Sherpa captured many Rare wildlife photograph in His camera
Chungba belongs to the Sherpa community in the Everest Region. He was born in Chaurikharka, which is also the main route to Mount Everest. He grew up in Khumbu experiencing the regular sight of tourists from all over the world. Since an early age, he has been interested in photography, however, due to enormous family responsibilities he decided it was best to build a future in hospitality and tourism. He has worked earlier in the capacity of Station Manager of Yeti Airlines, and now owns a resort by the name of “Wonderful hotel Khumbu Resort” in Lukla—the gateway to Everest. Aside from this, Chungba also actively engages himself as a social worker within the community. These were a few reasons that people came looking for him. But things are different now. Today, at the age of 62, Chungba's identity has undergone a tranformation, and he is better known as a wildlife photographer
He has caught many memories through rare wild life pictures of the rare Snow Leopard (ghost cat) in Annapurna, Wild Cat in Tanzania, Wild Yak in Manang and Red Panda in Langtang. He is one among skilled photographers of Nepal who specializes in capturing pictures in low light. Chungba also travelled to the Annapurna Conservation Area in Manang for eight days to photograph snow leopards. Spotting the ghost cat was no easy feat, and Chungba could be seen trekking till 5,500 meters carrying his camera in search of ghost cats
. There would be days when he would go on for eight days without a glimpse of the leopard. “We cannot see the leopard but he is watching us. They don’t move forward when they see human beings, and therefore, it becomes very difficult for us to recognize snow leopards as they are well camouflaged. It is excruciating to identify a snow leopard as it looks the same as the ground,” Chungba says expanding upon the nature of the ghost cat. It needs to be spotted with the help of binoculars. This year, Chungba reached Tanzania at his own expense and was able to shoot a glimpse of the Wild Cat (serval cat) with his camera. Rarely, a photographer is able to capture a picture of the wild cat.
Chungba feels fortunate to have shot the image of the serval cat which looks similar to a leopard on camera. Last April, he had a rare encounter with a tiger in Shuklaphant National Park as well. Many people spend their time in repose, sightseeing, pilgrimage, casual get togethers, community service etc. While some participate actively in politics, there are many who spend their time reading, writing or sharing their experiences. However, only a few dare to acquire a new skill, have a job and do well in that field. The Sherpas who have shown such courage are becoming more and more successful in novice professions and Chungba, despite being retired, dared to venture into a new arena and further strengthen himself financially.
Chungba captured a wild yak’s photograph in the mountain region of Annapurna that lies in the western part of Nepal. It is uncanny as several photographers in the past had claimed that there were no wild yaks in the region, however, Chungba’s photograph paved the way for accurate facts. He came with a wonderful photo of wild yak and shared his photograph with multiple organizations working in the area of wild life. As per Chungba’s experience, wild yaks roam from time to time in Nepal, Tibet and Ladakh (in India) and gained notoriety for causing trouble to the locals. The wild yak, which usually lives around 6,000 meters, descends to 4,300 meters in the winter. Interestingly, they are crossbred with domestic yaks, for the purpose of mating and even if it comes in contact with a domestic yak, the chances of the mother dying will be the same because the baby born from a wild yak is much bigger in size. Also involved in the tourism business, Sherpa fulfilled his familial responsibilities and
