By Divas Gurung
After ascending above four thousand meters altitudes, I arrived at a place named Lamela Buki. This is the upper section of the Dhorpatan valley of Baglung district, western Nepal.
This part of valleys consists of pastures (land) suitable for grazing and raring cattle. So, every year, the locals from this valley of Dhorpatan arrive here with their cattle for months in May to June and return in August to September.
Along with the animals, herders bring massive dogs to look after their livestock. Thick furs, huge body structures , and long dropping ears are the specialities of these dogs. Their roaring like barking is even more special. These dogs aren’t ordinary like others. These are Nepali 'Bhote Kukur' , popularly known as 'Tibetan Mastiff' responsible for herding after the sheep, goats, and cattle in the solitude shed.
In Lamela Kharka, I met Sandesh Thapa. He arrived at this place after walking for two days from Dhorpatan Valley. It is not only one year, but he treks up to here every year. Everyone here may get amazed at hearing the reason behind his visit to this high land . Love and passion for these massive dogs drive him every year. Since a few past years, he has been continuously dedicated in the field of research and preservation of these native dogs of Nepal.
He visits every shed of the cattle, including the sheep and goats. His astonishing ability and speciality is that he could handle these unknown aggressive dogs so easily & feeds the capsules against roundworms to each dog. For hours, he enjoys accompanying those peculiar dogs, and even the dogs jump, play carelessly with him.
He feels that his life is a divine for the preservation of this breed. It has been years he has been enjoying with these dogs. He shared his long experiences with them to me of those initial days.
He was born in Pakhathar, Dhorpatan. He had spent his childhood playing in the valley and spending time at sheds in upper Dhorpatan. He used to spend time by collecting grass and looking after animals in the sheds. Along with him, he had few dogs to look after these domestic animals. It was his and his dogs' duty to bring the cattle back safely after grazing the whole day. In fact, he used to spend months with those herders.
In courses of time, for further studies, he left his village and spent some years in Palpa and Pokhara cities. But how could he forget all those childhood memories and reminiscences ? Whenever there was a vacation in his school, he used to be back to the village and spend time with those herders.
Later, when he reached there, not only was there a decline in the number of sheds and the cattle but also of those dogs that looked after all of those cattle. He thought of himself that if the number of these native and indigenous dogs declined at this rate, one day they would be extinct from the entire Nepal. So, he decided to join a mission for preserving them in Nepal.
At first, he was all alone in this prominent mission. Later, his friend Bijay Poudel from Pokhara joined with him. Conjointly and collaboratel, two of these friends incepted the 'Bhote Kukur Kennel' project in Pokhara. This project has been constantly and relentlessly working for research and conservation of this native dog species in Nepal on their own.
For breeding and selling of other breed dogs, there are many kennel houses and pet shops throughout the country, but there are no practices for this breed, says Bijay. Regarding the center, he shares, 'In Nepal while different foreign breeds of dogs get priority, but Nepali native breed 'Bhote Kukur' breeding work has been neglected and beyond notice. In the future, there is a high chance of its extinction from the entire country. Although our little effort for its preservation won't bring a drastic change, we are hopeful for(of?) bringing positivity for its conservation.
It wasn’t so easy for their dreams to come true. The Covid pandemic hit worldwide when they were planning for this project. So, the pandemic had postponed and lagged their dream project further two years back.
His co-partner Bijay remembers of the initial struggling days, 'It wasn’t so easy for us to convert our dreams into reality. In the beginning, neither had we enough capital nor were we skilled enough to run this center effectively. We visited different centers to gather more technical and administrative ideas to run the center. We used the barren land available along with my house for establishing this centre. The main challenging task was to collect these dogs and bring them here.'
The number of these dogs is already very limited in Nepal. Sandesh visited the western part of Nepal while Bijay headed to the east in search of them. They could find many mixed mutts species of these dogs, but it was really a very challenging task to find a pure breed of the Tibetan Mastiff. The dogs which they found were usually aged, which could hardly breed for, even less than a couple of times. Still, they paid good money to collect them to their Pokhara center.
All dogs are synonymous to honesty and dutyfulness. Sandesh finds such characteristics more in Bhote Kukur. Two friends conjointly have started this breeding center with the mission of supporting the preservation of this breed of Nepal rather than the motive for (profit) business. Sandesh shares, "We started this centre with our very limited capital, manpower and little resources. Although we couldn’t bring drastic outcomes, we are content with our efforts. With time, we have aimed to leading this center as a study and research centre of the Tibetan Mastiff in Nepal."
Rather than spending time with people, he spends more and more time with these dogs these days . We find him cleaning the rooms and compartments of the dogs and playing with them in the center. At leisure, he visits different highland sheds for awareness campaigns regarding the preservation of this breed /species of dogs.
Why are the number of these native dogs declining?
In-breeding within the same family has resulted to the degradation of the gene of this sub-species. Like the other animals, there is no strict practice of mating between males and females in dogs. In rural areas, people are ignorant and unknown about the negative impacts of in-breeding within the closely-related families of the dogs.
Similarly, there is a very low rate of fertility in this breed of dogs. While other species of dogs reproduce twice to thrice in a year, the Tibetan Mastiff reproduces only once in a year. Lack of proper nutrition and care, diseases, and improper management are some particular threats to this breed of dogs. In our Nepali society, the tradition of disregarding daughters has been established. This is the fate the dog also has to suffer. The custom of rearing the newborn male puppy and killing the female puppies as soon as they are born is still in vogue. The very existence of this species is in jeopardy because many people want to raise a male puppy, but doesn't want to adopt the female that it gives birth to those males. That is why Sandesh suggests and urges to raise females to revive the endangered dog.
Misconceptions regarding the Bhote Kukur:
Another prevailing misconception is the practice of lifting dogs up by holding its ears to judge out its purity. While lifting this dog up by holding the ears, if it makes (a) sounds, it is categorized as a mixed one; if it doesn’t, it is conceived as a pure breed. But this, too, does not bear any scientific proof behind this practice.
Neglected native breed:
Dog has always been a close friend for human beings. There is a long history of human-dog relation till now. In the present context, people are more interested in fanciful and new breeds of dogs. Foreign brands of dogs are not only expensive but also cost a huge amount of money for their food, medicine, and security. Such breeds can't easily adapt to the new environment of our country. On the other hand, native Tibetan Mastiff is comparatively cheaper and more adaptable in Nepal's environment.
Similarly, there is no proper support from NGOs and INGOs for the preservation of this native breed. The government has invested a huge budget for study, research, and preservation of many species of plants and animals, but the Tibetan Mastiff has always been neglected and beyond notice. Nepal government should act for branding this dog worldwide.
At last, it has already been three years, and Sandesh and Bijay have been conjointly running this center. At present, there are over 10 Tibetan Mastiffs they have been caring. They have a dream of increasing the number of dogs in coming days to represent this center as one of the leading centers for study, research, and preservation of this breed.
If you want to support in this mission, you can be connected with center in given details.
Whatsapp number:
+977 9867376002 Sandesh Thapa.
+977 984-6360927 Bijay Poudel.
pokharabhotekukurbreeder@gmail.com
Thank you for your time !
0 Comments