A few of our 1 year-old Bankhar, showing off their guardian instincts.

 Baavgai, one of our adult male Bankhar. He is a mighty, stoic dog.

 The following photos are from our trip to the Mandalgovi country in search for a working Bankhar. Soyolbolod, Doug and I drove south towards the Mandalgovi region to look for a working Bankhar, that would patrol and guard the livestock throughout the day. Most of the herder's gers are not visible from the road but their large livestock herds certainly are. By driving through the country side we were able to flag down a few herders on horseback and ask them if they knew any working Bankhar. Most said no, many had guard dogs and some had heard of a working Bankhar. Eventually we met a herder who had a relative with a working Bankhar, he gave us the "address" which, in this case, was the north side of the tall mountain range to the south of us. So with the sun getting low we raced off, but alas we could not seem to find this herder. We almost gave up, until our truck bounced over another hill and there, below us, we saw a ger camp tucked away in a valley. The herder indeed had a working Bankhar, although it was quite old and retired at this point in its life. Nonetheless we asked a few questions on techniques for raising his dog and about wolf encounters. Feeling satisfied we set off north back to UB.

 This Nomad herder cleaned icicles off of his beard and mustache after dismounting his horse.

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 Our working Bankhar taking a nap. He now stays around the Ger, a well deserved retirement after many years of backbreaking service in the pasture. This herder, who owned the Bankhar, had encountered wolves numerous times but said he had few livestock losses.

Today marks my second week in UB (Ulaanbaatar) and it it has been exhausting. Freezing temperatures, inebriation, pollution, traffic, language barrier, surprise dog pregnancies, the list goes on and it can make for an terribly tiring week. It is most definitely not the USA.

Drinking is very prevalent in Mongolia, and not just at the club scene. After the Soviet Regime fell in the 90's, Mongolians adopted much of the Soviet's culture and practices that the Russians left them with, including vodka. I have witnessed countless drunks stumbling into traffic and floundering on the sidewalk, or even passed out completely. It is not uncommon to find the streets littered with empty bottles of vodka and frozen puke (We call them sidewalk pizzas). Sadly though, the drinking has become a problem for our neighboring caretaker at the facilities, where we care for our dogs. It is a delicate situation we are in but there is a constant hassling from him. Regularly he will ask us to buy him and his buds vodka and cause trouble in general. Although, Doug and I are not the ones affected the most. It is OUR caretaker, Suldee, who must deal with the constant nuisance and stupidity of this caretaker and his friends. I am concerned this will cause us problems in the future, and it is a shame because Suldee is an incredible worker, who deserves better, but for now there is little we can do. It is a sad situation and often slows down our progress but, in the end, just another day in Mongolia.

Classic end to the day... Tired and participating in the traffic...

And some more pictures from our trip to the country side to buy sheep.

Credit to Soyolbolod Serguleng for these 3 pictures. Soyolbolod is our translator and often gives us sound advice when it comes to traditions and practices here. The native Mongolians can be stubborn, especially when listening to silly Americans. He has helped out more than a few times and is also an amazing photographer.

From last weeks trip to the country side. Here is a herder releasing over 400 sheep and goats to graze the steppe...

Our day starts as usual, making our way to the garage we dodge heaps of frozen-solid vomit, stray dogs and traffic which yields for nothing in particular. Our diesel Ford Ranger rattles down the unpaved streets of Ulaanbaatar's Ger district. Emerging over a hilltop, you can see the sun beaming through the pollution as the smog settles in thick over the city. Skyscrapers and cranes are barely visible through the cloud of coal smoke. Between the soviet-influenced architecture, dilapidated infrastructure and heavy pollution you can't help but feel like you're in a fallout city.

Today we finally made the arrangements to buy sheep for our puppies. Doug, Soyolbolod our translater, Suldee our caretaker, Suldee's friend and I hurtled away from Ulaanbaatar in a Hundai Porter and a Ford ranger. Far from any city, the streets turn to dirt, gravel and stone and the Tuul river becomes our frozen highway. Drifting shortly ensues. As soon as you're over the first ridge and skirting through the valley you feel a thousand miles from the city. The family we are visiting today is related to our caretaker Suldee. We are invited into their Ger for Suutei Tsai (salty milk tea) and slightly-fried balls of dough. The ancient herder gives us advice for raising sheep and talks prices as his 'assumed' wife beats on a leg of lamb with what I would call a machete. After a lot of talking and confused glances this ancient herder takes us to his Hashaa housing his many sheep, goats and rams. We all hop in and start wrangling the sheep looking for 1 and 2 year old females so they will be gentle and docile with our puppies. With 10 fat sheep loaded in the back of the Porter, we pay the family, seal the deal with a handshake and take off down the road back to our dog enclosures. The sheep are frightened beyond belief as we haul them into their own kennel, and with more then 15 dogs howling and barking at the sheep they have good reason to be scared. But the dogs soon calm down and we coral the sheep into their hashaa. With the sheep in our enclosures we will now introduce the pups to them and begin the bonding process. In the next few days we will begin building puppy "retreat" areas so the mother, pups and sheep may interact safely.

"Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted." - Aldous Huxley

An overwhelming amount has happened in my first two days in Mongolia and we have our hands full at The Mongolian Bankhar Project. With 2 adult male Bankhar, 3 postpartum females, 5 nine-month old puppies and 17 newborn pups for a total of 27 dogs. Its an unbelievable amount to handle! The first litter is about 2 weeks old which is around the age they begin to make social connections. Doug and I built the first Hashaa (sheep barn) and we hope to buy sheep for the newborn pups by tomorrow so that they can begin bonding with the livestock. When we don't have our translator Soyolbolod, buying anything can be a chaotic game of drunk charades. And because Mongolia is at the dawn of industrialization, infrastructure is chaotic and supplies are far from reliable. For this reason everyday is strange and exciting and you must be resourceful.

Here we are buying sheep skins for our pups to sleep on. The smell of the sheep will make them more apt to bond with the livestock.

These are the enclosures where our Bankhar dogs live, they always find something to bark at whether it be a stray or a curious onlooker. And this is Patches, a mother of 4 newborn pups...

Layover in Seoul, Korea. Turns out I can't read Korean but the chicken we blindly ordered was real tasty.

 "I feel in myself a superabundance of energy which finds no outlet in our quiet life.” -Leo Tolstoy

It’s January 6th at 4:30 a.m. and I'm restless to say the least. In less than 20 hours I will be departing the states for Mongolia, The Land of Eternal Blue Sky. I’m thrilled and a bit nervous but I’m fully invested in my work and take great pleasure in the uncertainty of it all. 

Mongolia is home to a strong tradition of nomadic people and it has one of the largest wolf populations as well. However due to the recent environmental changes and industrialization, the agro-life is becoming increasingly more difficult for the nomad. Harsh winters, scarce grasslands and infrastructure have led to increased livestock deprivation from natural predators like wolves and snow leopards. And as the nomads go, their life IS the livestock.

               

Our goal is to provide the nomads with a livestock guardian dog to create a more sustainable way of life. Farmers often turn to gun and poison control methods to eliminate predators, but a recent study proved this to cause an influx of deprivation because of poor wolf-pack leadership.  On the other hand a livestock guardian dog is considered a non-lethal method of control. By reducing the need to poach predators and encouraging a more pastoral life we hope to create a balanced environment and reintroduce a lost tradition of livestock guardians for a more predicable farm life and sustain a time-honored tradition of nomadic life.

               

We will be camped an hour outside of Mongolia’s capital city, Ulan Bator. We currently have 8 Bankhar puppies and 1 more expecting female.

I will be living in a Ger (Traditional Felt tent) as well as making regular trips to the city. Follow me and learn what life is like in Mongolia and how to raise a Bankhar livestock guardian dog. Still unsure of what lies ahead, I look forward to sharing my adventure.

-Devin Byrne