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.