Footprints of the yak: The man who has spent four decades preserving Sikkim's lifeline

New Indian Express

27-04-2025

SIKKIM : Anyone who knows Sikkim is also fascinated by the yaks – the lifeline of the highlanders. However, not many know about their protectors. One such conservator is Passang Tshering Bhutia. For the past four decades, he has been working tirelessly to save the yaks and preserve the traditions related to them, often braving sub-zero temperatures. Yak herders say he has no replacement. Recognising his contributions on the ground, the state government gave him a two-year extension on his post.
Bhutia, an Assistant Director in the Department of Animal Husbandry, was born and raised in Gangtok. He started his career as a livestock assistant in 1987 when he was posted in Lachen, a remote town in North Sikkim. He fell in love with the place and the people and never sought an urban posting.
Bhutia noticed how locals reared yaks in the high-altitude areas. The place had neither transportation facilities nor electricity. The climate was also extremely harsh. However, these challenges could not dampen the young man's spirit. He would often set out for the mountains, trekking long distances and setting up camps to work with the yak herders. It did not take long for him to build a strong relationship with them. His efforts have always been focused on increasing their income.
The region and its people were virtually unexplored. They had their yak-rearing traditions, stories and lifestyle, but these were slowly fading as young people were not interested in the hard work required for yak farming. Bhutia decided to go beyond his official duties to protect the yaks and preserve these traditions. He began working overtime, caring little about the usual 10 am to 5 pm work schedule. Normally, the department's activities were limited to treating yaks and Tibetan sheep, vaccinating them, and managing basic needs.
'Those days, Lachen had no traces of modernisation. The climate was harsh, often below freezing. There was no economic viability in yak-rearing. Youngsters were not interested and yak farming was slowly dying,' recalls Bhutia.
He got associated with various institutes including the ICAR-National Research Centre on Yak. He aimed to modernise yak farming by moving away from traditional methods and taking yak milk and milk products to urban markets to make yak-rearing economically viable. As he started working towards value addition, he also made efforts to integrate yaks with tourism for benefit of locals.
Bhutia motivated the locals to work towards the conservation of yaks and helped them find urban markets where they could sell yak meat, milk, and by-products. Before his posting in Lachen, the yak population of North Sikkim was about 9,000-10,000. It later dropped to 4,000 but has now risen again and is about to touch the 7,000-mark. He says that every ban on grazing takes some herders away from yaks.
'Yaks are a perennial source of milk, including powdered milk, meat, ghee, butter, whey, and steamed milk. We tried to introduce chhurpi (cottage cheese) to tourists but after browsing the internet, some people discovered it is also used as a dog chew abroad. Some exported it and found that dogs liked it. So now, we are thinking about a futuristic version of chhurpi. We plan to work with a technological institute to offer flavoured chhurpi and make its texture softer. We are also selling yak milk soup and working on yak milk coffee,' says Bhutia.
Yak milk is highly nutritious. It is rich in fat, contains essential minerals, and has medicinal value. Traditional yak milk products are central to the cuisine of the highlanders. The meat of yak is considered very lean and healthier than beef. According to the latest count, India has an estimated yak population of 58,000, mostly found in Sikkim, Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh.
Bhutia says yak wool, which is a natural moult, has a great future along with yak wool fiber used to make tents and ropes. He mentions that Norlha, a Chinese luxury brand, sells yak wool-products worldwide.
Stressing the urgent need for yak conservation, he says if yaks are not saved, it will impact the local economy, biodiversity, and ecosystem. 'If camels disappear from the deserts, the ecosystem there would be destroyed. Similarly, yaks and Tibetan sheep are crucial for maintaining the biodiversity and ecosystem of high-altitude areas,' he explains.
'Yaks help control soil erosion. They assist in seed dispersal and pollination. Their dung and urine act as natural manure. They don't graze but browse, which helps seeds germinate. They are an organic animal. Yaks naturally follow a free-grazing pattern and are never tied. They are not given any concentrate feed. They eat grass and produce less milk, but it is organic,' Bhutia says.