Label Cloud


Powered By:Blogger Widgets

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Camels and other furry creatures


I wanted to post this video, because there aren't enough camels in music videos, I think there should be camels in every video. Well, not really, but they are photogenic in their winter coat, aren't they? Having said that, I remember watching a documentary or something like that a few years ago, that said that after the 90s, the camel population decreased drastically because economically, it was more convenient to sell camel meat than to breed them for wool. People made more money selling camel meat khuushuurs than selling wool! :-/ Well, I hope the situation has changed, because the desert and the steppe wouldn't be the same without these magnificent animals. Speaking of disappearing animals, there are three Mongolian animals that fascinate me: the mazaalai, the khavtgai and the bankhar.
The mazaalai is the only desert bear in the world. It is believed that only 25-30 are left. View some video footage showing the mazaalai here
The khavtgai is the wild camel. An amazing animal that can survive drinking salt water (the domestic camel can't do that). Read about it here
The bankhar is the Mongolian mastiff. Started to disappear when the Russians arrived during the socialist period with thousands of dogs. My aunt had one when I was a kid and he recognized his owner's cattle, separating the cows that didn't belong there. Read about the dogs here
I found the photo on the internet but I don't know who took it.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very nice post, thank you!!
When I was in Mongolia I asked about Gobi bear, but they did not even know about it! I don't think many people have seen bears in Mongolia, not even Mongolian people... Very sad. I think it will die out someday..... It just happens with some species of animals... Unfortunately.

The Bankhar is beautiful dog. If I look at those pictures I see the strongest dog on earth!!

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i294/Enedre/pic000267tp.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i294/Enedre/pic000245et.jpg

mglmusic said...

I read that the Gobi bear is a relic from a time when the climate was milder. So, it will be sad when they disappear, which will definitely happen sooner or later...
Well, if people don't do anything soon, a lot of animals will be facing the same fate.