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Leh & Ladakh
Ladakh Wildlife
Ladakh Wildlife
Ladakh's flora and fauna are
more similar to those of Tibet than to the main Himalaya and are a product of
the dry climate, cold winters and short growing season. An outline of what you
can expect to see is given here:-
FLORA
The main plants in the temperate and subalpine
zones are willow and poplar trees which grow wherever there is water, which
is usually along man-made irrigation channels. Walnut and apricot trees are
found at lower altitude. Conifers can also occasionally be found. In the alpine
zone you may find bushes of wild roses and sea buckthorn and sometimes junipers
which are usually clinging to steep cliffs, out of reach of the woodcutter's
knife. Alpine meadows with wild flowers are rare in this arid landscape and
this zone is characterised by scrub and low shrubs. However, even when crossing
high passes the trekker will notice plants that have adapted to the harsh environment
by growing hairy leaves which capture any moisture in the air. Where there aren't
any other signs of life you can still find the occasional lichen clinging to
the rocks.
MAMMALS
Ladakh is home to several rare and endangered species of mammal as well as having
some of the richest diversity of sheep
and
goats. Trekkers outside the busiest tourist season or on less frequented trails
are likely to see at least one or two different species. The most commonly encountered
is the
marmot. This member of the squirrel family lives in deep burrows
on mountain sides and will allow you to get quite close before giving a whistle
of alarm and disappearing underground. Occasionally you'll come across
martens,
weasels, hares and pikas (a relative of the hare, but with round ears and
no tail) and see
foxes (Vulpes vulpes) along the trails in summer.
Wolves
(Canis lupus), common and widespread throughout the mountains, rarely appear
until winter when they descend to the villages to prey on the villagers' livestock.
They have occasionally worried trekkers' ponies in parts of the Chang Tang during
the summer months. Among the various wild sheep and goats, bharal (Pseudois
nayaur), or blue sheep, are the most numerous and are commonly seen. These homed,
grey-brown sheep-like animals have characteristics of both sheep and goats.
They prefer rugged, steep terrain and large herds are often encountered in the
Hemis National Park on the Markha Valley trek where they help maintain the healthy
snow leopard population that preys on them.
Siberian ibex (Capra ibex sibirica) live in
the west of Ladakh and are the second most common hoofed mammal here but this
wild goat's preference for steep and high ground means that they are rarely
spotted by trekkers. The Ladakh urial (Ovis orientalis vignel) is a rare wild
sheep found in and around the Indus Valley but this proximity to a large population
of humans means that it is constantly under threat from hunters. Another rare
sheep is the argali (Ovis ammon hodgsoni) which can be found at higher altitude
and has huge curled horns.
Herds of
Tibetan wild ass (Equus hemionus /dang), or kiang, are not as
common a sighting as they once were, but trekkers in the Rupshu and Chang Tang
areas are still likely to see groups of this beautiful horse-like ass. Other
animals of the grasslands and steppes of the Chang Tang are the Tibetan gazelle
and the rare Tibetan antelope. Every trekker hopes to stumble across the legendary
and endangered snow leopard (Panthera uncia) but the chances of doing so are
extremely small. This solitary high-altitude cat is found in Zanskar and in
the Hemis National Park (where there is a population of 50-75). It's about the
size of a large dog and has a grey coat with black spots; sightings are very
rare because of its depleted numbers and ability to blend into the landscape.
There are a few lynx (Felix lynx) in Ladakh's wilder areas and also Pallas's
cats (Felis manu/) which are about the size of a domestic cat. Brown bear (Ursos
arctos) are found in very small numbers in northern Zanskar and the Suru Valley.
BIRDS
A large variety of both resident and migratory birds are found in Ladakh and
some 240 different species have been
recorded. Most visitors will see
magpies, sparrows and crows which are
all common around villages. Other common birds include various species of
lark,
twite, fmches and snow pigeon.
In the mountains you are likely to see the
chukor partridge and the occasional
kestrel, while soaring high on the thermals are huge scavenging
lammergeyer
(bearded vulture) with a 205m-wingspan, and also HImalayan griffin vultures,
buzzards and the occasional golden eagle.
Of the migratory birds, the
black-necked crane is one of the rarest,
its numbers have been reduced to just a handful of breeding pairs in the Chang
Tang lakes. The barbeaded goose also makes the incredible journey over the Himalaya
each spring to breed on these high-altitude lakes having spent the winter in
the wetlands of the Ganges floodplain. The great crested grebe also breeds here.
Another visitor is the boopoe, which is easy to spot with its long curved beak,
and pink and black crest. This bird's arrival traditionally heralds the beginning
of summer.
Habitat
Biologically, everything about the crane group, Gruidae, seems to indicate that
the birds are of very old origin having appeared on earth some 60 million years
before man. Now, probably, they are on their way out. They are not found in
abundance anywhere except in several Buddhist countries like Japan and Korea,
where they receive socio-religious protection. Small groups of cranes do exist
elsewhere in Asia, Europe, Africa, North America and Australia, but nowhere
in South America, the Malayan archipelago, Pacific Islands or New Zealand. Most
species of cranes are migratory and some of them travel awesome distances each
year. As for the black-necked crane, it chooses to migrate to higher altitudes
to nest.
Vital Statistics
The black-necked crane has a very pale gray, almost white, body with a black
neck, head, feet and well-developed secondaries. Its bill is greenish. All cranes
have long legs, long straight bills and necks and an elevated hind toe ,which
normally bears none of the bird's weight when it walks. They fly with their
heads and necks straight out, their legs and feet stretched out behind and with
a regular, steady and slow downward wing beat matched by a rapid upstroke. They
may circle at tremendous heights (sometimes 5 km above the ground) to form long
V-s - an extremely beautiful sight. Cranes seldom glide, except when preparing
to land. A distinctive feature about this bird is its windpipe,which is shaped
differently in each species but is always elaborately coiled somewhat like a
trumpet.
Yak
The largest animal of the cold desert is the yak
(dong), a wild ox. First described only a century ago by the famous Russian
naturalist-- explorer, N. M. Przewalski, the wild yak is definitely more imposing
than its placid domestic counterpart. Immensely shaggy and weighing about a
tone it has curved horns whose tips can be as wide apart as 90 cm. and measure
76 cm. over the curves. It can easily be distinguished by its long black hair,
which is tinged with gray at the muzzle. Spending its summers at a height above
6,000 meters, in winter it moves in herds to the lakes, marshes and lower valleys.
Nyan
All the world's sheep are closely related and zoologists generally believe that
each kind is only a variation of the same species. The largest and most magnificent
of wild sheep is the nyan also called the Great Tibetan sheep (Ovis ammon).
Roughly 200 of these antelope - like animals are found in the extreme eastern
portion of Ladakh. The horns of the nyan measure up to 145 cm. and the animal
normally remains at a great height, rarely descending to a level below 4,500
meters.
Urial
The urial or shapu, (Ovis orientalis), which weighs 85 Kg.
and has horns measuring upto 99 cm., is the smallest of the world sheep in eastern
Asia, its body just about as tall as its horns. These sheep prefer the grassy
mountain slopes, usually at a height of 3,000 - 4,000 meters. The meeting of
this species, as is the case with most sheep during December-January and they
give birth to their young around May. The need for protection of the urial is
great as they are with in easy reach of hunters. Their numbers have been declining
rapidly and it is estimated that there are no more than 500 in Ladakh, while
a survey by the Wildlife Department of Jammu & Kashmir puts another population
in the Markha and Rumbak valleys at only around 34-50. The most common and wide
spread of the sheep in the Ladakh region is the bharal or the blue sheep (Pseudois
nayaur). Found at an altitude of almost 6,000 meters, in summer they graze in
huge herds on the rich and abundant grasses of the alpine meadows. Their brownish-gray
coloring provides them with protective camouflage and as they often stand motionless
they can be extremely difficult to spot but, when alarmed, bharal will bolt
swiftly to safety. Strangely, bharal seem to bear some morphological traits
of both sheep and goats.
Ibex
Of the goats in the region, ibex (Capra ibex) are the most
distinctive
and beautiful. Sporting a pair of fine curved, spiral horns measuring as much
as 147 cm. (the largest on record), the large stocky ibex normally move in herds
of 10-16.They prefer the black precipitous rocks and cliffs and consequently
roam much higher than the smaller wild goats, descending, however, in winter
to lower altitudes to feed and shelter. The Wildlife Department of J&K estimate
that around 250 ibex exist in Kanji Nala.Inhabiting the steppes of this Tibetan
plateau are too small creatures not generally associated with high altitudes,
the Tibetan gazelle (Procapra picticaudata) and the chiru (Pantholops hodgsoni).
The former, sighted very rarely on the eastern fringe of Ladakh, sport horns
measuring 36 cm. and are generally seen in herds of 5-10. The later also called
Tibetan antelopes, are strange little animals with beautiful horns measuring
up to 69 cm. Chiru inhabit the Aksai Chin and Tibetan plateau, usually above
5,000 meters. Also found in western Ladakh are the much persecuted musk deer
and kiangs- the handsome , sleek, rust and white colored wild asses, whose estimated
population is around 1,500.
Predators(Snow leopard, Brown bear, Wolf, Lynx)
High in the mountains, this solitary animal hunts goats, ibex, blue sheep and
shapu by following them up and down the slopes in their seasonal migration.
During the winter, snow leopards stalk the lower mountains, often feeding on
domestic stock. Observations seem to indicate that this animal hunts in the
early morning and late afternoons. Despite the heavy toll taken by poachers,
the population of the snow leopard in Ladakh is estimated to be roughly 200.
With almost 40-50 skins smuggled out of Ladakh in the 1950's, 30-40 in the 1960's
and 10-15 still being slipped out, the main enemy of this animal is, undoubtedly,
man. Two other carnivores inhabiting this mountain home for the great bears.
The medium-sized Himalayan black bear (Selenarctos thlbetanus), a forest dweller,
is found up to heights of 4,500 meters in the summer. Like most bears it feeds
on practically anything ranging from fruit and ripe
corn
to sheep, goats, deer and even termites. Its usual home is in dug-out hollows
or caves. Further up the mountain lives the more adaptive brown bear(Ursus arctos)
which has a population of around 200(of which approximately 20 are found in
the Kargil area- the rest in the Zanskar valley). Three or four pairs of black
bears have also been spotted here during the months of July and August when
fruits like apricots and apples ripen.The wolf population in Ladakh is likely
to be around 300 and consists of two basic varieties. The northern race is light
fawn and brown whereas the southern is invariably darker. These wolves, probably
the most hated predators in Ladakh, hunt in pairs and move over vast territories.
It is observed one particular regularly moving across a narrow valley at dusk.
The red fox exists in larger numbers but many are, unfortunately trapped for
fur. From western Ladakh alone, about skins are possibly smuggled out every
year. The stone marten, a pretty, alert and active animal is also hunted for
its fur; again about 400 skins are smuggled out annually.
Snow leopard
The snow leopard inhabits the high mountains of Central Asia, and within India,
is found along the northern border, in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.The Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir
includes a large area of potential habitat and reports indicate that a relatively
undistributed
snow leopard population may exist in a few sites. Since the Ladakh area is known
to support snow leopard populations, and some of the habitat is fairly accessible,
this may prove to be a feasible study site for ecological investigation. The
snow leopard is considered endangered in every region in which it is found.
Three factors contribute towards a decline in its population.Firstly, the animal
is hunted by the locals for its valuable pelt and also to protect livestock.
Secondly, ungulate prey of the snow leopard, wild sheep and goats, have been
reduced by hunting for human consumption and thirdly, domestic livestock has
displaced wild ungulates from their grazing areas. If this trend continues,
it is doubtful whether the snow leopard will survive, except in a few isolated
areas or in captivity. The Fifth International Snow Leopard Symposium , which
took place from October 13-15,1986, in srinagar, was attended by representatives
from over 21 countries. Its basic purpose is to promote measures and exchange
information which will help to ensure the perpetuation of viable breeding populations
of the species.
Avifauna
The Himalayan and Tibetan snowcocks-large majestic birds
much
hunted for their meat, and partridges breed at a height about 5,000 meters.
The rest are visitors, moving down to the foothills in autumn in an annual ritual
of altitudinal migration. Other birds move still further, horizontally following
ancient routes of global migration.The highest realm belongs to the birds of
prey and carrion eaters. These include choughs, griffon vultures, ravens and
lammergeiers(bearded vultures), which follow man and animal wherever they roam.
Choughs and ravens have been seen as high as 6,150 meters along with the lammergeiers,
which have a spectacular three meters wingspan, which enables them to glide
on high powerful upcurrents. Lammergeiers are never found far from mountains
and locals awed by their size falsely believe them to be capable of carrying
away young lambs.
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