Just before Tsagaan Sar, the first ‘Best State Reindeer Herder’ award was presented to Ch.Batbayar from the Tsagaannuur soum of Khuvsgul province. When Mongolians think of this province they often name two things: beautiful Lake Khuvsgul and the reindeer which for generations have been bred by the Tsaatan people. The Tsaatan are a Turkic nomadic people, also known as the Dukha, who came with their reindeer herds from neighbouring Tuva to escape Stalin’s cruel collectivisation policy in  the 1930’s. The herds are much smaller than then, nevertheless the reindeer remains central to the Tsaatan way of life. Last year, herder Ch.Batbayar had 150 reindeer; his herd also saw the addition of three twin calves which is a rare occurrence.

Back in 1994, the number of reindeer decreased to 400 and were at risk of dying out completely. Since then, things have improved significantly; Khuvsgul province now has a total of 2159 reindeer (2017 figure).