Deadly danger

Day: 155

Sunrise:
09:28

Sunset:
17:18

Total kilometers:
1281

Soil condition:
Ice, snow

Temperature – Day (maximum):
minus 17°C

Temperature – day (minimum):
minus 25°C

Temperature – Night:
minus 29°C

Latitude:
51°33’336”

Longitude:
099°15’341”

Maximum height:
1981 m above sea level

Just 1 ½ hours before sunrise, I build a warming fire, as I do every morning. Then I sweep the floor and place a fresh grain porridge for our breakfast and a kettle of water on the top of the potbelly stove. Then I crawl back under my sleeping bag and wait until the first rays of sunlight peek through the roof of our yurt at around 10:00 am.

After breakfast, Tanja fetches snow for our water supply. Meanwhile, I type these lines into my laptop. Soft whimpers reach me through the felt wall of the yurt. Because Mogi is still on the chain, he whines a little to himself. As he is unpredictable due to his strong hunting instinct, we first have to see how he reacts to reindeer. If he attacks one, the Tuwa will shoot him. Reindeer are very valuable. We learn that a mount costs around 350,000 Tugrik (€200).

In the evening we get another visit from our neighbors Tsaya and Ultsan. Tsaya’s perfect command of English makes for a lively conversation. We tell how our camels in Australia were attacked by young camel bulls. Wide-eyed, the two listen to stories from a world that is foreign to them.
“Have you ever been threatened by a wild animal?” Tanja asks. “Not just once,” replies Ultsan. “Would you like to tell us the story?” she asks. “But yes,” says the young hunter. During the brief pause in the conversation that follows, all we hear is the crackling of the wood burning in the stove. A light breeze rustles the plastic tarpaulin with which we can close the opening in the roof crown. The candle flickers a little, only to glow motionlessly again a wink later.

“It was last year in December. We were 14 men and on the hunt. We were actually only planning to stay away from the camp for a few days. However, we were surprised by an exceptionally heavy blizzard. It snowed day and night for two weeks. We put up half a tepee for protection and held out in the lee. It was impossible to get any further. The fine powder snow was over a meter high. After two weeks it cleared up. The sun came out and the sky surprised us with a deep blue. We decided to leave the camp. Progress was difficult. Riding on the back of our reindeer, the snow was up to our knees, and in some places even up to our thighs. Because we hadn’t got anything in front of the shotgun at this point, we were still looking for game. But we couldn’t make out any tracks because of the high, fresh snow.

In the evening, we stretched our tent canvas between the trees again so that we could settle down on the wind-protected side for the night. Our rifles were wet. To dry them, we hung them on a rope to which we had attached the canvas. On this moonless, seemingly peaceful night, the reindeer suddenly stormed into the camp to seek shelter with us. Unfortunately, we only had one flashlight at the time, and it was made in China, so it didn’t give off much light. We scanned the immediate area around our camp as best we could, but couldn’t see anything except trees. Then we settled down in the snow under the protection of our tarpaulin to eat. Dogs could be heard barking behind the tent. As I was the first to finish eating, I got up to check. In the diffuse beam of the lamp, I recognized a large, massive figure fighting with our dog. When I spotted a big brown bear, I was terrified, ran to my rifle and took it off the rope. I jumped behind the tent again. All I could see was the bear standing up on its hind legs. In the fading light of the flashlight, I could only make out two glowing green dots staring at me. I pulled the trigger and hit the bear in the stomach. He stormed off.

Because shot bears always and without exception come back to kill their enemy, there was great excitement in our camp. We immediately gathered all the wood we could find and lit several large fires. So we were able to observe the taiga within a radius of about five to ten meters. All the men had loaded their rifles. So we lay in wait and waited for the attack. It took hours. We are sleepy from the day’s exertions. However, the fear of the lurking danger was so great that none of us wanted to close our eyes. Hours later, we saw something moving quickly towards us. One of my friends yelled, “He’s coming!” The massive figure quickly grew larger. The bear jumped through the forest in great leaps. He tore out a reindeer’s shoulder with a single bite and continued his attack. There was a crash. Branches broke. The deadly danger thundered into our camp like an avalanche. The first of us shot. The rifle jammed because of the wet cartridges. The second one pulled the trigger. Jam again. In a split second, I dashed from one side of the fire to the other to get a clear shot. The bear was already there when I pulled the trigger and the bullet hit him right between the eyes. He collapsed and his head landed in the fire in front of me. Meanwhile, the other hunters had hidden under their blankets and tarpaulins. Their entire bodies were trembling with fear.

Because there were no pine nuts that summer, the bear was very hungry and dangerous. What’s more, there was hardly any snow to build a cave before the blizzard this year. Such years are rare, but when they do occur, the bears are unpredictable and absolutely deadly. If I hadn’t hit it properly or had a jam like my friends, this hunt would have ended badly for us. Because the bear was so hungry we couldn’t refuse his meat. He was simply too thin. We only took his fur and teeth,” Ultsan ends the story.

A brief silence fills our yurt. Thoughtfully, I listen to the crackling of the fire and feel my hair stand on end. The candle flickers again briefly as if a breeze is moving its flame. “Man oh man. That’s an exciting story. Aren’t you afraid for your Ultsan when he goes hunting?” I break the silence. “Oh yes. I often worry about him. Especially when he’s away on his own for several days,” Tsaya replies.

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