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A fifth of Mongolia's livestock dead
31 May 10 - "More than 8.2 million animals, nearly a fifth of all livestock in Mongolia, have died in a winter of snow, cold and gales so severe Mongolians have a special term for it — "dzud," says this excellent article by Charles Hutzler. "At a time when green shoots of grass sprout from the brown earth and herds should be migrating from winter camps to summer pastures, the animals are too weak to feed and travel," says Hutzler. "More are dying in sporadic snow squalls and high winds."
"Nature is taking revenge. It's all our fault," said
Munkhbat Lhagvasuren, a 34-year-old herder who drove his herd of
1,000 through three different counties in the winter trying to find
pasture not buried under snow. Only 100 of his herd remain. "This dzud started with a drought last summer. When October rains came and froze, the ice was followed by snow, sealing the stunted grass away from the animals. Temperatures plummeted to 40 below zero and colder. In many places, animals started dying in February and then kept dying.
See all of this excellent article, originally entitled
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