THE NARROW ESCAPE FROM A HIMALAYAN BLACK BEAR

MAY 2012

Having a profound interest in wildlife conservation, we had a kind of excitement that  was  triggering our  thoughts  of  encounters  with  wildlife  as  we  had  been continuously making way into the dense forests of Bhojpur. A few days earlier, we were informed by our mentors in Kathmandu that the friends in Khotang had seen a Himalayan black bear. We were filled with envy for them and wished 

that we would be as lucky as them. 

My team

The previous day, we had lost our way into the jungle as the pre existing trail inside the forest disappeared mid-way. We had returned back to a nearby village leaving our work on the plot for the next day. Starting off again the next day, we managed to get to the point by taking an alternate route. We were about to complete the field work when suddenly a strange sound caught our ears. For a minute or two, we could not make sure what it actually was. But as the sound grew louder and seemed to be coming right towards us, we confirmed that it was a Himalayan black bear. We were excited at the beginning, but when we realized that the bear was coming downhill towards us, our excitement turned to fear. While we hastily gathered the field equipment, we noticed the tree leaves moving some 20 meters uphill. This clearly meant time had wanted us to take immediate decisions. In no time, we ran away as fast as we could. I was in half pants, got scratched by thorns and developed wounds on my thigh that remained till the end of the journey. We kept running till we reached a nearby village. It was undoubtedly a dangerous moment.

When we shared the incident to other teams, it was revealed that our friends in Khotang had not actually seen any black bear as was reported earlier. They had been simply warned by the villagers to remain alert in the forests. In our case, it was a different and noticeably an adventurous moment.

BEWARE OF ALTITUDE. IT KILLS!

I have been travelling to high altitudes of Nepal for eight years now. I have come through two incidents in connection with altitude sickness till date. The first happened in October 2010 at Lobuche (4900 m asl), Sagarmatha National Park.  Two of my friends had suffered it but the magnitude was mild. Since the incident took place in a hotel, it got an easy settlement!!

The second one took place in Dec 2013 at Thini, Mustang, Annapurna Conservation Area. It happened inside a jungle, nearly 4-5 hours far from any human settlements, with just two of us to rescue the victim. The magnitude was larger. Being the first of its kind in terms of severity, it urged me to share the happening with all my friends concerned with high altitude.

The narrative:

Early in the morning we left Thini village (2855 m asl) and ascended towards Ghasung forest in search of musk deer signs. 

Thini village

I was accompanying a friend of mine for his M.Sc. thesis field work on musk deer. We had hired Mr. Bal Bahadur Thakali (55) as local field guide.

We had a distant view of the Dhaulagiri range and ascended up. 

Dhaulagiri range, a distant view

My friend was coming up very slow as it was the first time he had come to this elevation. At 3700 m asl, he complained of mild headache. I suggested him to drink as much water as he could. We halted for lunch at 11:30. At 12:15, we hit upon a resting site of musk deer. Soon the search progressed interestingly, musk deer pellets were observed at many places. 

Taking the field data of musk deer pellet

We spent almost two hours at the elevation of 3800 m asl.

At 14:00, we started to descend. After a while, we reached near Chemaso lake. 

Chemaso lake

Right then, my friend suffered a severe headache. As he sat down to rest, he complained of difficulty in breathing. I offered him some water. We tried to put him in comfort by telling that everything will be okay once we descend further. When we were about 300 m far from the lake, he gave up the effort of descent and lied down on the ground. I checked for water but the bottle had gone empty. So, I rushed towards the lake to fetch water, keeping him under the care of our field guide.

When I hastily reached near him with water in the bottle, he was lying down with his whole body stretched to the ground. I could not see our field guide nearby. My heart skipped a beat upon seeing this. I scanned the surrounding; the field guide was leaning back on a stone about 5m away. I sighed with a little relief.

As I approached him, he was almost unconscious. We made him drink water, that too with difficulty. We fed him some energy biscuits and some pieces of garlic. He would blink his eyes with difficulty and mostly preferred to keep them closed. I almost ordered him to keep them open. I took off his bag and carried them on the top of my own bag. We suggested him to rise up slowly, but he could not do that on his own. So, each of us took hold of a hand of his and almost dragged him down. After a while, he managed to walk a little, but still needed our support!

Upon descending about 400 m, he showed signs of improvement. We made him eat 2-3 chapatis and offered more water. He was well off now but the headache was still on. By the time we reached the hotel, I ordered a bowl of garlic soup for him. Drinking it gave him more comfort. After the dinner, he was back to himself again.

My Say:

Altitude sickness may envelope anyone. There is no any hint as to segregate who will suffer from it and who will be immune to it. During my research trip to Sagarmatha National Park, I was told by a trekking guide that a French traveler who did not suffer altitude sickness for ten Everest Base Camp (EBC) expeditions suffered it during the 11^th and passed away. Altitude sickness turns a killer when we neglect it.

Based on the scholarly consultations and individual experience, I list some important points to consider (Additions will be highly appreciated):

·     1. As soon as you realize symptoms like headache, dizziness, nausea, difficulty in breathing or imbalance in walking, descend down at least 300m. DO NOT HIDE YOUR PROBLEM. Make sure that you do not descend alone.

·         2. Maintain a slow and consistent rhythm of ascent. Going up with additional speed at easy terrains and resting longer afterwards may also trigger it.

·         3. Drink enough fluids.  These will maintain the supply of additional oxygen. But, do not ever drink alcoholic beverages in the name of having fluids. These will make blood circulation faster and thus increase the demand for oxygen hence leading to depletion in oxygen level.

·       4. Do not ascend with empty stomach. Carry chocolates and other easy carbohydrate sources. Keep eating from time to time.

·         5. Garlic, turmeric and Zanthoxylum (timur) are good natural medicines.

·         6. Always carry a first aid kit.

The final line:

Never underestimate altitude, the fascinating high altitude landscapes would turn into a killer if you do not comply with the natural rules they have set!

THE BLACK GIANT OF THE HIMALAYAS

In 2014 while visiting the remote trans-Himalayas of upper Humla for research, our team came across with wild yaks that were considered extinct in Nepal. Following the rediscovery I led a research project on wild yaks in the same area in 2015.

Unlike domestic yaks wild yaks have a larger body size, bigger horns, grayish muzzle, a conspicuous hump, and a consistent black coat. These robust animals run away as soon as they spot humans, and therefore are referred as 'ferocious cowards'. According to International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, their population has declined by about 30 percent in the last 30 years primarily due to human hunting.

Wild yak Bos mutus in Gyau Valley, upper Humla

People and wild yaks

Our local guide told us that wild yaks are called Dong in Tibetan language and that various parts of the animal have medicinal value. For example dried wild yak blood from the heart is used for low altitude sickness and burnt hair from its forehead  is used for mouth sores.

It is evident that humans tamed wild yaks to create domestic yaks used as valuable beasts of burden in the Himalayan regions. Limels, people from Limi VDC, have an intricate cultural relation with wild yaks. They use wild yak tendons to make the rope of a bow that is used  in wedding ceremonies. The groom hits an arrow from the bow into a wooden plate placed around the waist of the bride symbolizing a formal union between the two. Similarly if a drought persists for a long time they worship water sources with wild yak hair deposited close by. They believe that such a practice recharges the water sources.

The local herders complained about their occasional conflicts with wild yaks. They believe that wild yaks from Tibet usually travel across the border into Humla during the months of July to August to mate with female domestic yaks. Villagers confessed to trying to kill the wild yaks as the hybrids resulting from interbreeding between wild yaks and domestic yaks can be shyer and difficult to domesticate. But the greed of obtaining large amount of meat also drives them to kill wild yaks, which they failed to mention. 

The Limels and the Rongbas (people from lower elevations) kill wild yaks for meat. During the last ten years at least eight wild yaks were killed in Humla. A young herder from Chuwa khola valley, east of Limi valley, boasted that he, along with 18 of his friends, had killed three wild yaks on a single day in 2013. They kept the meat and sold the head in Tibet since Tibetan people hang the head above the entrance of their homes as a status symbol. This has also motivated regular killings of wild yaks.

Need for Conservation

We saw two wild yaks in Gyau Valley in June 2014 while in July 2015 we saw only one. The herders had not reached these meadows for grazing their livestock back in 2014 but in 2015 some domestic yaks were already grazing in the same location. Ironically we saw around 200 domestic yaks grazing in the same place when we returned after 20 days having explored other valleys. This clearly indicates that herders encroach upon the natural habitat of wild yaks during the summer months. This proximity increases the likelihood of hybridization between the domestic and wild yaks which can lead to the extinction of the wild species. Domestic yaks may also contract diseases such as Brucellosis and Salmonella to wild yaks when the two occupy the same range.

Herders with their domestic yaks

The places where we sighted wild yaks were relatively close to the Chinese border and the animals fled northward after spotting us. Renowned wildlife biologist, George Schaller, mentions that wild yaks are not migratory but may shift ranges seasonally or if harassed. However it is not confirmed if the wild yaks we encountered are residential in Nepal, possibly shifting range to a far-off location due to habitat encroachment by herders as suggested by Schaller, or if they are migrants from Tibet as believed by the herders.

Wild yak habitats in Tibet have degraded due to an increasing road network. In upper Humla though, this factor is not significant yet as remote locations preferred by wild yaks are unlikely to be subjected to road encroachment in the near future. 

Limels assume that about five to ten wild yaks inhabit their area. About the same number of them is considered to roam the pastures of Chuwa khola valley. The herders reported sightings of four wild yaks in July 2015 and three in August 2015 in the valley. 

Wild yaks face diverse threats such as hunting for meat, poaching for heads, habitat encroachment by domestic livestock and conflict with herders. As such, it is likely that such a small remaining population of the rare wild yaks in Humla will be lost if appropriate conservation initiatives are not taken immediately. It's high time all major stakeholders of wildlife conservation in Nepal came together and act effectively for wild yak conservation; otherwise these black giants of the Himalayas will probably go extinct from Nepal in a few years.

Published in the Kathmandu Post, 26 Jan 2016

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