A cold desert, Ladakh has high-speed winds, dry
atmosphere, roacky and uneven terrain and very low temperature. Fa-hian,
a famous Chinese traveler who wandered to this land in 399 AD described
Ladakh as 'the land where snow never melts and only corn ripens'.
Situated in mightiest mountains of the world, Himalayas, Ladakh is
situated at 4,600 m above sea level and has often been referred to as
the 'La-pass' or 'Dakh-land' (land of passes). There are hardly any
trees and vegetation in sight except for the few narrow valleys that are
fertile. However, the sky is clear and beautiful as if we are somewhere
other than Earth. Due to the high altitude of the region, the rarefied
fauna that can be found here is of Oriental and Palearctic type. Along
the riverbanks, one can see a greenish patch of land and it only near
the snow line that one can see wild roses, willow groves and some herbs.
However, above that, due to the rapid decrease in temperature,
vegetation becomes stunted and sparse.
Though it is not easy to spot wildlife in Ladakh, yet undoubtedly there
are animals who have adapted themselves to survive in the harsh
conditions such as rocky terrain, bitter cold, poor shelter and minimal
vegetation. However, in harsher winters, ungulates migrate to lower
regions and others including brown bears and marmots go in hibernation.
Though, these animals too have been found to suffer from lack of oxygen
at higher altitudes, most of them manage to cope up as their red blood
corpuscles increases in number and so foes their acidity. Many of these
animals especially the large mammals have a long fur to protect them
from severe cold. Most common animals found here are - Yak (a wild ox),
the largest animal found in Ladakh, Nyan, the largest sheep in the
world, Bharal, the blue sheep and Urial, the smallest sheep in the
world.
Yaks
have long black fur and curved horns and weigh a ton. They spend their
winters in the lower valleys in herds and move upwards in summers. Nyan
is one of the most magnificent sheep in the world and is also known as
Great Tibetan sheep. They hardly ever descend lower than 4,500 m and are
only 200 in number and reside mostly in eastern Ladakh. Urial is also
known as Shapu and they prefer grassy mountain slopes. However, their
number is rapidly declining and being an easy target, need protection.
Bharals are the most common sheep found in Ladakh and reside at altitude
of 6,000 m and can be seen grazing in Alpine meadows in herds, mainly in
summers. They are unique as they have morphological resemblance to both
the sheep and the goats.
