Dukha

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The Tsaatan are a small culture of reindeer herders living in northern Khövsgöl Aimag of Mongolia.

Only 44 Tsaatan families remain, totalling somewhere between 200 and 400 people. They ride, breed, milk, and live off of reindeer, though the reindeer population has dropped to approximately 600 since the 1970s, when it was an estimated 2000. Since the democratization of Mongolia, no governmental programs have been in place to replenish reindeer herds with animals from Siberia, direly endangering the Tsaatans' way of life. Much of the Tsaatans' income today comes from tourists who pay to buy their crafts and to ride their domesticated reindeer.

[edit] External links

• National Geographic News "Reindeer People" Resort to Eating Their Herds, 2004