Essay on the Himalayas | India | Mountains | Geography

Here is an essay on ‘The Himalayas’ especially written for school and college students.

The fauna of Himalayan sub-region resemble of both the Oriental and Palaearctic regions. The animals such as Tiger, Leopard, Bear, Wild pig and Snow leopard are found on both sides of Himalaya in the Palaearctic and Oriental regions.

It seems that these animals might have migrated to India in the distant past through narrow passageway presented by the flood-plains and the gorges of the Brahmaputra-Ganges river systems or the early stages of formation of the Himalayan massif, which at that time, did not form the unsurpassable barrier as found today.

It is to be noted here that the geological structures of Himalaya are of recent origin and in the past was not barrier to animal movements as it is today. Distribution of fauna and flora is affected by the influence of altitudinal changes and amount of rainfall.

Hence, much of the high altitude fauna of this area extends over the whole complex of mountain ranges and is typical of both the Oriental and Palaearctic regions. In addition of the influence of altitudinal-change on ecology, there are marked east-west variations due to decrease in monsoon rainfall towards the west.

Himalaya of eastern region receive heavy rainfall and practically no snowfall except in very high altitude; which has resulted in profuse growth of tropical fauna and flora are also different, having similarities with the Chinese fauna of Palaearctic.

In the western Himalaya, rainfall is less and climate is temperate with heavy rainfall; thus the flora differs both in physionomy and structure and the fauna is also very different having affinities with the Chinese fauna of the Palaearctic.

Thus, there are altitudinal as well as east-west variations in this region. The fauna of Himalayan Mountain Systems have been further divided into three sub-zones, each with its characteristic assemblage of animals such as Himalayan Foothills from the eastern frontiers of Kashmir to Assam, the High Altitude Regions of Western Himalayas from Kashmir including western Ladakh to Kumaon, and the Eastern Himalayas.

(i) The Himalayan Foothills:

The Himalayan Foothills consist of Tarai, Bhabar and Siwalik ranges in the south. The Bhabar tract consists of thick boulder deposits where the water-table is very low and the conditions are relatively drier. The Tarai region consists of thick deposits of fine silt, the drainage is poor and the water-table is high.

The natural monsoon forest extends well into this region. This Tarai region is characterised by tall grassy meadows and savannah vegetation. Here, sal is the dominant species. This is one of the richest areas for the typical big mammals of Northern India.

Tiger, Elephant, Sambhar, Swamp deer, Cheetal, Hog deer, Barking deer, and Wild boar are all around in this area. Panther and Wild dog are the co-predators followed by Hyaena and Jackal as the scavengers on the remains of the tiger-kill. Both Black and Sloth bears are found in this area.

Amongst the rodents, Porcupine is the most prominent animal. The Great Indian One-horned Rhinoceros which once ranged all along the Himalayan foothills is now confined to a few pockets in Assam and Nepal Tarai and is considered a rare species.

Another animal is the Wild Buffalo which is the largest bovid in the world. The only other habitat where this great bovid now exists is in the Godavari catchment of the States of Madhya Pradesh, Orissa (where now reported to be extinct) and Andhra Pradesh. The Gaur (India Bison) is also found sharing the habitat with rhinoceros and wild buffalo.

Brow-antlered Deer is another rare species found in this region confined to Keibul Lamjao National Park in Manipur. This deer lives on a floating mass of vegetation-deposits called as “phumdi” and due to its locomotion on floating habitat, has been named as “Dancing deer” by the late E.P. Gee.

This deer is probably being the most threatened deer in the world. This area also supports some animals found nowhere else in the Oriental region such as the Gangetic gharial, the sole representative of the family gavialidae, occurs in the Himalayan tributaries of the river Ganges.

Apart from these, the Hispid-hare and Pigmy-hog, thought previously to be extinct, were rediscovered in 1971 in Manas National Park of Assam. Again in Manas National Park, E.P. Gee was able to find the existence of a new species of monkey, the Golden Langur, which is now named after him as Presbytes geei.

This langur is of golden-chestnut colour in winter and paler during the summer but the youngs are practically whitened. They exist in some localized patches on either sides of the Manas River in India as well as Bhutan.

(ii) The High Altitude Regions of Western Himalayas:

It consists Kashmir and western Ladakh to Kumaon regions. This region occupies the higher altitudinal-zone from 1500 m to about 2500 m having coniferous forests at the lower level and alpine scrub at the higher level. Rhododendron, dwarf hill bamboo and birch forests mixed with alpine pastures extend above the pine-belt up to the snow-line extending up to the cold-desert plateau of Ladakh in the extreme north-west.

These higher reaches above the coniferous-belt represent the alpine-zone. The climate is temperate and low rainfall with heavy snowfall. The pine-belt mostly acts as a transition-zone for the rich fauna of the alpine- zone in the higher altitude.

During winter, when environment in the alpine-zone becomes extremely cold, a number of species move down in this region; and with the summer thaw, the alpine pastures again turn green and become the grazing-grounds of most of these animals.

The animals found in this part of the Himalaya are adapted to intense cold and harsh conditions of the climate. Their coat is thick in the winter and thinner in the summer and the seasonal-coats are often such differently coloured that they-merge with the background and conceal the animals. The interesting feature is that all the animals, except the two antelopes (Chiru and Tibetan-gazelle), are sharp-eyed and adapted for climbing the rocks (sure-footed rock climbers).

The family bovidae is well represented in the higher altitudinal part of Himalaya. Three species of Wild Goats occur in the Indian Himalaya such as Tahr, Markhor and Ibex. Tahr has short horns set close together on top of the head, roams in the highest coniferous forest, gregarious in nature, grazing in herds and sentinels mount a look out for possible danger.

Markhor lives higher on the rocky slopes and cliffs above the tree-line. It is the finest of all goats with long horns shaped like thick and heavy cork-screws. The fur of markhor is rich reddish- brown turning to grey in winter. Like all wild goats, it is an amazingly agile climber. In winter, it retreats to lower slopes where forage is more plentiful and even climb along the branches of evergreen oaks to browse its leaves.

The Ibex is found in the Western Himalaya. But unlike tahr and markhor, which are limited to the Himalaya, ibex has a much wider range inhabiting mountainous regions all over Central Asia from the Himalaya to the Altai and extending westwards as far as Spain. The ibex Lives mainly above the tree-line grasing between rocky cracks and on meadows just below the snow-line.

Among the Wild Sheeps, there are also three species typical of the Western Himalaya such as Nayan or Great Tibetan sheep, Bharal or Blue sheep and Shapu or Urial. Nayan is the largest species of wild sheep and extends from Ladakh to Tibet. It has magnificent horns which curve round in the sweep making more than a complete circle. The Bharal occurs in the Western Himalaya extending to Sikkim and Nepal.

It has characters intermediate between the sheep and goat. It is found at the altitudes of 3600 m to 5000 m and feed on the rich abundant grass on the alpine meadows. They feed in herds during summer except the old males which forage at higher elevations. During the rest of the year, the ewes congregate in small groups round the male.

Their colour of salty-blue merges perfectly with the rocky outcrops of their habitat and it is difficult to spot them it they are motionless. The Shapu is the smallest of the wild sheep and inhabits grassy mountain slopes usually below the tree-line. It has probably contributed to the stock of domesticated-sheep.

The largest bovid, the Wild Yak is found in Ladakh and Tibet, though it has been domesticated for centuries by the people of the area. They are black with long black horns and a little white on the muzzle.

Two kinds of antelopes, Chiru and Tibetan-gazelle complete the list of Himalayan and Tibetan bovids. Both graze on the high cold plateau regions in Tibet and adjoining areas. The Chiru has swollen muzzle which may be an adaptation for breathing cold and rarefied air. One of the typical animals of high altitude, cold-desert regions of Ladakh and Tibet is the Wild Ass.

Two deer are characteristic of the Western Himalayan high alpine-zone viz. Hangul or Kashmir Stag and Shou or Sikkim Stag. The Hangul is the local representative of the European red-deer and is confined to the Dachigam National Park of Jammu & Kashmir State.

The Shou is another race of red deer (much larger than the hangul) which occurs in the Chumbi Valley in Tibet and Sikkim. The Musk Deer is another deer which inhabits the high altitudes bordering the tree-line. This deer is much valued for its musk-pods collected from the males and used in the manufacture of high level perfume.

Apart from these, many smaller mammals live above the tree-line. The typical among them is Marmot. The Himalayan or Bobak Marmot is a stoutly built animal having short bushy tail and very small ears. Marmots live in a large colony. They dwell in burrows and feed on grass around the burrows. In autumn, they drag dry grasses into these burrows and hibernate in this warm bedding.

They become active in spring and youngs are born. In the high mountains of Kashmir, little Woolly Flying Squirrels live which are clumsy creatures capable of gliding like its other relatives. Pikas or Mouse Hares are found in the mountains at altitudes from 2500 m to above 4000 m.

Though, they are similar in appearance to guinea-pigs but belong to the rabbit and hare family. These small mammals get suitable climate by burrowing underground. Though there are few species in the alpine-zone, but the food-chain is apparent and well-balanced.

There are predators among birds and mammals. The Himalayan Golden Eagle preys on marmots, snow cocks and snow partridges; and the little Tibetan Weasel feeds on birds and their eggs. The most beautiful animal is the Snow Leopard having a long thick coat of smoky-grey with black rosettes.

It is smaller than the average panther and is mainly solitary and hunts at night. It preys on wild sheep, goat and musk deer and follows them up and down the mountainous slopes on their seasonal-migration. The other predators include Wolf, Fox, Black and Brown Bears, smaller cats like Pallas cat.

Among the birds, the region has a number of pheasants like Himalayan Monal Pheasant, Western Tragopan, Satyr Tragopan, Koklass, Whitecrested Khalij and Cheer Pheasant. Pheasants have the most attractive plumage and are hunted for their meat as well as feathers. Griffon Vultures, Lammergiers, Choughs and Ravens are the scavenger birds which follow man as well as wandering yak or wild sheep wherever they roam.

(iii) The Eastern Himalayas:

The forests of this region are dense, semi- evergreen to evergreen at the foothills of the Eastern Himalaya. The character of vegetation changes at altitudes of 1 525 m to 1830 m; oaks, magnolias, laurels and birches covered with moss and ferns replace sal, silk-cotton trees and giant bamboos of the foothills.

At about 2745 to 3660 m, coniferous forests of pine, fir, yew and junipers are found. There is an undergrowth of scrubby rhododendrons and dwarf bamboos. The boundary between temperate and tropical forests of lower altitude and foothills is not sharply defined. Due to high humidity and much higher rainfall; lichens, mosses, orchids and other epiphytes cover the tree trunks. The temperate-belt occupies much higher altitudes than in the west. Snowfall is less common.

The animal life (fauna) in the temperate region is different from the Western Himalaya and is characterised by the presence of India- Chinese fauna. The Red Panda, Hog Badgers, Ferret Badgers, Crestless Porcupines are typical species of this area. Three kinds of Goat-antelopes, which are relatives of the European chamois, also occur in the Eastern Himalaya such as Serow, Goral and Takin.

Serow has black coat, large ears, white beard and a grayish mane. It lives mostly in the Eastern Himalaya in forests around 2000 m and also extends into the tropics in Malaya and Sumatra where it occurs at lower altitudes on steep limestone outcrops.

Goral is a smaller goat found throughout the Himalayan range both in the Western and Eastern Himalayas living on rugged grassy hill sites and on rocky grounds near the conifer forests. It is remarkably agile on the precipitous clifts and screes.

It is a favourite game-animal of the sportsmen visiting Himalayan hill resorts like the chamois in Europe. Takin is the largest goat and characterises the Eastern Himalayan forests near the tree-line. In summer, large herds graze above the tree-line but in winter they break up into smaller groups and migrate to grassy valleys lower down the mountains.