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part 1 Usually in Mongolia little snow falls during winter, allowing to pasture cattle on a open steppe throughout the year.
However, heavy snow falls occur sometimes trapping livestock and herders in a "white dzud." Thick snow layer covers open steppe stretches with an icy shield and cattle fail to dig out remains of grass beneath. Cattle, deprived of forage for weeks, die in mass, leaving herders without their main mean of live. This winter brought one of most hard natural calamities or "dzud" for almost half of the country's 260,000 nomad families. In Bayanhongor province where heavy snow fell as early as September, herders struggle to save their cattle and survive themselves for last six months. "On September 16 the first snow fell. The grass was still green, and the weather was fine. Nobody was preparing yet for the winter storing food or gathering dung for fuel, as autumn was very warm. And suddenly we found ourselves in a waist deep snow. First we thought it would melt down as usual. But more snowfalls followed next few days making the snow layer even more thick. It was obvious that we must move our cattle away to escape from this area. During three days we made only six kilometers. Nobody had warm clothes, so I fell sick. We decided that husband and children will remain, and I will go to a hospital in the soum (principality) center. It is not far, only some 13 km from the place we stayed, but it took another three days to make it there. Horses could not walk in deep snow, so I had to crawl across waist deep snow layer," says G. Tsend Ayush, a herder woman from Gurvanbulag locality in Bayanhongor province. A month ago she came to the capital to treat her frozen hands. Though her hands still need medical supervision, she plans to go back home. "I do not know where they are now. I only hope they are alive and healthy," says she. This winter aside from heavy snowfalls it was very cold with temperatures dropping below - 50 Centigrade in some regions. Even yaks, these mighty animals most adapted to subzero temperatures, were freezing alive. Nomad herders, who failed to prepare for winter, now eat meat of dead animals. Having no reserves of wood and unable to dig out dung from beneath snow, nomads are forced to burn wooden beds, tables and even parts of their ghers to make a little fire to warm up. It is practically impossible to reach nomad families trapped in snow with supplies of forage and fuel. After being lambasted by the opposition papers for his lack of interest in the problems of nomad herders, the Prime minister finally decided in the end of January to visit the nearest areas stricken by dzud. On a helicopter he headed for the Middle Gobi region, some 250-300 km from the capital. He failed to find the herder family planned for visit, but what he saw on the way was sufficient enough to announce a national emergency, and to promise herders an urgent supply of free of charge forage.
A 10 kg bale of pressed forage costs Tg 1,400 or about $ 1.5 at market. Herders who hardly have cash on their hands and make little money anyway, can hardly afford to buy forage at this price. "No much reason to celebrate, even Tsagaan Sar. Cattle have nothing to eat. We find only stones and earth in the stomachs of dead sheep. Whatever money we had was spent long time ago to buy forage. Now we have no money," says bitterly herder Tamjid from Bayantsagaan locality in Middle Gobi. "Throughout January snow storms raged, and it is so cold as never before. Cattle will not survive through," says he.
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