Kyle Obermann Photography

Feral Dogs on the Roof of the World - NYT 12.26.25

This story has a web of roots: in 2009, a smash hit Bollywood film, "3 Idiots," catapulted Ladakh into a number one travel destination for the modern Indian tourist. Years later, Ladakh is transformed. A web of home stays and restaurants stretch across the region. With it, an immense amount of new trash and food waste has arrived.

Meanwhile, on the contentious border with China and Pakistan, the military is building its presence on either side. More trash; more waste.

The Indian subcontinent heats up. More tourists come in the summer. More trash; more waste.

There is neither the infrastructure or policy to deal with such waste in the Himalaya, yet. But the waste allows once small populations of feral dogs to survive winter and breed ferociously across the landscape. Because of this, endangered wildlife like Pallas cat have been extirpated from some areas.

Meanwhile, due to religious and cultural respect for animal lives, extreme measures such as culling the dogs isn't legal. Neutering isn't keeping up with the pace of breeding.

And, the dogs, as they move generation by generation away from domestication, are re-wilding, even interbreeding with wolves. The locals have a new name for this chimera: khibshang.

While Ladakh faces a unique mix of causes, this is a trans-Himalayan issue, from China to Kyrgyzstan. The solutions must come from the policy level.

While cities like Leh are beginning to implement more stringent waste control policies, it feels like crisis like these need national momentum, funding, and enforcement - especially in regards to regulating how military camps affect the land they are on.

Afterall, without biodiversity, without a healthy living planet, what's left fighting for?

2026 approaches. As the earth returns to where it was a year ago, so much is changed around me. 2025 was one of the most wild, thunderous years, and the changes that happened this year will affect the rest of my future. 2026 will be filled with more scenes like this. Exciting plans underway!

As the earth returns to where it was a year ago, so much is changed around me. 2025 was one of the most wild, thunderous years, and the changes that happened this year will affect the rest of my future. 2026 will be filled with more scenes like this. Exciting plans underway!