Wildlife of Nepal
Part of a series on the |
Wildlife of Nepal |
---|
Wildlife diversity is a notable feature of Nepal. Because of the variance in climate, from tropical to arctic, Nepal has a large variety of plants and animals.[1] Wildlife tourism is a major source of tourism in the country. There are some animal species which are unique to Nepal, such as the spiny babbler. Nepal is also host to many rhododendron species. Nepal has numerous national parks and reserves to protect its diverse fauna. Nepal is a biodiversity hot spot with ecoregions broadly comprising the mountainous ecoregion, the savanna and grasslands ecoregion of the terai (foothills), and the Rara Lake ecoregion.[2]
Legal protection
With the 1973 passing of the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 2029 BS, Nepal has established numerous national parks and reserves in order to protect its fauna. There are four different classes of protection, ranging from national parks and nature reserves to wildlife and hunting reserves. By 1992 Nepal had established seven national parks, protecting in total over 893,200 hectares (3,449 sq mi) of land.
Animals
Mammals
There are 208 mammal species reported including 28 species outside the limits of the protected areas but excluding four known extinct species., thought to be regionally extinct in the 1970s, was rediscovered in 2014.
Reptiles
There are several types of reptile native to the country, ranging from
In 2019, the first successful gharial reproduction since 1982 was confirmed.[7]
Avifauna
There are approximately 27 Important Bird Areas in the country[8] and over 900 bird species (as of 2012) in Nepal of which 30 are globally threatened, 1 is endemic and 1 is introduced.[9] The danphe, the national bird, is a type of pheasant. In addition, there are eight species of stork, five other species of pheasant, six minivets,[10] seventeen cuckoos, thirty flycatchers, and sixty species of warblers. The spiny babbler is the only species endemic to Nepal.[11]
Aquatic fauna
The aquatic faunal species reported from the water bodies in Nepal are: pharping catfish (Myersglanis blythii), Psilorhynchus nepalensis, Nepalese minnow (Psilorhynchus pseudecheneis), Nepalese snowtrout (Schizothorax macrophthalmus), Turcinoemacheilus himalaya, erethistid catfishes (Erethistoides ascita and Erethistoides cavatura), bagrid catfish (Batasio macronotus) and sisorid catfishes (such as Pseudecheneis eddsi, Pseudecheneis crassicauda and Pseudecheneis serracula).[2]
Invertebrates
Some of the important insect species reported are: ground beetles (
Flora
Research undertaken in the late 1970s and early 1980s documented 5,067 species of which 5041 were
There are 400 species of vascular plants which are endemic to Nepal. Of these, two in particular are orchids Pleione coronaria and Oreorchis porphyranthes.
National flower
The most popular endemic plant of Nepal is
Protected species of fauna
There are 38 protected wildlife species of fauna including birds of which 50% are in various stages of threat. These are the following:[14]
- Vulnerable
- Antilope cervicapra (blackbuck)
- Bos gaurus (gaur)
- Canis lupus (Tibetan wolf)
- Neofelis nebulosa (clouded leopard)
- Platanista gangetica(Gangetic dolphin)
- Python molurus(Asiatic rock python)
- Endangered
- Bos mutus (wild yak, rediscovered in 2014)
- Bubalus bubalis (wild water buffalo)
- Caprolagus hispidus (hispid hare)
- Cervus duvauceli(swamp deer)
- Elephas maximus(Asiatic elephant)
- Felis lynx (Eurasian lynx)
- Moschus chrysogaster(Himalayan musk deer)
- Panthera tigris (royal Bengal tiger)
- Panthera uncia (snow leopard)
- Catreus wallichii (cheer pheasant)
- Eupodotis bengalensis (Bengal florican)
- Gavialis gangeticus (gharial)
- Extirpated
- Sus salvanius (pygmy hog)
- Indeterminate species
- Ovis ammon(great Tibetan sheep)
- Varanus flavescens(golden monitor)
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8225-8578-7.
- ^ a b c d e "Nepal". Living National Treasures.Com. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
- ISBN 978-2-8317-0353-4.
- ^ a b c "Biodiversity Assessment" (PDF). Icimod Organization. pp. 18, 33–35. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
- . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ "Nepal". Living Natural Treasures. Retrieved 2013-05-25.
- ^ Gharial found breeding in Nepal after 37 years
- ^ "Important Bird Areas of Nepal (IBAs)". Bird Conservation Nepal. Archived from the original on 2013-05-14. Retrieved 2013-05-25.
- ^ "Avibase - Bird Checklists of the World:Nepal". Avibase.com. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-89886-938-5. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-74220-361-4. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
- ISBN 978-92-9144-048-1.
- ^ "Lali Gurans – Our National Flower". Nepali flower.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
- ^ "Nepal's Protected Wildlife Species". Foresrty Nepal Organization. Retrieved 29 May 2013.