Saturday was a bad day for wolves: as we drove into Uliastai we passed one strapped to the front of a land cruiser, then later when I was walking in town a jeep drove by with one strapped to the bonnet. Mongolians have always hunted wolves, and for the herders of the 30 million livestock the wolf is a respected adversary in the struggle for a livelihood. Now the balance has been changed by land cruisers, spotlights, powerful rifles and an urban elite. Wolves are still widespread and not protected, not even in protected areas and the hunting pressure is immense. A World Bank funded study in 2006 estimated 20-30000 wolves were killed in 2004 out of a total population of between 50 and 100 000. I showed these pictures in the workshop the next day and we discussed wolves . “Hunting was necessary but if there were no wolves there would be no animals. They were surprised that they were almost extinct in western Europe and farmers paid not to shoot them”. Later I asked my colleague Oyungerel about the use of wolves in traditional medicine, - the stomachs are used to cure stomach problems, and ankle bones are worn by guys to increase their strength and luck.Apparently it is especially lucky to kill or even see a wolf in January. So Saturday was probably not an exceptionally bad day for wolves.
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