By: Logan Weems, University of Montana (post-grad)
The Daurian Pika, found in the Darhad Valley, is one of the most important species for predicting ecosystem health for grazed areas of the steppe. Throughout the last week, the Round River Mongolia crew hopped in the Furgon (and the Delica) and drove across the steppe to 85 plots, measuring indicators like grass height and vegetation cover in order to observe how these pika populations were responding to environmental pressures they are facing.
As we began our journey, we meticulously crafted a 22-hour-long playlist to help us through the furgon rides, which, of course, began with a favorite of Badmaa and our cook, Delgerbayar, “Choosin’ Texas”. Our furgon was then given the name Ella Langley, or simply just Ms. Langley. Chris then showed us the ropes on measuring our plots, and we were off.
On night one, we stayed with one of the rangers, Battogtokh Tumur, who joined us on a walk to a local lake to do some bird watching. We were then swarmed by millions of bugs in the process of molting, who then formed columns over our heads as we watched the nearby birds.
We continued our journey up the valley towards the bustling city of Renchinlhumbe until Ms. Langley encountered issues with a mud pit.
Despite this, we continued our journey on foot, completing two more plots until Ms. Langley was pulled out of the mud. We were then picked up and driven into Renchinlhumbe, where a promise of boba tea from TJ fell short. However, ice cream was a perfect backup, and we set up camp at Ranger Davaadalai Radnaa’s property. We then celebrated Badmaa’s birthday with two cakes, one edible and one not so edible.
The following day, we continued completing plots and also found our way to a lake that Round River has been monitoring for many years. Specifically, they have been studying populations of cormorants on an island on the lake. The crew swam out to the island and began counting gull, cormorant, and one swan nest. We recovered a camera that had been set there the previous year and observed the number of eggs and chicks present on the island. After a semi-smelly furgon ride to our camp for the night, we arrived and enjoyed the clean river water for a rinse.
Continuing North up the Darhad toward the town of Tsagaannuur, we were flying past plots, and we were on pace to complete pika data collection in the fastest time yet for Round River Mongolia. We were also lucky enough to spot a Pallas’s cat walking along a ridge near one of the plots. We quickly brought out the scope and captured a photo of it before it made its way along the hilltop.
Making our way back down South, we dodged quick thunderstorms while continuing our data collection until ultimately arriving back at Ranger Battogtokh Tumur’s property. Here we enjoyed our last night on the steppe by making friends with two sheep who snuck their way through the fence and by taking a sunset hike to the top of a hill just north of Battogtokh’s house. We arrived at the ovoo at the top and took in the views of the valley that we were lucky enough to have just explored.
We finished our pika journey on day seven, ending up at a local Naadam celebration where we enjoyed some delicious huushuur and got to watch the opening ceremonies for the wrestling tournament taking place. After watching a few rounds, we hopped back in the furgon and headed south for basecamp, stopping for one last soak in the river.
Along the journey, there was sunset ultimate frisbee, late-night card games, and lots of furgon sing-a-longs. This trip allowed us to see nearly every corner of this beautiful valley, and along the way, we saw countless amazing birds and plants. It was a week full of sticking our heads down burrows, taking grass measurements, and squishing pika scat, and we wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.