HIMALAYA'S WILDLIFE

Himalayas, and who hasn't heard the word but I am sure not many people heard, seen or read about its wild life. Surprisingly, in spite of the harsh conditions, many mammals live in this majestic mountain range. From the foothill, covered with forests, to the snow-capped peaks there are animals to be seen.

Mammals living in that sort of environment have shappy, thick coats to protect them from extreme temperatures. Yaks are covered by insulated tense, matted coat and their lungs and hearts are larger to help them breathing the thin air at high                                                                                       altitude.

THE WHITE-WINGED SNOWFINCH

The white-winged snowfinch is to be found in alpine meadows and rocky areas reaching right up to the snowline. It flies from 1800m upwards. Its main food is seeds. The snowfinch nest in crevices or even in hole of the pikas. It has about 3-5 eggs

BHARAL SHEEP

Bharal sheep roam the slopes to find small plants, grass and lichens, If see danger, they stand still and there type of coloured coat give them a good camouflage. They are in competition with livestock such as donkeys. When the numbers of the donkeys overtake the Bharal sheep; it looses.

BAR-HEADED GEESE

Bar-headed geese are one of the highest fliers in the world. Their migration takes them right across the high Himalayan mountain range. It had been found that they fly up to a height of 10,175m. It was noted that it has larger wings and it is assumed that this is the reason they can fly so high. They migrate over the Himalayas to spend the winter in India, Assam, Northern Burma and the wetland of Pakistan. It feeds on barley, rice and wheat which can be damaging to crops.

SNOW LEOPARD

The snow leopard is secretive and seldom to be seen. It catches wild sheep, iprx and also domestic animals. It lives between 3,000 - 6,000m above sea level. Being secret it is hard to know the exact number of snow leopard living in the wild. An estimate is 3,500 to 7,000. It is smaller than the other leopard and has a long thick fur. Their body is stocky and has small round ears. Their feet are wide to be able to walk on snow more efficiently. The snow leopard cannot roar.

MARKHOR

A male markhor distinguish itself by magnificent corkscrew-twist horns. It is the largest of wild goats. It is classed by IUCN as endangered and there are less 2,500 matured animals in the wild. The number declined by estimated 20% over two generations.

RED PANDA

The red panda which home it is there. It is much smaller than the Giant Panda and measures one meter including tail. The tail is bushy and ringed. Its territory ranges from Nepal in the west to the east of China. The number in the wild is declining because of loss of habitat and its fragmentation which leads to inbreed. They protected by law but poaching still goes on.

SNOWCOCK

The male and female Himalayan snowcock blend in well its surrounding of rock and snow. They have the nest on the ground. Their region is from the Caucasus to the Himalayas. The snowcock have been successfully introduced in Ruby Mountains, Nevada.

PIKA

The Tibetan pika has adapted well to living in the cold. It has small round ears and a round body to prevent heat loss. The pika is related to the rabbits. It lives in a family group. Their kittens are from 3-5. It does not hibernate but gather hay for the winter.

TAKIN

The takin is a short, stocky and shaggy ox-like mammal. You will hundreds grazing on the mountain meadows in the summer. They are mixture of goat and antelope. The territory is in the eastern Himalaya in bamboo forests at an altitude of 2,000m to 4,000m. In the summer they live in big herds and in winter in small groups.

LANGURS

Langurs which are slender built. A great number going up the mountains into the cold zone of about 3660m it lives in small groups. The female gives birth after 6-9 months and they are not weaned till one year old. It reaches maturity at 3-6 years.

WILD ASSES

The Tibetan wild asses go in small numbers over the high peaks. They are called kiangs. The people living there gather their dung and use it as fuel.

BUTTERFLIES

As a great surprise you can even find Butterflies. The magnificent Bhutan Glory and Delia's butterfly are in great numbers to be found in the alpine meadows. Most of the time they fly low to the mountain slope and avoid the strongest wind current. They counted 643 different species of Butterflies.

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