Yeti or Lha-dhom - The Blue Bear

An elusive northern ursine oft mistaken for the legendary yeti

11 September, 2011 - In 2001, a hair believed to be that of the yeti was found in Bhutan. The team leader of the yeti expedition, Harry Marshall, got it tested in a laboratory in Oxford University. The world’s leading DNA expert, Professor Sykes, did the DNA sequencing and could not match it to any known species. 

Seven years later, the professor managed to match it, but to an unidentified bear. “… interestingly a bear that Professor Sykes was unable to identify,” Marshall said. The question was: could it have been the blue bear?

Blue Bear
The blue bear (Ursus arctos pruinosus) is a subspecies of the brown bear (Ursus arctos) and is now believed to be extinct. The bear is essentially black, but its coat has some tinge of blue. Like the blue pine tree, it is not blue in colour.

Its natural habitat is the alpine regions of eastern Tibet, western China, Nepal and it’s infrequently found in Bhutan. In Tibet, it was known as yak dhom or the yak bear. The Bhutanese refer it as the lha dhom or the mountain bear.

“The kings of Bhutan [third and fourth] have been fatally fascinated with the blue bear but none have seen it,” Malcolm Lyell, the former managing director of the  Holland Gun Company, wrote in his photo journal.

Lyell has the distinction of being the only European allowed to hunt for blue bear in Bhutan. During his trek in 1971, the king marked ‘Sanctuary, blue bear’ on his map, and he came close to tracking down the animal.

“We seem to have come closest to the blue bear at Tashi Markhang, (northern Bhutan), where we were told that they come into maize fields at night.” In addition, he wrote: “Both kings told me they killed baby yaks, and that the way to see or shoot one [the blue bear] was to tie up a baby yak at night,” wrote Lyell in his photo journal.

In Panchen Lama’s zoo
Lyell also became fascinated with the blue bear. He made two subsequent visits (1974, 1975), during which he discussed the animal with the fourth king. On both occasions, he trekked the mountains looking for the animal but was unsuccessful. When he returned home from the last trek, he did more research and sought the assistance Michael Aris, who knew both Tibet and Bhutan well.

“Here are a couple of photos of the so-called dremo in the Panchen Lama’s zoo in Zhigatse. (Photo enclosed on page 5). I’ve just copied them from Hugh Richardson’s own copies.” The letter also said: [This bear is] “the kind the Bhutanese called yakdom (‘yak bear’),” Aris wrote to Lyell on May 13, 1976. The original photos are in the Bell’s collection in the India Office library in London.

In a memorandum dated 20/8/76 of the Natural History museum, the yak bear was classified as part of the “brown bear group, Ursus arctos. It said that it was found all over the Palaearctic region. The note said that the two subspecies of the brown bear commonly found in the Himalayan region were the Ursus arctos isabellinus from India, Kashmir + Nepal (and probably also Bhutan), and Ursus arctos prunosus from Tibet and West China (Kansu). They are known as the red bear and the blue bear respectively.

Mountain Bear
The blue bear is known to live in high altitudes close to the tree line. Unlike the other bears found in the region, it often killed yaks, and hence the yak herders referred to it as the yak dhom (yak bear) or lha (mountain) dhom.

Bhutanese claimed to have seen the bear. In Punakha, Chencho (48) said that, 20 years ago, he had spent two months in the forests above Rangrikha village extracting timber to build his house. During this time, he saw two yakdhom. He said that these mountain bears live far from human settlement and generally avoid contact with humans.

Another man from Punkaha also claims to have seen the animal. Dawa (63), a cow herder, has spent most of his life in the forest with his cows. He said that he saw a lha dhom in Gurigang village, which is a full days walk from Kabisa. “These dhoms are no threat to humans. They’re shy animals. They’ve never attacked any of my cattle,” he said.

Blue Bear - Yeti?
While the blue bear was common in the Himalayas, little of it was known in the west through fur, and bone samples and some photos. It was first classified in 1854, but evidence of its existence was found almost a century later.

In 1960, Sir Edmund Hillary led an expedition in Nepal to search for evidence of the yeti. He returned with two scraps of fur, which the locals identified to be that of the yeti. Later, when it was scientifically tested, it was found to be portions of the pelt of a blue bear.

The other cartographic evidence of the mountain bear in Bhutan is an educational map made by UNICEF. In the undated map, Chart No 3, “Some animals of Bhutan”, the artist Dorothy Mierow drew a cub of the blue bear with red bear on the north west part of Bhutan.

Conclusion 
Many of the yak herders in Bhutan claimed to have seen the bear. The only evidence to support its existence could be the hair that was found in Bhutan, which Professor Sykes has recently been able to match it to a bear, but an unidentified one.

The Europeans, who looked for the yeti, like Sir Edmund Hillary, Reinhart Messner and now Marshall, have all suggested the blue bear as a possible explanation of the yeti.

In the National Library in Thimphu, there is an ancient script that describes the yeti to be a kind of bear.  Bhutan may be the last sanctuary of the blue bear.

Source: Kuensel

The merak-sakteng dream

The twin valleys of Merak and Sakteng have opened its closed doors to tourism but most semi-nomadic highlanders are uncertain if this is at all the way forward for the largely arcane communities

Majestic snow clad mountains surround the valleys. Oblivious to the approaching wind of change, a herd of yaks graze nonchalantly on the lush green meadows. Children with apple-red cheeks sporting blue gumboots run after a football. Except for the usual evening carousals in the few bars that dot the highland settlement, all is quiet in this eastern front.

Yet, a silent undercurrent of change is about to crash the shores of these arcane valleys. The lost land of the Yeti is at a crucial juncture of transformation.

Comfortable in their own culture and way of life, the brokpas are not sure how this marauding transition will impact their lives. Known to be fiercely conservative and rugged, they are uncertain how they should welcome this change, if at all. 

The highlanders have expressed subdued willingness and interest to open up to tourism. This was evident during a meeting between officials from the Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB), tour operators, Sakteng park officials, local leaders and the brokpas.

While officials made presentations and discussed at length about tourism and its benefits, brokpas were lost in their own interactions. Children played around, women tended to wailing babies, and impatient elders moved in and out of the small stone built meeting hall. Among those who attended the meeting, only few were interested and participated in the meeting.

Where numbers of cattle and stock of firewood heaped outside the house is the measure of wealth, the brokpas say they are happy with their traditional way of life that they have followed for centuries. 

Some of the brokpas said, “they are not sure how tourism will help them and what they were supposed to do”. Some were of the view that it might affect their traditional lifestyles and feared that their strong arcane way of life could be diluted with exposure to an overdose of outside culture.

Although a survey done by TCB showed that about 97% of the interviewees were interested in the tourism business, a year after it was opened to tourism, brokpas seemed to have turned their backs. This, officials say, could be because of their heightened awareness on the impacts of tourism. This might be a call for the government to re-think about opening up Merak and Sakteng as a community based eco-tourism destination, said the official.

 Few were also of the view that a new survey was necessary.

Though Merak and Sakteng were officially opened last year in September with few tourists having already been to the place, the idea of tourism business still is a new concept for the brokpas.

Ngawang Gyeltshen, park manager of Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary, said, “The people are not prepared to welcome the tourists because they worry if they get into tourism then people will have to leave their normal lives.”

“We were worried and we are still worried that people of Merak and Sakteng are not prepared to welcome tourists,” said the park manager.

However, the few that were interested in the business were very enthusiastic about it. Two of them are Nima and Dawa, the only twins in Merak. They said opening up of Merak to foreigners was possibly the best thing that would have happened to the people. “Earlier there was nothing but now with lots of developmental activities taking place we expect our lives to be better,” said Dawa.

For him the idea of promoting home stays was the best because it would give them an opportunity to know people up-close and personal.

Meanwhile, few tour operators present in Merak and Sakteng say the place could be the most expensive tourist destination in Bhutan. This is bound to happen given the high cost potter and pony, local guides and pass fees compared to other places in Bhutan.

Earlier the rate for local guides was decided at Nu 500 a day, potter and pony charges at Nu 300 plus 10% service charge. In addition a tourist has to pay an extra Nu 1,000 as fee to enter Merak and Sakteng. In other tourist hotspots like Paro and Haa, local guides charge Nu 150 a day, and potter and pony cost Nu 200 plus 10% service charge a day. There is no pass fee requirement for tourists visiting other parts of the country. “If the Merak and Sakteng people are paid this high, the word will spread to other people and they will start charging high too,” says a tour guide.

Surprisingly, the cost of goods is not exorbitant as expected. A bottle of Druk 11,000 costs Nu 70 in Merak and Sakteng. Apart from racks full of liquor products, the shops in these rural hamlets also sell Thai tin fish and milk powder.

Though the highlanders do not necessarily earn in cash they are rich in terms of income compared to many other gewogs connected by road. Some of the rich residents claim that they have stored basic supplies that will last for about 20 years. Less than 25% of the people here earn minimum cash income of Nu 9,000 a month. The brokpas are not frivolous spenders either as traditional barter system is still practiced. To the extent that the four shops in Sakteng still barter, where people take goods from the shop and in return leave yak cheese and butter. Those who earn by working in construction sites have also opened saving accounts in the banks.

Next month about 100 tourists will be visiting the twin valleys and preparation is in the full swing.  Dema Tshering from Sakteng is anticipating the tourist arrival. He said tourism business will help them in terms of horse business, selling of jewelries and entertainment. “Through these activities we will be able to make a little extra income for ourselves,” he added. “Once they see how much money is involved in the tourism business then the rest will automatically follow our league.’

The opening of Merak and Sakteng to tourists is also expected to cut down brokpas dependency on livestock. About 82% of the population depends on livestock and farming. 

Merak and Sakteng is also the only place in the country where water burial is practiced. The valleys of brokpas are also rife with tales of Yeti, the abominable snowman.

Sakteng has a population of 2,072 and 1,612 in Merak, out of with 36% of them have never seen a tourist or foreigner.

 Source: Business Bhutan