Bharal-People: The Elves of the High Himalayas

Did you know we bharal-people can walk along steep, rocky cliffs at incredible speeds, almost as if we’re walking on flat ground? We can be seen gracefully leaping from boulder to boulder, just like magical elves of fairytales. We love to roam and graze on the grassy slopes of the beautiful Himalayan Mountains at an altitude of between 3,000 and 6,000 meters.

We are also known as the “Himalayan Blue Sheep,” although we are not related to sheep-people. We measure around 35 to 75 kilograms in weight, and 115 to 165 centimeters in height. We males are slightly larger and heavier than females, and we both have horns that can grow up to 80 centimeters. While the males’ horns grow upward then turn sideways and curve backwards, a bit like a fashionable mustache, females’ versions are shorter and straighter. Sometimes we knock them with each other as a way of communication.

We don’t go to the forested areas, and prefer resting on the grassy slopes. When we bharal-people lie still, our fur coat camouflages well with the rocks and the grass, which helps to protect us from danger. We happily graze all day on the grassy mountain slopes, where we find delicious grass, herbs, shrubs, lichens, and mosses. In the cold season, we eat dry grass and lick the snow for water. Sometimes we take natural supplements such as seeds, grains, and nuts. Our perfect vegan diet keeps us light and agile!

We love to socialize with each other. We live in a big family, with anywhere from 5 to 400 members. After a gestation period of around 160 days, a pregnant mama bharal-person will leave the herd and find a quiet and safe steep cliff to deliver her baby. Usually, a female gives birth to a single kid every year. Our young reach adulthood at the age of one and a half years.

As you reach the Jinsha Valley or the Golden Sand River, along the Yangtze River in China, you are likely to encounter our cousins, the dwarf bharal- or dwarf blue sheep-people. They are also vegan, and their staple diet consists of cacti and scree scrub, which are common in their habitat.