“Tolai Hare, Mongolia” oil 16×12″ (price on request)
The tolai hare is the only rabbit/hare species found in Mongolia. They’re usually seen in rocky or semi-desert areas. My subject was one that I saw one evening at Ikh Nartiin Chuluu Nature Reserve. I was positioned up in the rocks above the spring-fed stream waiting for argali sheep to show up when this hare hopped out from behind some rocks into plain view. What made it even better was there was a hoopoe perched on a rock not far away. Both species are very skittish and bolt at any movement. Here’s a couple of photos of hares I’ve seen during my trips to Mongolia.
Also at Ikh Nartiin Chuluu. You have to see them before they see you to have any chance of getting photos. Sometimes they wait until you’re so close that you’ve almost stepped on them and then they explode from right at your feet, which really boosts one’s heart rate!
During the 2016 WildArt Mongolia Expedition we were enroute to the Great Gobi A Strictly Protected Area to explore critically endangered Gobi bear habitat (saw tracks and scat but no bears, not surprising when the total population is currently estimated to be 40 of them). The Fergon van that carried our equipment was stopped by a blocked fuel line. We all got out of the SUV and poked around while that was attended to. I spotted this tolai hare right away and got some decent photos before it bounded off.
“Tolai Hare, Mongolia” is available on a range of products for rabbit and hare lovers….prints, pillows, tote bags, clothing, mugs and more. These lanky hares are found in many of the drier areas of the country, including the Gobi, where I saw one in 2016. They are the only species of rabbit or hare in Mongolia. You can see all the offerings with the tolai hare here.
Note: I’ve been having fun with a new app that offers dozens of different edge designs for photos and am using it for some of my shop images. It’s called Edge Effects for Photos. Very easy to use.
The adventure really began on May 26, the morning that the Great Gobi A ranger, Bilgee, led us south to the Strictly Protected Area. No gers, no herders, no livestock, just Gobi for as far as we could see. But even in this forbidding looking landscape, spring flowers were blooming.
Gobi wildflower (species unknown)
Our destination was beyond those far mountains.
The Land Cruiser had a flat tire, so we took the opportunity to wander about.
Not far off the road were the remains of a camel, which Kim is checking out.
Tire replaced, we drove on, crossing this area of white sandy soil that probably has water in it during the rare times that it rains.
The van had been having some overheating problems earlier. stopping a few times to cool down. It was quite hot in the middle of the day, even though it was only May. During one our stops to wait for them we saw a tolai hare.
Tolai hare. He sat for a few photos and then ran up the hill and behind the rocks.
Driving out onto yet another plain between the mountain ranges, our driver suddenly stopped. Wild bactrian camels! They crossed the road right in front of us, running from left to right. We stopped, got out and I took many photos as I could of this critically endangered species that few people ever see. It is estimated that there are 900 of them. I counted about 16 in this herd. This is with my normal lens showing how far away they were. You can just see them in front of the cloud of dust to the left of the road.
I got out my Nikon D750 with the 80-400mm lens and kept shooting as they ran past.
This close-up is cropped in from one of the zoom images. Amazingly they had stopped running and were warily standing.
Our Land Cruiser driver, Erdenebat, had a point and shoot camera with a good zoom lens on it, so he got some pretty special photos as a souvenir of the Expedition. It was an exciting encounter for all of us!
And we hadn’t even gotten to the Strictly Protected Area yet…
Kim Campbell Thorton, myself, the ranger Bilgee and Oliver Hartman at the entrance to the Great Gobi A Strictly Protected Area. Photo by our guide, Batana
I took this shot standing near the sign looking back the way we’d come, distant mountains still with snow on them from the storm we’d driven through a few days earlier.
And now looking south to where we were going. Oliver had mounted a GoPro camera on the hood of the Land Cruiser. This was good fast earth road, as you can see.
The route we took led through a succession of basins and ranges. Our destination lies ahead.
We’d gotten fairly far out ahead of the van and stopped to wait for them to catch up. And waited. And waited. After about twenty minutes, knowing there was an overheating issue, Erdenebat, the driver, decided that we had to go back. When we got to the van it was clear that something was wrong. The driver’s seat had been removed so that the engine compartment, which is in between the seats, could be accessed.
While the van was being worked on, I walked around and came upon this snake, a steppe ribbon racer.
It disappeared under a shrub. I saw that there was a hole and kept watch. Sure enough, the snake reappeared, looking like a little periscope.
The snake’s “home” is under the shrub in the foreground. Quite a habitat.
I also saw this Mongolian agama lizard. They’re pretty common. Although the basic markings and that red spot stay the same. I’ve seen a number of color variations, adapted to their surroundings. All in all it was a pretty good wildlife day.
It turned out that the van had overheated yet again and the cause was a blocked fuel pump. The photo shows Erdenebat blowing it clear of the gunk that was blocking it. Our guide, Batana, explained that the insides of the tanks of the trucks that deliver petrol to the soum centers are really dirty and that that dirt and crud is emptied along with the fuel into the tanks at the petrol stations, where it then ends up a vehicle’s gas tank. This is apparently a well-known problem that people in Mongolia have to deal with all the time.
Fuel pump cleaned out, the van was fine and we were on our way again.
As we drove through the final range of mountains before the one we were heading for, we followed this wide flat draw
We came out of the draw into another basin and saw our destination before us.
On the right, at the base of the mountain, is the Shar Khuls oasis. There are no rivers in this part of the Gobi. The only water comes from springs, or wells dug by researchers.
And here we were, driving right into the oasis, which had water running in the road in a number of places. The lush greenery after a long day in the desert was a pleasant sight.
Coming back out of the oasis we stopped at this ovoo and circled it three times.
Straight ahead is where we would camp, nestled in a sheltered spot at the base of those hills.
We set up in the same location that the bear researchers use. It turned out that we missed them by just a few days. The big tent, called a maikhan, was for dining and hanging out. Oliver is getting ready to leave for a ride with Bilgee, the ranger.
The only permanent structure was a “ger” built into a berm on one side of the camping area. It had a wood roof and plastered walls and was the coolest place to be, literally, during the heat of the day. Our cook, Soyoloo, used it as her kitchen. Oliver, with Batana’s help, interviewed Bilgee about his life and work, the reserve and the bears.
So, here we were, camped in the habitat of the world’s most critically endangered bear.
Tolai Hare 12×10″ Wolff’s Carbon Pencil and Prismacolor pencil on Canson paper
Over the past week I’ve finished, photographed and sent in my entries for the two most important animal art juried exhibitions. Whew. It was pretty intense there for a couple of weeks. Now the waiting begins…tick tock tick tock….In the meantime….
I’ve been wanting to do a painting of a tolai hare, the only member of the rabbit family native to Mongolia, for a number of years, but until last year had never gotten good enough reference. They wait either in cover or pressed to the ground, then explode into view, sometimes almost at your feet, and take off. Definitely gets the adrenaline going. I was at Ikh Nartiin Chuluu last year, staying at the research camp, which is at the head of a valley with a spring and stream. A variety of wildlife, both mammals and birds, come to drink there. One evening I was sitting up on the rocks, hoping to catch argali in good light. But what showed up first was this tolai hare! Since I was already in place and not moving, he/she went about their business none the wiser to my presence. And I finally got what I needed. This is a new species for me, so I did this drawing to “learn what they look like”. I enjoy working on toned paper and adding the touches of white.
DAY 11 of my “12 Days of Drawings” Sale!
“Tolai Hare” graphite on paper, 9×5.5″
Buy it here! www.etsy.com/shop/foxstudio
Tolai Hares are the only native species of rabbit/hare in Mongolia. I’ve seen them in a variety of locations. Sometimes they will wait, crouched down, until you’re very close and then suddenly explode from cover and take off. leaving you with a nice little adrenaline rush. Many visitors go home with only photos of tolai hare hind ends moving away and I have my share of those. But last year at Ikh Nart I was already up on the rocks just sitting still waiting for argali when this one came out to graze in the early evening light, so after years of trying, I got some very nice photos and will be doing a painting at some point.
The legendary grassland steppe, Toson Hulstay Nature Reserve, Dornod Aimag
At last I was going to see a part of Mongolia that I’d been wanting to for years….the eastern steppe grasslands. Even though Toson Hulstay Nature Reserve covers almost 1.2 million acres, an area larger than the state of Rhode Island, it’s a remnant of an ecosystem that once spread from the Pacific Ocean to the plains of Hungary.
Within minutes of our first drive around the reserve we spotted Mongolian gazelles, the wildlife for which the reserve is best known and the main species it was created to protect.
Then we saw this single male gazelle.
Not long after, we spotted this good-sized herd.
This is Batmunkh, one of the six rangers who patrol the reserve.
The next day, on our way to the new visitor’s center, we saw an even larger herd! As you can see, we had cloudy weather and the gazelles were usually quite a distance away, so not the best conditions for getting good photos, but still wanted to share one of this big group. They are known to gather in mege-herds of tens of thousands. There are 40,000-60,000 gazelles in the reserve.
This group was nice enough to stop on the ridge.
The new visitor’s center near the soum center of Holonbuyr. It is also used for community events and children’s activities, along with education about the reserve, its wildlife and plant life.
One of the banners that adorned the walls. The Nature Conservancy has been involved in supporting the reserve for many years.
Batmunkh showed us part of a large collection of botanical specimens.
Photos of local people.
On the way back a young tolai hare ran down the road in front of our car for quite a distance.
This group of gazelles paralleled us for awhile and were fairly close. Taken through the driver’s side window while we were rolling. I actually got pretty good at it.
Our campsite, not far from a spring. Chosen to provide some shelter from the wind. It was stormy the whole time we were there.
My tour company person set up a meeting for me with Ganbold, one of the rangers. Through my driver, Erdenebat, who speaks good English, I got a great briefing on the reserve and the gazelles. I’ll be writing it up as a future blog post. I was very impressed by both rangers’ love and enthusiasm for the reserve and their jobs dedicated to protecting it.
One of the dozen or so lakes in the reserve.
Off across the steppe on an earth road…
We saw some truly spectacular clouds. Summer is the rainy season in Mongolia and this year most of the country got thoroughly drenched, which was great for the herders and their livestock.
Saker falcon, an endangered species, perched right near the road.
Another big herd, the largest yet. What a send-off for our departure!
A close-up. They all cut across the road in front of us, flowing like a stream.
One last herd.
An individual female. And with, her the gazelle “show” was over.
Crossing the Kherlen Gol on our way to our next stop.
Rainstorm on the steppe.
Our final destination for this year’s Expedition off in the distance….Har Yamaat Nature Reserve. The weather was looking pretty good, compared to where we had been.
Rock Formations at Har Yamaat.
We drove up to this high point where we could see the Kherlen Gol in the distance. But what captured our attention was the riot of wildflowers.
Wild lily and Pasque flower.
Wild poppies.
We went back down the slope to a sheltered spot and set up camp. It was a pleasant evening, perfect for our outdoor dining. About 10pm it started to rain…and rain….and rain. It was raining hard in the morning. We had to eat breakfast sitting in the cars. Everyone pitched in to get the tents packed up. I think we set a record for the trip breaking camp. I was wondering what it would be like getting back down the mountain to the road, even though we were in Land Cruisers with a go-anywhere Russian van as our support vehicle. As it turned out the “earth” road was grassy enough that that part was no problem. However, once we arrived at the main road west…
The drivers had to deal with quite a few kilometers of this. Each made his own choices on how and where to pick his way through it.
But we just kept moving on and no one got stuck. By this time Ogii’s white Land Cruiser was thoroughly beige.
We finally out-ran the muddy roads and made good time to Ondorhaan, recently renamed Chinggis Khan Hot (City). I got a kick out of seeing the zebra tire cover in the middle of Mongolia.
The city entrance if you’re coming from the east.
We stopped for a break and were treated to one more crane sighting! A pair of demoiselles with two chicks.
Scenery heading east. With horses.
For the last night out, we stayed at a tourist ger camp near Avarga, the first center of Imperial Mongolia. Very comfortable gers to stay in and a huge elaborately decorated dining ger.
I had a little visitor who was plucking loose pile from the carpet for its nest. Species unknown.
One last look at the quintessential Mongolian landscape I’ve grown to love so much.
We stopped for lunch by this ovoo and a herd of horses wandered by.
Full-circle back past the Chinggis Khan statue and on to Ulaanbaatar.
And that concludes the story of the 2013 WildArt Mongolia Expedition.
I’m leaving on Saturday for a road trip to Wyoming. I plan to spend four days in Yellowstone National Park, a day in Jackson for the annual Fall Art Festival and then on east to Dubois for the Susan K. Black Foundation Workshop. Five days, 175 artists, nationally-known instructors…it’s going to be very special week. I hope to post on the blog a couple of times, but will largely cover the goings-on via Twitter and posts to my Facebook fan page.
Susan Fox, American Artist 