Motithang Takin Preserve

The Motithang Takin Preserve is a fenced stretch of pine woodland in upper Thimphu, and the only reliable place to see a takin — Budorcas taxicolor, Bhutan's national animal and one of the odder large mammals in Asia. It is heavy-bodied and short-legged with a broad arched muzzle, and it looks assembled rather than evolved.

The goat and the cow

Bhutanese tradition says it was. The story belongs to Drukpa Kunley, the Divine Madman: pressed by a crowd to perform a miracle after eating a whole cow and a whole goat, he set the goat's head on the cow's bones, snapped his fingers, and the animal stood up and walked off to graze. It is called dong gyem tsey, and the legend is the reason it became the national animal.

Why it is a preserve and not a zoo

The site began as a small zoo. It was closed on the instruction of the fourth King, on the grounds that a zoo was not compatible with Bhutan's environmental and Buddhist convictions, and the animals were released. The takin would not go: they were too used to being fed and wandered the streets of Thimphu looking for food. The enclosure was reopened as a preserve as the practical answer.

Visiting

A short trail runs along the outside of the fence through the pines. The herd shelters in the trees through the middle of the day and is easiest to see in the morning or late afternoon near the feeding area — so timing decides whether you get a clear look or a distant shape. Twenty to thirty minutes is enough, and it sits close to the rest of a Thimphu day.

A note for planning: this is a wildlife enclosure, not a national park, so it does not appear in the browse listings for parks and reserves.