In current concerns for ecology and conservation it is easy to forget that there are some things that should not ever be released back to the wild. In my travels so far, I have encountered three such things.
The first, and probably the most insidious, but least vicious, is toothpaste. This normally makes its break for freedom in subtle stages. The first is nearly always into and onto the surface of a surrounding container. Toothpaste has a natural affinity for surfaces, but is especially at home in the interstices of a mesh surface. The second, and much more disturbing phase of such an escape, is when it makes the transition from the interior surface of the surrounding container fully into the wild. It is a much under appreciated fact that 2mg of toothpaste can cover the surface area of a small island, and all the flora and fauna that lives there. This is why such accidental releases (and nobody in their right mind would ever do this deliberately) are so harmful to the habitat. Imagine everything you touch, including the things you touch trying to wipe the toothpaste off, coated with a thin but unmistakable layer of toothpaste.
The next such escapee is far nastier, and much quicker acting. This is Deet, the insect repellant. In the UK this comes in a variety of strengths - I believe from about 10% to 50% - I have the strongest "Jungle" strength which is 50% w/w. Australian brands tend to be stronger and should be labelled (though they aren't) biological warfare defcon 1 through 5. The strongest I have seen on my travels was australian, and was 90%.
Anyway on many bottles of Deet, though not on my current one and not on the Australian one I have seen, there is a warning against using it on artificial fabrics. I had a squirt bottle, with a protective cap on it, in a waterproof stuff sack. Somehow during my trek, the protective cap came off; the squirter got pressed; and the top quarter of the stuff sack got sprayed. I discovered this on the penultimate day of the trek. The result was to cause the (artificial) fabric of the sack to partially melt; to stick to the other surface that had received a squirt; to shred the sides of the sack; and when opened to destroy both sides of the sack. (And by the way, you are supposed to apply this stuff to your skin to deter insects!)
This led to the first major rearrangement of my luggage since leaving England. When I got back to Xining, I had to empty the stuff sack; clean thouroughly everything that had been in it; and throw out the stuff sac. In the process, I determined that, even if I do more trekking, some of my cold weather clothing is now redundant, so in Kangding I have disposed of a fleece, a pair of fleece lined trousers, and a pair of heavily insulated gloves. These have gone to the owner of the hostel, who does a lot of climbing; is involved in the nascent mountain rescue effort in this area; and is involved in various Tibetan charities. He can put them to good use, and I don't have to carry them round Vietnam and other South-Eastern Asian countries.
Every guide book and source of information I have seen describing the Tibetan Plateau, has had a comment about the dogs on the plateau. 95% of all dogs on the plateau are owned, and are chained. This still leaves very large numbers that by one means or another are no longer captive. Dogs on the plateau are largely of two breeds. Both have been bred, and trained, to guard flocks of sheep, yaks, and nomadic camps. The smaller dogs are Chow sized, and look like Chows - they may even be Chows. Like their bigger relatives, they have a large ruff of fur on their neck protecting their head and neck. These dogs are intended to guard against wolves and foxes. The larger dogs are the Mastiffs. They are very much rarer, loose, than the Chows, partly because they are so valuable. There was a local report as I started trekking, that one of the golden mastiffs had been sold to a Eastern Chinese for breeding purposes for 1,000,000Rmb - about £100,000. These are huge dogs - they seem to come in two sizes - the black mastiff, which is the size of a Great Dane, though a very different shape; and the golden which is slightly larger than a lioness. These have been bred and trained to guard against the big predators - Snow Leopard; Himalyan Black and Brown Bears; and Man.
All the dogs, because of their breeding and training, are fiece and aggressive. The Chows will have a go at humans but are often deterred by making a stone throwing action. Those that are not deterred by this will usually be deterred if an actual stone is thrown at them. The larger dogs will attack humans, and are rarely deterred by stone throwing or stone throwing actions. They are capable of (at best) severly mauling a human, and (at worst) killing one. The recommended defense is to run away - their weak point is their stamina - they can only chase you for a very short period before running out of puff. This is done much easier if you are on a bicycle, than if you are on foot.
Anyway the recommended approach to where there are dogs barking is to ensure that you have one or two hand sized pieces of stone with which to threaten or to actually throw if it becomes necessary. I did this, and would do it again - it is the best (only?) way of dealing with the animals. However, this is the first time in my life I have ever made preparations to defend myself by potentially harming another being, and it felt very peculiar to be doing so. Fortunately the precautions were not needed, but if intent is relevant to a situation - and I think it is - I had the intent of possibly harming one of these dogs. Very uncomfortable.
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