COVER STORY
ARRC SUPPORT TO THE SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION SOCIETY EXPEDITION TO MONGOLIA JUL 23
Maj Harry Wallace
In April 2020 , when the nation was held firmly in the clutches of COVID lockdown , I was sent a screenshot of an advert looking for volunteers to support a scientific expedition on horses to the Khan Khentii area of Eastern Mongolia led by famous explorer and author , 87-year-old Colonel John Blashford- Snell CBE ( Royal Engineers Retd ). He likes to take one or two serving or retired military on his expeditions and so I sent him some background notes and he responded within minutes . A subsequent interview in person and I had got the job . Sadly , the pandemic and conflict in Ukraine forced us to postpone the venture for two consecutive years , however , at the end of June this year the expedition finally took place with a team of twenty-six intrepid individuals from six nations . The project was supported by the Scientific Exploration Society in collaboration with Mongolian professors from the National University of Ulaanbaatar .
Outside of the capital we were accommodated in individual tents surrounding a central mess tent where we gathered at meal times as well as for daily orders and expedition updates delivered by Colonel John . Our tasks involved studies of the wild Przewalski horses , and in cooperation with the university , supporting archaeological , botanical , ornithological and zoological areas of interest .
In the Hustai National Park , west of the capital , we counted over 40 Przewalski horses , all in a good condition and many of the mares with healthy foals . We also saw many indigenous Marmots ( known to carry the flea that is host to Bubonic plague ) and our camera traps recorded numerous Red Deer and a small number of Siberian wolves . Box traps and cameras also helped us to study smaller mammals including Ground Squirrels , Siberian Chipmunks , Red Fox and small tundra mammals .
East of the capital we met with local herdsmen with up to 40 horses in tow which were to be our primary source of transport for the 10 days that followed , as we transited to the various areas of interest . I was assigned the role of team leader to lead half the expedition on the various ‘ mounted patrols ’.
Throughout the expedition we rode a total of 200km with a maximum of 40km in a single day .
Together with the Mongolian ornithological experts we recorded rare birds including Swan Geese , Baikal Teal , Pochards , Horned Grebe , Bearded and Cinereous Vultures , many species of Crane , Northern Lapwing and both Bar-tailed and Black-tailed Godwits .
The botanists studied medicinal plants , whose spread has been affected by unfavourable weather and the growth in the use of domestic livestock , and we catalogued over a hundred species of plants and recorded their distribution . Dried specimens were also brought back for further study at the university .
British and Mongolian archaeologists studied Bronze Age tombs and “ Deer Stones ”, decorated with extraordinary carvings , as well as rock art dating back 30,000 years depicted men and animals .
12 WINTER 2023 the imjin