Gordon Young and the Lahu Hill Tribe

Gordon Young (1927-2016) was born in Yunnan province, China. His parents were Baptist missionaries. His parents moved to Shan State in Burma, where young Gordon befriended Lahu people. He learned the Lahu language and became fluent. The Lahu took him to the jungle, where they taught him survival and hunting skills. A Lahu tribal chief bestowed on him the Lahu hill tribe’s highest honor, “Supreme Hunter.”

In the 1950s, the family moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand, where they lived in Villa Veluvan at the foot of Doi Suthep mountain. Gordon often went into the jungle in the Chiang Dao area where, on one day, he bumped into a group of Lahu tribesmen. They were from the village where he grew in Burma, looking for greener pastures in Thailand: migrating. In the book titled Tracks of an Intruder, Gordon Young tells the story of this amazing encounter. After this reunion, Young joined his Lahu friends on many hunting trips. The book is an excellent read.

Gordon Young also wrote a book on the hill tribes that appeared in 1962:: “The Hilltribes of Northern Thailand: A socio-ethnological report.” Growing up as a hunter, he later in life developed a passion for wildlife conservation. He helped his father Harold Young establish the Chiang Mai Zoo, close to their house. The story of the Young family is fascinating.