The Livestock Guardian Dog: A Tool for Conservation

    Livestock guardian dogs have been used by humans for thousands of years, all across the globe. In Turkey there is the Akbash, in Portugal the Estrella Mountain Dog, in France and Spain the Great Pyrenees, and so on. Each group of farmers and herders has a certain breed of dog that has developed with their lifestyle and these dogs live to protect the owners' livelihoods. However, livestock guardian dogs do more than protect the culture and occupation of the humans they work with. By chasing away or confronting wild predators that threaten the sheep (or goats, or cattle, etc.), the dogs protect the endangered predators from the guns and poison of the humans who sometimes would have no choice but to resort to violence.
     An example of this phenomenon at work is in the wide open steppes of Mongolia. Here the traditional dog is called the Bankhar, and unlike most livestock guardian dogs that have been selectively bred, the Bankhar is a "land race". This means that the dogs evolved with the landscape, environment, and humans, and thus are even more adapted to the ecosystem in which they work.

Livestock grazing on the Mongolian steppes

In Mongolia, 40% of the country's population are livestock herders leading a nomadic lifestyle in the grasslands, deserts, and hills of Mongolia. The sheep, goats, cows, or yaks that graze throughout the steppes represent the nomads' entire income (in the form of milk, wool, and meat). Harsh, merciless winters and brutal summers caused by global warming can sometimes cause a herder to lose his or her whole flock, which they cannot afford.
     These herders also share the steppes with predators such as the Mongolian Wolf (a grey wolf sometimes called the Tibetan Wolf) and the elusive Snow Leopard, another threat to the traditional herding lifestyle. These carnivores have taken to attacking herds of livestock because their usual prey, such as the gazelles that used to bound across the steppes in huge numbers, have been over hunted by humans. To protect their herds, Mongolians will often shoot wolves on sight or leave out poisoned bait that snow leopards will often die from. The mongolian wolves, a threatened species, as well as the endangered snow leopards, suffer just as much from the human-predator conflict they are caught up in.

Arslan means "lion" in Mongolian, a name that suits this Bankhar dog well

     A solution to this conflict, of course, are the afore mentioned Bankhar livestock guardian dogs, animals that live to scare off wolves and leopards and even the eagles and vultures that prey on lambs and kids. However, the average nomadic family earns three dollars a day, and cannot afford to buy these dogs from pricey breeders in the city. This is where a non-profit organization called The Mongolian Bankhar Dog Project (MBDP) comes in. This project, which I have been working with for the past year, has gathered strong, healthy Bankhar from around Mongolia and bred them to produce the ideal livestock guardian dogs, which are then trained at their facilities and are given away to Mongolians throughout the steppes. The project also is performing research at the same time as bringing dogs to families in need, and we have placed a couple puppies with the Snow Leopard Trust who are using them to see the most effective way of decreasing snow leopard-human conflict.
(To learn more about how to help The Mongolian Bankhar Dog Project, click here.)

One of the puppies just after he was given to his new family by the MBDP

A Bankhar dog protecting a lamb and a child

    In closing, though Mongolia is far far away from the Adirondacks, the same conflicts take place, and the same solutions are used to survive as herders and farmers in a wild environment. Livestock guardian dogs are at work in many farms throughout the Adirondack Park. While there are no longer any wolves in the park, coyotes, foxes, hawks, bobcats and other predators still threaten livestock, so dogs are very much needed in some areas. The farmers of Mace Chasm Farm in Keeseville, NY  for example have two Great Pyrenees dogs that protect their sheep, cows, pigs, and chickens. The dogs are a traditional, predator-friendly solution for farmers and herders from Keane Valley to the South Gobi Aimag, and plus, though livestock guardian dogs are working dogs, it doesn't mean they can't be one of your best friends at the same time.

Thank you for reading!

Photos by Soyolbolod Serguleng