9 Wild Animals of The Great Himalaya Ranges

Himalaya range is the longest and the highest mountain range in the world with the world’s highest peaks Mount Everest. The sheer diversity of the Himalayan topography makes it one of the best places to spot some of the rarest wild animals,reptiles and birds. The forested regions of Himalaya offer a large variety of birds, both resident and migratory. Birds found in the Himalayas are Himalayan Vulture,Crested Serpent Eagle,Bay Owl,Common Flameback, flamingo,Golden Oriole,the Great Cormorant, and critically endangered species Himalayan quail. There are different species of reptiles and amphibians live in the Himalaya as well such as Himalaya gharial and muggar,common lizard and gecko, Himalayan trinket snake and Himalayan Pit Viper. The Great Himalayan National Park is the newest addition to India’s national parks, located in Himachal Pradesh. The park is is a habitat to 375 fauna species, which includes 31 mammals, 181 birds, 3 reptiles, 9 amphibians, 11 annelids, 17 mollusks and 127 insects.

Snow Leopard: The large cat of Felides family Snow Leopard, native to the snow mountain ranges of the Great Himalayas. The endangered snow leopard habitat is extremely difficult to access,they prefer steep, rugged terrains with rocky outcrops and ravines. Because of the inaccessibility of much of the snow leopards habitat, the exact numbers left in the wild is unknown. Another felid of Himalaya is “The clouded leopard” found from the Himalayan foothills through mainland northeast India to neighbor countries. The powerful predator of hills has been classified as vulnerable with suspected to be fewer than 10,000.

Himalayan Wild Yak: The Yak, a long-haired bovine found throughout the Himalayan region of India. The massively-built animal with a drooping head are among the largest bovids with males standing about 6 feet tall at shoulder.The shaggy beast is among the most useful animals of Himalayan, Besides of meat, fiber, milk, and hide, yaks are used as beasts of burden. Yak is one of the local inhabitants of the cold desert and Yak Safari is thus unique to enjoy.

Himalayan Blue Sheep: The bharal or Himalayan blue sheep is a goat-antelope or caprid found in the high hill of Himalaya mountains. The wild Himalayan sheep is a member of Bovidae family, with a bluish-grey coat and round backward-curving horns. The bharal is one of the major food of the powerful felid predators snow leopard and clouded leopard. The Himalayan Blue Sheep hunt is one of the most challenging sheep hunting in neighbour countries.

Himalayan Black Bear: There are two species of bear found in Himalaya, Himalayan Brown Bear and Himalayan black bear. The Himalayan black bear is also known as Indian black bear is a vulnerable species due to deforestation and active hunting for its body parts. Himalayan Black Bears is a rare subspecies of the Asiatic black bear,with necklace of white fur across its chest. The natural habitat of the Himalayan black bear is forested area with rocky outcrops having caves. The Indian black bear are very aggressive toward humans and also known as most most deadly animal of India.

Musk Deer: The Great Himalayas Musk deer are belongs to the family Moschidae and lives in Himalaya mountain ranges.Himalayan musk deer habitats in hilly, forested environments, generally far from human habitation and eat mainly leaves, flowers, and grasses. The musk gland is found only in adult males to attract mates,for their scent glands. The Indian Musk deer is one of the highly poached and endangered animal.

Himalayan Wolf: The critically endangered Himalayan wolf is canid species of wolf found in the cold environment of Himalayan region. The habitat of the Himalayan Wolf are very wild and remote wilderness of the Himalayan Mountains, also spotted in the Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh. The Himalayan Wolf of India are the world’s oldest species of wolves found anywhere else in the world. The Himalayan wolf may also represent an ancient isolated line of wolves in India.

Himalayan Tahr: Himalayan Tahr is the relative of wild goats, native habitat to rugged wooded hills and mountain slopes of the Himalaya. The Himalayan tahr is one of three species of tahr,other two are Arabian tahr and Nilgiri tahr. The mountain goat eat almost any vegetation they can find, from grass and herbs to the leaves of shrubs and trees. During the winter season Himalayan tahr get a dense, reddish to dark brown woolly coat with a thick undercoat to keep warm.

Red Panda:  The beautiful arboreal mammal native to the eastern Himalayas to north east India. The endangered Red Panda live in temperate climates, in deciduous and coniferous forests, usually with an understorey of bamboo and hollow trees. The Red fox population is continue to decline due to habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, and inbreeding depression. The endangered Red Panda can be spotted in the Khangchandzonga National Park and Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh.

Himalayan Palm Civet: The Masked Palm Civet is a species of civet mostly found at northern India. The Himalayan Palm Civet is distinguished from other Indian Civets by its white whiskers and by absence of any trace. The little creature has very long tail and fur is orange-brown to gray with no spots and stripes. The masked palm civet is a nocturnal solitary predator,during the day it stays and sleeps on trees and mostly eat fruits,In addition it eats squirrels, birds as well as insects.