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Wildlife in Ladakh
Ladakh Tourism >> Wildlife in Ladakh
Ladakh-Described as "The land where snow never melts and only corn ripens" by
its discoverer, Fa-hian, a chinese traveler, who traveled across its inhospitable
terrain in 399 A.D. Known for centuries as the 'land of passes' (La-pass; Dacha-land),
Ladakh is a mysterious land shrouded in myth and legend and much of its ancient
history is known only through the mythology of its people.
Characterised by uneven terrain, rugged landscapes, and snow-swathed mountains
which rise to several thousand feet above the surface of earth, its valleys
are forbidden. Ladakh is a cold desert with no signs of trees far and wide.
Winds blow here at a very high speed and everything is parched by the rarefied
dryness of the atmosphere. Scattered here and there, a few narrow fertile valleys
provide a clear sparkling air. The limpidity of the atmosphere, in fact, gives
the night sky a unique clarity, so full and bright with stars that one feels
transported to some ethereal setting, far away from Earth.
This mysterious "land of passes" (La-pass, Dakh-land) stands at a height 4,600
meters in the outer Himalayas with its peaks, ranging from 5,800 to 7,600 meters
forming the most striking feature of the area.
The Himalayas, higher than the mightiest mountains anywhere in the world, are
clearly the result of a process of folding-a moment of the coastal plates by
which one drifting piece of land overrides another. When two such drifting continental
pieces collide and wrap, the resultant wrinkles form mountains. This Himalayan
massif is believed to be the result of such a collision between the Indian and
Asian plates. Consequently, much of the high altitude Himalayan fauna is typical
of both the oriental and Palearctic regions.
Ladakh possesses virtually no natural forests, though along riverbanks and valleys
some greenery does exist. The lower mountain slopes are sparse but higher up,
near the snow line, wild rose, willow and herbaceous plants have successfully
colonized the slopes. This is the alpine zone. While soil, wind, precipitation
and exposure are important determinants in the arrangement of specific life,
the temperature differential due to altitude is by far the most important factor.
Because of the decrease in the temperature, vegetation becomes more sparse and
stunted as one ascends the slopes.
In this extremely harsh environment the untrained eye would hardly see any evidence
of wildlife at all. Animals, which have adapted to the rigorous conditions however,
thrive on the minimal vegetation, poor shelter, rocky terrain and bitter cold.
Nevertheless, most creatures, notably the ungulates, do migrate to lower regions
in winter while others, like the brown bear and marmots, choose to hibernate.
Ironically, at this altitude many animals suffer from "mountain sickness" because
of the lack of oxygen! Their bodies however, seem to adopt to this condition,
as the number of red blood corpuscles increases along with blood acidity. Most
large mammals have a unique devise for protection against the cold-- a highly
insulated shaggy coat.
Yak
Yak(dong)-a wild ox is the largest animal found in Ladakh. and 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
Largest and most magnificent of wild sheep in the whole world, it is also called
the Great Tibetan sheep (Ovis ammon). Roughly 200 of these 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
Urial or shapu (Ovis orientalis) is the smallest sheep in the world. Its body,
which is just about as tall as its horns usually weighs 85 Kg. and has horns
measuring upto 99 cm. These sheep prefer the grassy mountain slopes. The breeding
of this species, as is the case with most sheep, takes place during December-January
and they give birth to their young ones around May. The need for protection
of the urial is great as they are within easy reach of hunters. Their numbers
have been declining rapidly and it is estimated that there are no more than
500 in Ladakh.
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 seems to bear some morphological traits
of both sheep and goats.
