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Steppes Travel | Mongolia & Chad - Beyond The Ordinary
The document discusses trips to Mongolia and Chad, including a three hour drive in Mongolia to visit Altai and experiences in Chad such as camping with nomads, night drives to see wildlife, and horse patrols by rangers to protect national parks and nomadic peoples like the Eles. Conservation efforts in Chad are supported by the organization African Parks.
Steppes Travel | Mongolia & Chad - Beyond The Ordinary
- 1. MONGOLIA | CHAD JUSTINWATERIDGE | STEPPES BEYOND Beyond the Ordinary
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- 6. Three hours drive Driveto Altai
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- 42. MONGOLIA | CHAD JUSTINWATERIDGE | STEPPES BEYOND Beyond the Ordinary
Editor's Notes
- #6 It was a three and a half hour flight from Ulaanbaatar on which I was the only westerner. My presence caused no raising of eyebrows nor did that of a Kazakh eagle hunter who looked noble in his long chapan (great coat) and fox fur hat, aquiline nose, wispy goatee and startled eyebrows.
- #7 I was met by Bek (Bekjan) and we headed west out of town. It did not take long to leave town nor to leave the comforts of the tarmac road. “Mongolian highway,” Bek beamed at me with no noticeable dip in his speed. “Mongolian Rally,” I retorted. Bek Beamed back with even more pride. The landscape was forbidding and harsh but imbued with a stark beauty albeit from within the warmth of Bek’s Toyota Landcruiser. The scenery was yellow, brown and black – the colour bleached out by the harshness of the elements – and covered with a dusting of snow.
- #8 There was nothing. The emptiness was profound. Occasionally we passed yaks, the odd herd of sheep and once a Bactrian camel. A man was walking in the distance at the foothills of the mountain. Where was he going? Where was there to go to? The only vestige of civilisation we passed was the nondescript one horse town of Buynt where a group of men were cutting blocks of ice out of the frozen river to melt at home.
- #9 Three and a half hours later Bek stopped literally in the middle of nowhere. I got out and took a sharp intake of breath both from the cold and extent of my surrounds. I was in a wide flat valley flanked on both sides by high mountains. Everything was blanketed in snow. Pristine and immense, I could have gazed out over such vastness for hours but eventually took refuge from the cold in the small mud-brick Kazakh house in Mongolia close to the Chinese border.
- #10 Long before the drawing of arbitrary lines for borders reached these latitudes, this region was home to the first domesticated horses and the first hunting eagles: falconry was invented here. The Kazakh eagle hunters preserve the centuries-old tradition of riding with golden eagles to hunt for foxes, marmots and even wolves. Their love and knowledge of falconry is a source of pride and a badge of identity, as much as the extravagant fur coats and hats in which it resulted.
- #11 That is the extent of luxury in this part of the world; yet the welcome inside was both warm and friendly. The house was simple - no running water – with four separate rooms, two of which are separated by a stove wall. One room is kitchen/dining and the other three are bedrooms.
- #12 It is not the rooms that were inviting but the characters within. Dalaikhan, the eagle hunter, face creased by the elements, his eyes wise and alert. Tuyelbay, his loyal friend and berkuti – the Kazakh word for eagle is berkut and a hunter who trains and hunts with a berkut is known as berkuti. Kukhelbay, Dalaikhan’s brother, and his silent wife, Cakku. Jambal, their four year old boy full of pluck and determination – I have never come across a young boy so determined to ride a battered tricycle through inches of snow.
- #13 I am given a short briefing: “Mongolian horses are dangerous.” Unnerved by this passing comment, I struggle to mount the stocky, sturdy Mongolian horse - the saddles are Mongolian and much smaller than western saddles, being my excuse.
- #14 I am enveloped by down, Gortex and modern brands whilst Dalaikhan and Tuyelbay are dressed in a fox fur jackets with a heavily padded glove on their right arm on which sits a hooded eagle. They mount their horses, making it look unnaturally easy with a seven kilogramme bird of prey perched on their right arm. She – the Kazakhs only use female birds as they are bigger than the males – is hooded with a specially made hood called a tomega to keep her calm. Thankfully for me, we walk and only occasionally trot. Not so much due to my limited horsemanship but the terrain – we are climbing ridges to get vantage from which to survey the surrounding land. The horses are sturdy and strong, both physically and mentally. They plod inexorably upwards.
- #15 The cold bites my legs. The snow squeaks underhoof as we head into the wilderness and the beckoning silence. We scale the ridge like a Sioux scouting party, gaining height, gaining vantage. The views out of the landscape make me feel as though we are on the edge of the world. I scan the horizon redundantly. Superfluous in that an eagle’s eyesight is seven times more powerful than the human eye. Everywhere I look I am awed by the spectacle. This is cinema on an epic and very personal scale. The scenery is overpowering. The lead characters are charismatic and iconic. At this precise moment, I do not want to be anywhere else on earth.
- #16 The lead characters are charismatic and iconic.
- #18 The stars are undoubtedly the eagles. This is eagle number seven. I was amazed that a bird held in so much affection – sleeps beside his bed – is only a number. Like all of his eagles, he took her from her nest when she was young. “How did you catch her? How do you catch an eagle?” “It is a difficult process.” Wonderful understatement. Eagles attack when their chicks are being taken. The eagles don’t bite but they flap their wings and it is all quite intimidating for the eagle hunters who lower themselves down a rocky outcrop to the nest by a rope using a stick to balance and stop themselves twisting on the rope. In the past there were many fatalities. Dalaikhan has had her for seven years and she will soon be released to the wild “Really. Why?” “So that she can have her own family.”
- #19 On the snow-covered plains at the foot of the mountains, dark specks are hundreds of head of sheep and goats, tearing at the sparse vegetation. But it's not on the herd that the eagle's eyes are fixed but rather that elusive fox. It is down there, invisible to the human eye, creeping from the shade of a rock, somewhere. Eagle number seven sits patiently. She scans the landscape. Surveys. Scours. Looking for the slightest movement.
- #20 A rabbit is sighted. Not by me. A cry goes up. The eagles are released. They swoop low to the ground. The prey is running. Desperately. The eagles are closing in. Then nothing. No success. I look round to see the eagles screaming in like racing yachts with a fierce wind behind them. They slice diagonally across the sky with a sudden, stunning turn of speed. For a moment, all I can see is wings. And then, with the insouciance of an illusionist, they are sat on their respective gloves. Their impressive talons the only betrayal of their innocence.
- #22 11m population 1.28M SQ KM (x5 the size of the UK) French and Arabic President Idriss Deby 7th poorest country in the world Millet is the staple food A space on the map that is little known And thus unfortunately, little understood
- #24 Size = 3,000 sq km = one sixth of Kruger When to go – - Closed June – Oct as rains, waters rise by 1.5m Dec –Apr. Feb March best Early Season (Nov/Dec) - Cool dry season. Large bodies of water remaining & vast flocks of water birds. Game is fairly dispersed but sightings are always good in Zakouma. Low temperatures - below 10ºC (Dec - mid Feb, early am & late pm) Mid Season (Jan/Feb) - Cool dry season. Birds & wildlife become more concentrated as the water starts to dry out. Large flocks of Quelea start moving through the park & roost in their millions in certain stands of trees. Water birds start gathering around the large pans with herds of antelope & buffalo. Average temperatures - 25ºC - 30ºC Late Season (March - May) - Wildlife congregates dramatically around the remaining pans & pools throughout the park & water birds such as the Northern Crowned Cranes, Spur-winged Geese & White-faced Whistling Ducks flock in their thousands on the marshes. You are guaranteed great sightings at these last spots of green. There is a chance of an early rain-shower or two at the end of April/May. High temperatures - above 40ºC in April & May
- #25 - No walls, raw, much prefer, experience – lion roar all the more visceral
- #29 The Abyssinian ground hornbill stalks the land like a prehistoric predator. The startling dazzle of the blue of an Abyssinian roller darts past. The steps of the maribou stork are measured, as if holding his hands behind his back. A Senegal Coucal hides patiently in the shade. Ducks lift off as one in a squeak of sing-song chatter. Crowned crane take to the air, the beat of their wings ponderous and slow. They seem to be making little headway, frozen in the air and then their efforts pay off. The fluttering hover of the carmine bee-eater. High above, a Batleuer eagle floats scanning the grassy plan for snake and frogs. We are the first tourists ever to drive down here. But best of all were the pelicans. They are skittish and difficult to get close to and inevitably in trying to do so one takes flight, triggering wave after wave after wave of pelican filing onto the runway like WWII bombers. Within minutes several hundred pelicans are airborne gliding the thermals, not a beat of their wings. The transformation is as dramatic as it is beautiful.
- #30 we did see a number of nocturnal predators including genet, pale fox, civet and serval. Serval has the face of a cat with oversized ears, a humped back and gorgeous lustrous coat of deep black spots and black stripes on the back of the neck. It was fishing, appropriately for catfish.
- #32 Wow the initial reaction of seeing so many from the air – largest hers in Africa at over 400
- #33 “The elephants have been hunted for hundreds of years,” Darren continued. “Formerly on horseback with spears. Historically, the elephant’s defence mechanism was to retreat into a tight ball – this might have worked to some extent in the past but is suicide today. Horse is still the favoured mode de chasse. But nowadays enhanced by the use of automatic weapons. Poaching, either directly or indirectly, has thus decimated the elephant population.” “What do you mean indirectly?” “When panicked the elephants run. Sometimes for as much as twenty kilometres. It is difficult for the calves - they wouldn’t survive such trauma.”
- #34 The wave of poaching that had already been intensifying since 2002 hit Zakouma with an unexpected and uncontrollable force. The strategy of moving in a thickly packed herd, employed by the elephants with some effect against traditionally armed hunters, proved to be counterproductive against gangs of heavily armed poachers mostly coming from Sudan. These were the same Janjaweed that were persecuting the non-Arab population in Darfur. The one thing in common with the hunts of the past were the horses (“Janjaweed” means “Arabs on horses”) and the determination, single-mindedness and tenacity of the poachers. Up to 30 animals of all ages routinely used to be killed in a single attack, with many others dying subsequently of their the wounds.
- #36 Trunks break cover, rising from the herd, sniffing the air. The herd pauses simultaneously. An impressive demonstration of their communication, coordination and discipline. They listen hard together. They relax. We edge inexorably forward. One young bull takes a dance step backwards and turns to face us. His ears widen and he raises his trunk in curiosity. He watches us. He then turns tail and moves on. This is the posturing of more normalised elephant behaviour.
- #37 - In 2010 the Chadian government, in concert with the European Union (a long lasting donor and supporter of Zakouma) approached African Parks, proposing to them that they take over the full responsibility for the management of the park, in a last ditch attempt to halt the ongoing scourge, and Rian Labuschagne was appointed as Park manager (Directeur du Parc). Two aircrafts were deployed for extensive anti-poaching surveillance, aerial monitoring and resupplying of outposts. Additional airstrips were opened up in the extended elephant range to provide support during the wet months when most roads are impassable. Since then 21 elephants were collared and at this very moment there are 11 collars providing GPS positions of the main elephant herds. A central radio room, manned 24/7 by trained radio operators was established and now monitors elephants’ positions and ranger patrols’ positions throughout the day. With this system, the deployment of anti-poaching patrols is activated from the control room, with new positions given to teams in the field based on the location of the elephant herds or information provided on potential threats. An extensive VHF radio system was also put in place to provide communication within the entire elephant range (African Parks had in fact devised and implemented a broader elephant protection program across a 13,000 sq km zone which included protection during the wet season as well). In relation to the latter aspect, building good relationships between African Parks and the local communities is paramount. Whilst stability and security that the para-military guards bring to the villages while operating in the greater elephant range is seen as an extremely important asset by the communities, the “Elephant School” in Goz Djarat is another step towards building a special rapport between the park (also an important provider of jobs in the area) and the surrounding people. The park management is now in daily radio communication with certain strategic villages around Zakouma and has set up a local-reward system for those providing useful information.
- #38 As a direct result of the major overhaul described above, no elephant has been poached inside the park since October 2011 (the last elephant poaching incident outside of the park was recorded in August 2012 when at least six elephants were killed 90 km to the north of Zakouma).
- #39 Rangers were provided with better equipment and training, and new rangers employed. Patrol methods and intelligence gathering were improved.
- #40 Horseback puts the rangers on a par with poachers and enables them to access all areas of the park, to cover greater distances and conduct patrols over a longer period.
- #41 The above success has come with a heavy price, though. On September 3, 2012, whilst attending their prayer at dawn, six rangers were ambushed and killed by heavily armed elephant poachers in a retaliatory attack. Patrick “What did you say to the rangers after the 2012 killings?” “That is between me and them. All I will say is that together we cried and cried.”
- #42 Whilst several rangers have had fathers or relatives killed they do not join to seek vengeance but because they care about the wildlife. One of many extraordinary facts of Zakouma.