Takhi madness
Friday, October 18, 201318 October 2013
After a long sleep and a tasty yoghurt and fruit salad breakie we were chillaxing on the couch of our favorite guesthouse looking forward to a relaxed rest day, when all of a sudden we promptly decided to dive into a new adventure. Together with two Swiss girls and a mom we shared the cost of a jeep and driver from the guesthouse and headed to Hustain National Park, hopeful to see the Mongolian wild Takhi horses. This is a trip that was on our ‘must see’-list, but so far we hadn’t found anyone to share the cost with.After a two-hour drive we found ourselves in the middle of the rugged mountainous landscape, home to the last remaining ancestral species of horsekind. We were very lucky, right after acquiring a park guide from another group of visitors his eagle eyes spotted a group of seven Takhi horses, nestled in between mountains a mile away. Our driver brought us as close as he could and despite a 500m walk through an arctic and snowy (apocalyptic) headwind we were able to stand only 50m away from them! We appreciated their beauty from up close, including the stunning scenery we found ourselves in, until our toes and fingers were frozen off and we hurried back to the van.
Takhi horses in Hustai National Park
A barren moonscape
On the way back to base camp Clara took advantage of her “where’s Wally”-skills and spotted another solitary Takhi in the distance, apparently abandoned by the group due to his old age. After a late lunch at base camp we got to enjoy the tiny park museum which described how the species was reintroduced in the early '90s and made our way back to UB before sunset. Although the boundaries of the park are unfenced the horses mostly stay in the 500sq km area and are shepherded back towards Hustai by local herders and nomads living on the outskirts of the park is they stray too far. These local communities keep an eye over the Takhi population, a total of only 300 horses, by keeping foal hungry wolves at bay and are employed by the park as guides for visitor groups.
A local shepherd keeps watch on the Takhi
Our park guide
Due to one of the Swiss girls falling in we went out for a tasty Japanese dinner with the other and then retired to our beds after a long but satisfying day.
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