The Tragedy of the Tibetan Mastiffs

Initially, Tibetan mastiffs were only popular among small groups such as herders, but later they became widely known to the Chinese. The value of Tibetan mastiffs also skyrocketed for a while, to buy a Tibetan mastiff, people had to spend tens, hundreds, or even billions of dong.

Later, when the Tibetan mastiff fever subsided, a large number of unsold Tibetan mastiffs were abandoned in the wild and became wild dogs on the plateau . They gathered together and formed "legions" with the leadership of a leader, they fought with snow leopards and robbed food from wolves, it seems that at present, these Tibetan mastiff legions are the lords on the plateau.

Tibetan Mastiffs were abandoned in the wild and became stray dogs on the plateau.

There was no dog breed like the Tibetan Mastiff in the early Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. About 24,000 years ago, some low-altitude dog breeds entered the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau with early immigrants.

During their long stay on the plateau, some dogs were also crossed with ancient Tibetan wolves and the resulting puppies carried half of the Tibetan wolf's genes , including the key gene that helps them adapt to plateau life - EPAS1 - which is also found in some species living at high altitudes.

Under the influence of this gene, puppies acquire the ability to regulate the production of hemoglobin, so they can live for a long time on plateaus with low oxygen.

In addition, during the long evolution of the species, some adaptive changes have also appeared on their bodies such as thicker fur, thicker fat, larger body size., thereby forming the Tibetan mastiff breed.

Tibetan Mastiffs are also popular in Europe and the United States.

Although Tibetan Mastiffs originated in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, they are also popular in Europe and the United States. Around the 1980s, this lion-like, shaggy dog ​​breed was sought after by many foreigners, and the Tibetan Mastiff was also known as the "Oriental Divine Dog".

After the 1990s, this "Tibetan Mastiff fever" spread back to China, some people saw the business opportunity and quickly ignited and bred a large number of Tibetan Mastiffs, attracting people to flock to them, the value of Tibetan Mastiffs also increased accordingly.

It is not uncommon for some good-looking Tibetan mastiffs to be sold for millions of dollars. In 2011, a purebred Tibetan mastiff was even sold for 10 million yuan (more than 32 billion VND).

Some of the best looking Tibetan Mastiffs can sell for millions of dollars.

In fact, it was predictable that the Tibetan Mastiff's economic bubble would burst, because the Tibetan Mastiff itself is a highland dog breed, its body structure is predestined to be unsuitable for living in lowlands, and its ferocious personality is also not suitable for ordinary people to raise.

So as more and more incidents of Tibetan mastiffs hurting people arose and people's interest began to wane, their prices followed suit and the bubble finally burst in 2013.

Consumer demand for Tibetan Mastiffs has disappeared, market demand has plummeted, and delays in market regulation have caused a large number of Tibetan Mastiff owners to suddenly disappear.

The huge daily cost of food has driven many dog ​​farms into bankruptcy.

At that time, Tibetan mastiff farmers still had a glimmer of hope, hoping that one day the market would improve and the Tibetan mastiffs in their hands would be sold at a bargain price. However, that has not yet become a reality, and the huge daily cost of food has caused many dog ​​farms to go bankrupt.

As a result, more and more Tibetan mastiffs have become homeless strays, wandering around the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau all day long. At first, these Tibetan mastiffs only gathered in small groups, and most of them only stayed near villages, scavenging or secretly hunting people's poultry for food.

More and more Tibetan mastiffs are becoming homeless strays.

The process of domesticating wild animals into poultry and pets takes a long time, but the process of converting wild animals into pets into wild animals takes a very short time. Over time, new individuals are continuously born and a large number of wild Tibetan mastiffs have gathered together to form huge hunting packs on the plateau.

Although many people began to look down on the Tibetan Mastiff after the "Tibetan Mastiff craze" died down, there is no denying that this breed is very large and has an extremely aggressive personality.

Perhaps Tibetan mastiffs fighting alone may not be a match for snow leopards and Tibetan brown bears, but wild Tibetan mastiffs in packs are different. Accordingly, ordinary wild animals cannot be a match for a pack of Tibetan mastiffs, even the famous wild beasts of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau such as Tibetan wolves, snow leopards, and Tibetan bears have to run away with their tails between their legs when encountering a pack of wild Tibetan mastiffs.

This breed of dog is very large and has an extremely aggressive personality.

In 2016, a scholar from Beijing took a series of photos on the plateau of the dominance of wild Tibetan mastiffs.

Under the leadership of a pack leader, the other mastiffs drove away snow leopards, robbed Tibetan wolves of food, and forced brown bears to turn back time and time again.

A pack of stray Tibetan mastiffs have the power to surpass wolves. Their appearance has changed the landscape of animals on the plateau, and the snow leopard's status as king of the plateau has become precarious.

A pack of stray Tibetan mastiffs have the strength to surpass wolves.

Of course, the appearance of wild Tibetan mastiffs cannot be entirely blamed on mastiff farms, in addition, a significant portion of stray Tibetan mastiffs come from herding families.

The herders had transitioned from their original nomadic life to urban settlements and it seemed inappropriate to bring Tibetan mastiffs with them, so their Tibetan mastiffs were also abandoned.