BIRDS: THE EMBODIMENT OF MONGOLIAN NOMADIC SPIRIT
Look through a window, you will probably spot a bird soaring through the sky or pigeons flocking for crumbs on the ground. Depending on whom the observer is, birds are majestic representatives of freedom and flight or incessant obstructions of peace and tranquility, but they have caught the attention of many throughout the years.
Birds, vertebrates with lightweight skeletons that range in size from the five-cm bee hummingbird to the 2.75-meter ostrich, are believed to be the descendants of the dinosaurs that roamed the earth millions of years ago. With over 10,000 species worldwide, birds have had ornithologists around the world dedicate their entire lively pursuits to them.
As famous naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough once said, “Everyone likes birds. What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, as close to us and everyone in the world, as universal as the birds?”
In Mongolia, they are over 500 bird species, 400 of which are migratory birds, and there are over 30 ornithologists who study these birds, five of whom are PhD professors. However, the number does not account for the many enthusiasts interested in ornithology and naturalism throughout Mongolian history.
One such enthusiast was the 8th Bogd Jebstumdamba. Besides being the theocratic head of Mongolia, Bogd Khaan was an avid supporter of the arts and held many interests. His interests led him to acquire many unique items and objects, such as his famous pet elephant, which he had brought all the way from Russia and his taxidermy collection, which comprised of many rare and currently extinct animals.
Bogd Khaan’s taxidermy collection was originally ordered and brought from Hamburg Germany in 1901 from the Umlauf Museum and includes over 200 animals, enough to rival the collection at the Natural History Museum of Mongolia. Bogd Khaan’s stuffed animal is currently kept as an exhibit at the Bogd Khaan’s Winter Palace, and includes a polar bear from the artic, penguins from the Antarctic, an African lion, and numerous deep sea dwellers.
While the collection has many species of animals, the highest in numbers are the taxidermy birds - over 70. Included within the collection of birds are the national birds of five different countries, the Turquoise-browed motmot of El Salvador and Nicaragua, the Himalayan monal of Nepal, the raggiana bird-of-paradise of Papua New Guinea, and the rhinoceros hornbill of Malaysia.
For over 115 years, these birds were kept at Bogd Khaan’s palaces for both his enjoyment and as part of a museum exhibit. However, due to time and storage conditions, the animals and birds section of Bogd Khaan’s collection had deteriorated greatly. Because of the sheer number of birds in the collection and the necessity to study them, the Bogd Khaan Palace Museum of Mongolia has recently made it an utmost priority to restore and conserve the condition of these birds, especially considering that some of the species have become more rare and endangered due to the rapid urbanization and development of countries around the world.
Therefore, to restore the taxidermy bird collection at the museum, the Bogd Khaan Palace Museum of Mongolia, with the support from the Mongolian Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Sports, organized a two-stage restoration project in collaboration with specialists from the Schenkenberg Museum of Natural History in Gorlitz, Germany, ornithologists and specialists from the Natural History Museum of Mongolia, the National University of Mongolia, and the Dornogovi Provincial Museum. Besides restoration, the project also provided the opportunity for Mongolian conservation specialists to learn from German specialists and take part in a workshop to improve their abilities in taxidermy restoration.
The two foreign specialists in taxidermy were H. Margit and J. Diana. H. Margit is a taxidermist who graduated from the Humbolt University in Berlin and worked at the Schenkenberg Museum of Natural history since 1984. She has been part of numerous biological research and expeditions in Mongolia for the past decade. J. Diana is a taxedermist and has worked in her field at the Schenkenberg Museum of Natural history since 1992.
The first stage of the project concluded in November 2016, during which half of the birds were restored and six Mongolian conservators from the Bogd Khaan Palace Museum and the Natural History Museum of Mongolia received training.
The second stage commenced on April 20, 2017 and concluded on June 3, 2017. During their last stay in Mongolia, the specialists were able to finish restoring all the birds and conclude their workshop. Throughout the second stage, the project was overseen by the employees from the German Embassy of Mongolia, the Culture and Arts Authority Implementing Agency of the Government of Mongolia, and the Mongolian Ministry of Education, Culture, Science, and Sport.
The time and dedication shown by the two German specialists to preserve this unique and rare part of our country’s cultural heritage and history was deeply appreciated and recognized by the Mongolian Minister of Education, Culture, Science and Sports, which awarded them the ministry’s Honorable Culture Worker Award for their efforts. The award is usually awarded to those who have worked within their cultural field for over 10 years or have made significance contributions.
Those at the Bogd Khaan Palace Museum of Mongolia not only regard this project to have been an opportunity to restore a vital part of their museum, but view it as a significant step in furthering cultural relations between Mongolia and Germany.
The bird restoration project was greatly aided by ornithologist, Professor S.Gombobaatar and his students who helped identify the specie and genus’ of the birds. The result of this joint collaborative bird restoration project will be a catalogue the museum has plans to publish on the birds.
While the project conducted at the Bogd Khaan Palace Museum was a major foray into the preservation and restoration of stuffed birds in Mongolia, the efforts to study ornithology and the protection of Mongolia’s birds have long been active, spearheaded by ornithologists S.Gombobaatar, Sh.Boldbaatar (the author of “Photo Guide to Birds of Mongolia”), N.Tseveenmyadag, B.Nyambayar, S.Bayarkhuu, and the Mongolian Ornithological Society.
Efforts and research of Mongolian birds and their conservation have been supported, funded, and collaborated with many organizations both local and international, including the World Bank, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the ZSL Living Conservation, Bird Life International, Wildlife Conservation Society, WWF, and many more.
The Mongolian Ornithological Society is responsible for many projects, publications, and efforts. Ornithologist and wildlife biologist, O.Soronzonbold from the Natural History Museum of Mongolia said the society works to “monitor research, provide conservation management consultation, provide personnel training and work experience, conduct conservation expeditions, provide international training, hold Wildlife Conservation Days, and publish professional texts.”
For example, within the Ornis Mongolica Journal of Bird Research and Conservation, they touch upon the impacts of forest fire and predations in biological breeding of birds, negative impacts of power lines on the birds of Mongolia, records of newly found and vagrant species, rare birds around Oyu Tolgoi project area, and spatial and temporal characteristics of migrations.
However, despite the admirable efforts of many, wildlife conservation and protection has become an increasingly important issue. When asked about the most important future ornithological research and conservation projects, O.Soronzonbold replied “When it comes to the conservation of birds, its important for not only us researchers but for everyone to participate”.
“As mentioned before, 80 percent of the birds of Mongolia are migratory, thus it is imperative to protect migratory birds,” he said, and stressed, “Bird deaths are impacted by many aspects, an example is their habitat degradation, the effects of human activities, and environmental pollution.”
According to O.Soronzonbold, there is a glaring need to improve and focus on the protection and conservation of Mongolia’s birds, especially the consideration of human factors.
The famous American naturalist and ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson once said, “Birds have wings; they’re free; they can fly where they want when they want. They have the kind of mobility many people envy.”
This freedom and ability to go whenever they want and when they want is reflected in the Nomadic spirit many Mongolians admire and strive for. However, if efforts aren’t made to preserve this unique reflection of Mongolian culture, it will sadly be lost.