work now are quite remote – requiring a two
likely to be more mortali es due to collisions
to three-day overland trip from the capital. .
with power lines. Given the large role human
The bustard popula ons here are the
ac vi es appear to play in the decline of
healthiest we have found in Mongolia with
these popula ons, our team places an
leks containing about 40 birds. However, the
emphasis on interac on with the community
current extension of the road network under
and carries out programs encouraging pride
the Millenium Road Plan will allow quicker
in this charisma c species. We organise
access to these and many other sites. Outside
educa onal games and fieldtrips for local
of the capital city, Mongolia remains a
schoolchildren, give presenta ons to adults,
primarily nomadic culture. People live in
have wri en and distributed curricula for
tradi onal gers, be er known in English as
schoolteachers, and par cipate in radio
‘yurts’, and herd their livestock – horses,
programs. Our team (with the excep on of
cows, goats, sheep and camels –through four
myself!) is composed en rely of local people.
seasonal pastures. The tradi onal diet is that
We encourage local residents to join us in
of a nomadic herding culture, based on meat
research ac vi es, and there is rarely a day
Mimi spearheaded the Central Asian Great
and milk products. Though Mongolians
when there isn’t someone from the
Bustard Project as a disserta on project.
prefer red meat an excep on is some mes
community alongside us in our research
This ambi ous work has been supported
made for bustard meat: thus the tradi onal
cabin or van. We engage in a two-way
with funding from a number of
saying, “toodognii mah togoo duurene!” or
exchange of informa on with local people,
conserva on organiza ons, including the
“bustard meat will fill the ke le!” The
who share informa on about these
Disney Worldwide Conserva on Fund,
nomadic lifestyle is typically compa ble with
difficult-to-locate birds with the team. To
Rufford Small Grants for Nature
the habits of Great Bustards. These birds are
reach an audience beyond our immediate
Conserva on, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo,
incredibly wary – preferring to keep a 500 m
research area, our team is fundraising for a
and American Museum of Natural History
to 1 km distance from humans. The absence
short documentary on these popula ons of
Chapman
of humans from one-half to three-quarters of
Great Bustard to be aired on Mongolian
sponsors Celestron, Inc. and Microwave
the landscape at any me (for example, on
television. We believe that educa ng people
Telemetry have provided in-kind dona ons.
winter pastures during summer), means that
about this species’ vulnerable status and low
She has also received a US Na onal Science
Great Bustards have extensive areas to roam
popula on replacement rate will change
Founda on Graduate Research Fellowship,
without much interference from humans.
people’s a tude towards this magnificent
an US NSEP Boren Graduate Fellowship,
Agriculture is carried out at a low intensity
bird.
Wildlife Conserva on Society Graduate
‘Dybowski’s Great Bustard takes flight, Mongolia © Byung-Sun Chun/WSCC of Mongolia
Memorial
Fund.
Industry
and without pes cides for now. As in Europe,
Research Fellowship, and IREX IARO
there appears to be a problem with loss of
Fellowship to support this work. The
eggs and chicks due to the ac vity of farm
project s ll requires funding though, and
machinery as well as to foxes and crows.
anyone willing to contribute will find
Trampling of nests by livestock may also be a
details on the Project’s website.
problem. Overhead cabling is currently
Learn more about our work at our website,
minimal, but as Mongolia develops there are
www.public.asu.edu/~aekessle.
www.public.asu.edu/~aekessle
11