Winter animals in the city of Ulaanbaatar

In the last month of a Mongolian winter, I ponder the animals I’ve seen in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. It occurs to me that I have only seen birds and dogs. The only birds I’ve seen are black birds, the size of starlings. And the only dogs I’ve seen are medium-sized dogs, common mutts roaming the streets – not dogs on leashes with their owners.

I also ponder the animals I haven’t seen. I haven’t seen ants, worms, beetles, locusts, dragonflies, moths, maggots, silverfish, bees, gnats, wasps, mosquitoes, cockroaches, flies or spiders. None at all. Nor have I seen any cats. Not a single cat.\

MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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