A Tibetan Tragedy : Blizzard Threatens Survival of Last Great Herds

Neither tree nor tall shrub grows on the bleak uplands of Tibet. As far as the eye can see are barren plains and rumpled hills covered with herbage so scant it leaves only the vaguest impression. No shelter exists from freezing winds or the sun´s glare. Yet in this desolation, at an elevation averaging 16,000 feet, there once lived great wild herds that rivaled those on the plains of North  America.   "For  many  miles in every direction there were thousands of antelope in large herds," wrote one traveler in 1900. "There was a tremendous lot of wildlife in this region, which is in effect a sort of sanctuary undisturbed by man. Herds of yaks, wild asses, and gazelles were all quite easy to get near," wrote another only 45 years ago.

Such herds are now almost gone. In recent decades, roads, mining camps, and herdsmen with livestock have penetrated even remote parts of the vast plateau. Hunters have .eliminated or reduced the numbers pf wild "animals over huge tracts. A herd of Tibetan antelope, the horns of males piercing the sky like lances, is now a rare, sight. To determine the current status of this wildlife and develop conservation strategies, Wildlife Conservation International and the China Wildlife Conservation Association began a five-year cooperative project in early 1985.

On October 17, 1985, the most severe blizzard in 30 years covered the uplands with a foot of snow. Wind and sun usually clear away snow in this high-altitude desert. This time, however, temperatures dropped to an unseasonable 30 to 40 F below zero and the snow remained. Tibetan antelope and other herbivores had to paw through a deep frozen blanket, rubing their legs raw, to find scant forage. Soon wildlife and livestock were starving.

To check on the well-being of herdsmen marooned in snowbound camps, my Chinese coworkers and I joined a rescue team of Tibetans and soldiers from the People´s Liberation Army. On a tractor-pulled wagon we slowly traveled cross-country for several hundred miles, sometimes breaking through the ice of shallow saline lakes.

Tibetan families survived without serious problems in their isolated tents. Sheepskin cloaks kept everyone warm dried yak dung provided fuel for cooking, and there was ample food. Most domestic sheep were being slaughtered because of lack of forage. Along the road that crosses the high plateau and connects the north with Lhasa, the capital city, in the south, truck    drivers   often   shoot   animals.

Herdsmen   once   tolerated   wildlife, sharing the uplands with wild yaks, wild asses and other creatures. Buddhism, the source of Tibet´s culture and the religion to which Tibetans adhere, teaches respect for and compassion toward all life; it renounces the conquest of nature and instead seeks to develop the powers of inner perception. But as livestock markets have developed, ranges have been overstocked, overgrazed, and degraded. Little tolerance remains for wildlife that competes with domesticated animals and predators such as snow leopards and wolves are being eliminated. Wildlife products are widely used: Theof wild asses make sturdy cradles; antelope horn is considered medicinally valuable; and meat is always in demand.

Many creatures large and small suffered from the blizzard of 1985. We had come to study and survey wildlife, yet could only record its demise and sorrow at its plight. So little is still known about the species here. How many antelopes are there? How far do wild asses migrate? Conservation must be based on answers to such questions.

Of the wild herbivores, Tibetan gazelles suffered most. Small and lithe, with dainty legs they resemble East Africa´s Thomson´s .gazelles, and seeing them trudge through snow seemed incongruous, as if we had strayed onto a high-altitude Serengeti.

Our reports on the tragedy helped to draw government attention to the threatened wildlife. As of March 1,1986, hunting has been banned for three years in areas stricken by heavy snow. There is still hope that the last wild herds will continue to migrate in security and freedom over the roof of the world.

~George Schaller is Director of Wildlife Conservation International. He has conducted wide-ranging zoological research south of the Himalaya as welt.