered so far:

There was an election Sunday. The communists were (re?)elected. During the vote counting, the electricity went out several times and the opposition figures that means a perfect opportunity for election fraud was thus created. They also say that votes are bought. Therefore, the party that has the most money can buy the most votes. And which party has the most money? The communists. And why? Because they accept donations from the communist parties of China and Russia..BIG donations. Why would such donations be mad? Because Mongolia has many untapped resources, mostly minerals (copper, coal, gold) that those 2 countries want access to. The donations would buy them deals with the government to come and extract these resources, thus ruining the countryside, the traditional way of life, and taking the wealth away from the people who would lose so much that they hold dear.  So, much protesting in the main square in front of the parliament building as well as attacks on the communist party headquarters. On the tv in the ger we saw riot police beating some protesters and hauling others away. Last night, 2 buildings were torched..one burnt to the ground. One had something to do with China.

More news as it breaks. (Photos, too, of our excursions since last blog)

We fly to Beijing Thursday to try to get visas for Pakistan, so that we can bus/train to western China, thence over the Karakorums via the only land route south to Pakistan, thence to India.

We'll keep you posted. Keep those cards and letters coming (that would be emails in this electronic age) 

love through cyber-space from

ChaCha and BoomBoom 

Ger (yurt) Camp

That's the wooden door to the felt ger. Virtually all of those we've seen are also covered with a layer of white canvas and have white sheeting inside. Brightens things up. So does the bright painted decoration on all the wooden parts.
There were about 20 gers at this camp. Ours was the closest one in this photo. That may even be BoomBoom standing there watching the full moon rise over the steppes of Asia.

Sunset on our last evening. OK..OK so it could be a sunset anywhere, but, trust me, it is setting over the steppes of Asia. We were seeing it from near a stone circle that could be a burial mound from Ghenggis Khaan's time. Or a pile of rocks formed as the herders tossed them out of the way of the track their animals take.  More questions than answers, that's for sure.

The Mongol herds (of horses, that is)

The Mongolian horse is much-renowned for hardiness and speed. They are not big animals and look a little bony this time of year. But some of them have these glorious l-o-n-g manes and tails (almost to the ground). They are mixed colors, too. I have seen some that approach Appaloosa coloring, a couple of paints, and at least one palomino.
Look at that tail! The others are smart to gather around to get the flies flicked off.
Looks like a Dr Doolittle push-me-pull-you,huh?
Oh, and dappled grey, too.

YAK-ety YAK

Yup: yaks. We think that some or all of them may be the cross-bed yak/cows that reputedly have more milk than yaks but are more cold-tolerant than cows.  the lake behind them is all but dry this year at a time when usually it would be full of water. drought is so scary for the herders.The yaks are wonderfully shaggy, with long swishy tails.
Same group, but showing the large mine behind them. It may be an abandoned coal mine or??

So much we don't know! Cal says "ignorance grows faster than knowledge, which is to say that the more you know, the more you see how much you don't know."

HERDS

Having spent 6 years of my childhood on a small sheep farm in Missouri (my father being a "gentleman farmer", whose hobby was raising the black sheep that he had become interested in while in India during WW II) and, as a young adult, having a very small flock of goats in the foothills of northern California, as well as a life-long fascination with horses, you may well imagine that I am in heaven in Mongolia. And so it is. I am at least as interested in the herd animals as I am in the wild ones and spent hours watching them while we stayed at the nature reserve.The herds are mostly mixed, most families having a combination of animals. Those with mostly goats are the poorest and would much prefer to have more sheep and/or cows. As a former goat-herd, I find this outrageous and unfair! Goats don't get no respect! I think it's because they are so much smarter than sheep or cows and therefore more challenging for humans to manage.

But that's just a theory. They do produce cashmere, of course, but somehow the wool from sheep is a bigger cash crop. Maybe there is more wool per sheep than cashmere per goat?
More goats, here..I couldn't help myself. The goats and sheep and cows are all mixed colors: there do not seem to be specific breeds. 
We saw both yaks and camels in this area, which seemed odd to me: are yaks not from high mountain plateaus and camels from the desert? Which leads me to think that they must have been introduced by humans, perhaps recently, rather than being indigenous and having been domesticated here back in the mists of time. But, who knows? Sometimes I wish that our mode of travel (read budget) included hiring an interpreter..there is so much that we miss. 

But I liked being amongst these animals and their humans anyway.

Random Mongolia impressions and info

*I write to you just now from my very own bed in a guest house, using my very own computer and the guest house wifi. Meanwhile, herders are moving their flocks/herds to whatever grass there may be out on the plains not far from here. The combination of ancient and modern here in Mongolia is mind-boggling. 

*The book that Cal got the Ghenggis Khaan info out of is "Ghenggis Khaan and the Making of the Modern World" by Jack Weatherford. Pete and other history buffs take note.  A good read.

*30%of Mongolia's lands are dedicated to national parks!

*We entertained ourselves one evening here in Ulaan Baatar by going to the movies. (We had vowed to do just that in every country we travelled in, but somehow never got around to it in China) And what did we see? The new Indianna Jones flick! It was actually fairly entertaining, though awfully LOUD. It was a good place to see it, not only because the theatre was very comfortable, but also because supposedly the "Indie" character is loosely based on Roy Chapman Andrews, an American paleontologist and adventurer who, in the 20's, first discovered dinosaur bones in the Mongolian Gobi desert. 

*Funny that we are spending the longest days of the year indoors in a city in the rain. One of my biggest lessons (and most constant, throughout my life) is that expectations are not very useful and often as not lead to disappointment. 

Though right now I don't feel too disappointed since the wifi connection is good and I can communicate with you, my dear ones! 

Ciao for now

ChaCha

ps

more photos follow