By: Sophie Scothern, Montana State University & Tristan Jeo, University of Oregon
The Daurian Pika is an important indicator of grassland grazing health in the Darhad Valley. Round River monitors their presence and other indicators, such as vegetation height, in 87 randomly placed plots. Around 6 years ago, many colonies went extinct, likely due to flood or melting ice, and we are now just starting to see their return in areas where they had been gone post a-pika-lypse.
After a grass measuring demonstration from Chris, we started the long process of riding in the furgon to each of our plots. The 13 of us were split into two Furgons; lovingly named Furgonlicious and Yanstaa Furgon (Yanstaa = “cool” in Mongolian). For our first two nights, we stayed with one of the rangers, Battogtokh, and were able to see some pika outside his house. We also harassed some goats.
Battogtokh is an amazing naturalist and also an artist. After showing us some more pika plots, he took us to a white-tailed eagle nest, and then he showed us his drawings when we returned. He had beautiful drawings of different wildlife and plants, as well as some of the people he had seen when out in the mountains.
The day we moved camp to Renchinelhumbe, we completed a record-breaking 21 pika plots, amidst many struggles such as heat, one group’s furgon getting stuck in sand, and Evil Chris finding one last extra plot on the map. Due to this near-fatal error, two ice creams per person were distributed to team Fergonlicious as we drove into Renchinelhumbe for the evening.
At Aamka’s home, we had the gift of listening to an elder of the community, the former governor of Renchinelhumbe, Dawaanyam, speak about his life story as it intertwines with Vansembru, a plant deeply sacred to the people of this region for its spiritual and medicinal values. He spoke about the importance of Vansembru to his community, the need to educate younger generations in Mongolia on the significance of this plant, and the requirement for continued scientific research on Vansembru to further build bridges between Western Science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge in the Darhad.
The next morning, we split our forces between two teams: Pika and Seagull Team 6. Team Pika continued with vegetation surveys, while the brave Seagull Team 6 departed on a side quest for Round River’s cormorant study. This research project focuses on studying the diets and populations of cormorants, as well as investigating whether cormorant nests can be counted more accurately on the ground or via drone footage. To do this, we must swim to a nearby colony of cormorants and 1) count the number of cormorant nests, eggs, and hatchlings, 2) pick up samples of regurgitated fish, and 3) heroically defend the cormorant chicks from predation by seagulls. No drones were harmed, and Seagull Team 6 was successful.
As the sun began its descent into the western sky, our two Furgons headed to Magsar’s cabin. Seagull Team 6 made the trek with ease, thanks to Chinbold, our driver extraordinaire of Furgonlicious. In Mongolia, you learn quickly that not every Furgon ride goes according to plan. Regrettably, Yanstaa Furgon did not make it to our final destination for the evening, and after several minor breakdowns throughout the day… Yanstaa finally gave out on the smoothest road we’d driven since arriving in the valley. After a classic Chinbold rescue mission, team Pika finally made it to camp in sullen spirits – but TJ lifted morale by catching the biggest fish we’d seen on the trip so far! The river provides.
Our final campsite was Badmaa’s Cabin by the Tengis Shishged river outside the town of Tsagaan Nuur, one of the furthest north cities in Mongolia. We were able to take a swim in the river before it started raining and didn’t stop. We hoped that the morning would be clear for pika plots and potentially looking for Taimen in the river, but as we woke up, it only rained harder. After a few sad and wet plots, we drove into town for our surprise: Tsagaan Nuur Nadaam celebration! The only one with reindeer. We bought delicious huushuur, fun trinkets, and, as Badmaa’s ultimate gift, we were able to ride the reindeer.
During the Nadaam celebration, the rain was intense, and even though it eventually stopped on the drive back south, it was still very wet in the last pika plots. The rain didn’t cease, but neither did we – and after 5 days of riding through the steppe, we concluded our Pika surveys. To celebrate our work and the return of many Pika colonies, we did the Pika dance in the rain and prepared for the bumpy journey back to base camp in Ulaan Uul. On the drive, we saw many vultures and many ducks, and by the time we finally rolled back into base camp, it was very late and all our tents were wet, so we had a Ger sleepover. We were all happy to be back home – and finally dry.
