Motithang Takin Preserve

A wildlife reserve set up for the takin, Bhutan's unusual national animal, said to have been created by the 'Divine Madman' Lama Drukpa Kuenley.

The enclosure exists because of an unusual sequence of events: the fourth king closed Thimphu's small zoo as inconsistent with Buddhist values and had the animals released, but the takin would not disperse and wandered the streets of the capital until they were gathered into this fenced patch of forest. The legend attached to the animal is that Drukpa Kunley assembled it from a goat's head and a cow's bones, which is more or less what it looks like. It is a short drive above Thimphu and often paired with Changangkha Lhakhang.