Summary
The crosses of yak and local hill cow and vice versa are called Chauri, which are the main sources of households’
income in Upper Slopes of Sindhupalchok, Nepal. The Chauris are raised under migratory systems in highlands at
altitudes from 2500 to 4500 m. There are 131 Chauri herders rearing 2306 heads of Chauris, including six yak bulls
in Upper Slopes of Sindhupalchok, Nepal. Shortage of pastures, hardship, low production and lack of veterinary
services are the main causes that the herders are abandoning Chauri farming and shifting into other businesses. A
field level workshop participated by 33 herders was conduced on 6th February 2004 by NACRMLP to investigate
the status and opportunities for the improvement of Chauri production and management. It was revealed that
Chauri population and the herd size are decreasing each year compared to those five years ago. The breeding yak
become scarce, expensive and have to be brought from Tibet and/or from other parts of Nepal, which are located in
4-5 days walking distance. The availability of pastures also becomes scarce. The oak forest, being a major fodder
during winter, has been seriously lopped out and threatened for its existence. The veterinary service is poor. The
major Chauri products are Chhurpi (dried yak cheese), butter oil, skin, switch of tail, meat, pack and others. The
ghee is consumed locally and/or collected by the traders to export to Tibet. The Chauri herders are finding
difficulties to continue the Chauri farming occupations as a means of livelihoods. Interventions to improve the
present conditions are urgently needed, otherwise the Chauri/yak farming could be a chapter of history in these
areas.
Keywords: Chauri, yak, oak forest, pasture, migratory system, Sindhupalchok, Nepal
Introduction
The crosses of yak (Bos grunniens) and local hill cow (Bos indicus) and vice versa are called Chauri. The Chauris
are more productive than female yak and are more adaptive to lower altitudes and are reared at the intermediate
zone between cattle and yak (Joshi 1982). Chauri farming is a main source of households’ income in the Upper
Slope Areas of Sindhupalchok. (The Upper Slopes Areas of Sindhupalchok district is located about 100 km
east-north to Kathmandu - the capital town of Nepal and it borders Tibet, P.R. China). The Chauris are reared under
migratory systems, grazing around the Bhairabkund lake areas during summer and feeding oak forest leaves during
winter. Due to continuous lopping, the oak forest is threatened to its existing (Pradhan et al. 2002). The herders are
abandoning the Chauri farming occupations and shifting into other businesses, mainly due to lack of adequate
pastures, low production of Chauris, hardship, low return compared to investment, and poor animal health care
services.
Materials and methods
To assess the status and opportunities for the improvement of Chauri production and management a field level
workshop was conducted on 6th February 2004 in Upper Slopes Areas (Listikot village) Sindhupalchok, Nepal,
participated by 33 (six females) Chauri herders.
The major issues relating to the Chauri farming/management were collected from each of the participants. All
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Proceedings of the International Congress on Yak, Chengdu, Sichuan, P.R. China 2004
Session I : Production Systems
participants were asked to write major issues in a meta-card and/or explain to the facilitator to write in a white
paper.
All issues raised by the participants were grouped into five major groups viz: 1) trend of Chauri population and
the herd size; 2) Chauri breeding practices; 3) pasture and feeding systems; 4) animal health conditions; and 5)
Chauri products and its marketing.
The present status, the positive/negative situations before and after five years, major problems and the
recommendations for the improvement of each group were analyzed and discussed.
Results and discussion
Trend of Chauri population and herd size
The Chauri population and the herd size are decreasing each year. About five years ago, the population was
approximately double (Table 1). Compared to the Chauri population, the number of herders maintains
approximately the same during the last five years. However, in Tasitang village the number of the herders has been
decreased. About five years ago on average each herder reared 20-25 Chauris but these days a herder is rearing only
10-15 Chauris. For example, in Kyangsing village, there were about 40-45 herders and the population of Chauri
was about 1200 five years ago. They are reduced to 800 heads of Chauris and 33 herders.
Each year the production of Chauri calf are also decreasing. The estimated production of Chauri per year is
70-100 only (Tasitang -10; Temathan (Gumba) - 40-50, Kyangsing - 20-40) in the Upper Slopes Areas of
Sindhupalchok.
The identified causes for the reduction in the number are: 1) casualty by leopard (e.g. during last year, the
casualty of Chauris was over 105 by leopard from Tasitang, Bagam, Chhagam and Kyangsing villages); 2) high
incidence of diseases (10-12 deaths each year from Tasitang, Bagam, Chhagam and Kyangsing areas); 3) natural
death; 4) live export to Tibet (for meat purpose); and 5) others.
Table 1. Estimated Chauri population and herd numbers in Upper Slopes, Sindhupalchok
SN Village Number of herd Number of Chauris
1 Kyangsing, Gumba 33 800
2 Bagam, Listi 23 350
3 Chhagam, Listi 11 156
4 Tasitang, Tatopani 6 80
5 Sapukhani, Listi 4 50
6 Temathang, Gumba 33 500
7 Liping, Tatopani 13 220
8 Bokchen, Tatopani 8 150
Total 131 2306
