We typically stay with local families when sampling in snow leopard habitat, so we eat the foods that they eat. Trying new food can be a bit challenging, but it is an important part of learning about and experiencing a new culture. Also, our fieldwork can be very physically challenging, so we have to make sure we're getting all the nutrition we need for hiking and climbing and sampling.
Yak.
Yak are the most important livestock on the Tibetan Plateau. The local people use them for many things. They eat yak meat and yogurt, drink yak milk and yak tea, use yak hides for warmth and to build their homes, use yak dung (poop!) to build fences and heat their homes, and use yak for transport when moving from their summer to winter homes. Yak also have religious significance and are sometimes used for tourism purposes at more popular sites where foreigners visit.
I'm a vegetarian, so I don't typically eat meat. But there are limited options at our field sites, and the herders graciously welcome us into their homes and feed us, so I always like to try what's provided to me. I really did not like the first time I ate yak. It was mushy and tough and the taste was awful. But over time I got used to it, and now I am much more comfortable cutting off slices from the bone and eating it with some red pepper seasoning.
