New discoveries in the Himalayas
The Eastern Himalayas, which is a region spanning from Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, north eastern India and the far north of Burma has recently yielded a large number of species unknown to man.
Conservationists say that more than 350 new species of plants, animals and fish have been discovered during the past decade in what is considered to be one of the world’s “most biologically rich areas”.
These discoveries are of 244 new plants, 16 amphibians, 16 reptiles, 14 fish, two birds and two mammals, the macaque monkey and the miniature muntjac, the oldest and smallest species of deer.
But there’s a word of warning from the WWF: the Himalayas is one of the areas in the world which is most threatened from climate change.
The WWF says that the impacts of a warming climate, such as flooding and melting glaciers, will eventually exacerbate the immediate environmental threats such as pollution, logging, overgrazing and wildlife trade.
Already only one quarter of the region’s original habitat, which includes the home of clouded leopards, Asian elephants, cobras and geckos is remaining. The same numbers are in effect for the high northern region home of red pandas, snow leopards, and blue sheep.
The region is already home to 10,000 plant species, 977 bird species, 300 mammals, 269 types of freshwater fish and 176 reptiles. The area is also the last bastion of the greater one-horned rhino and boasts the highest density of the Bengal tiger, says the WWF.
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