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.
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Wild yak Bos mutus in Gyau Valley, upper Humla
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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.
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Herders with their domestic yaks
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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.
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