Khwopa CollegeBSc, Environment ScienceZoology

Zoogeography of Nepal

Saroj Raj Gosai2014

Zoogeography of Nepal Nepal is a country of great natural diversities It is mountainous country lying between India and

China on the southern slopes of the Himalayas Nepal has wide range of elevation and rough terrain More than 25 percent of the land surface is at an

altitude of about 3000 m whereas only 20 percent is lower than 300 m

Nepal is divided into three physical divisions:A. Lowland including Terai, Bhabhar, Churia

(Shiwalik)B. Midland, including Mahabharat range C. Highlands

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Zoogeography of Nepal Terai is about 25 to 32 km wide occupies about 17 percent of

the total land area and is fertile with alluvial soil. Northern part is little more elevated and the rugged area called Bhabhar and is ideal for growth of forests

Churia hill in the north rise suddenly from gentle slopes and are intersected by gorges and streams

Hills crisscross the Mahabharat range at several places except in area where valleys are formed

The Mahabharat range lies above Churia hills and the low areas of midland and rises up to 3500 m altitude. It is covered with thick forests

The northern part of the country which is about 45 km wide from east to west is highland. Most of the snow-covered peaks lie in this zone. The snow line here is at 5000 m and in the east is 4000 m. The land above 4573 m is perpetually covered with snow. The area comprises about 14 percent of the total area of the country

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Zoogeography of Nepal

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Physiographically, Nepal can be arbitrarily divided into the following subdivisions.

Zoogeography of Nepal It is regarded that Nepal is one of the richest natural animal

reserves in the world considering its relatively small geographical area

The unique wildlife is Bengal Tiger, great one-horned Rhinoceros, snow leopard, red panda, musk deer, barasigha, wild-boar, elephant, etc.

The bird population is about 10 percent of the known birds in the world

The loss of habitat, overgrazing of pasture land by domestic animals and poaching have caused the decline of many wild animals

Even some mammals such as pygmy hog, hispid hare and four horned antelope have become either extinct as they have not been reported for several years from Nepal

Wild Yak and Great Tibetan sheep have become rare in the Himalaya

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Zoogeography of Nepal Nepal lies in Oriental region in zoogeography The Oriental region is characterised by dense forest which

extended up to an altitude of 2438-3048 m along the slopes of the Himalayas

Nepal has diverse and rich fauna Endemic Himalayan fauna has not evolved. The number of

mammalian species in the Himalayas of central Nepal is less than that of the east and west regions of Nepal. The cause of less endemic species in the Himalayan fauna has been attributed by biologists to the fact that the Himalayas are recent in origin probably about 70 million years ago in the Mesozoic Era.

Scientists mention that the fauna of the west zone of the Himalayas has similarities with those species found in western For example, high altitude the Agamid Lizard is found in western Himalayas and are related species in west China

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Agamid Lizard

Zoogeography of Nepal The Terai region of Nepal is a belt of predominant forest

mixed with swamps and open fields, foothills separate the Himalayas from the true plains of India

The fauna of Nepal is also unique owing to its position at the centre of Asia. For example, in Nepal accentors are from east Asia, barbets from tropical south east Asia, numerous timalids from east Asia, nuthatches from Europe and west Asia and Storks from South Asia. Thus, Nepal shares its fauna from other places

Regarding mammalian fauna, it can be pointed out that there is a significant reduction of mammalian fauna. The most common mammals are Musk Deer (Moshus moshiferus), Himalayan Tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus), Lynx (Lynx sp.) ,Wolf (Canis lepus), bear (Ursus arctos), Snow leopard (Panthera uncia), Blue bull (Boselaphus tragocamelus), Tibetan sheep (Ovis sp.), Mouse hare (Ochotona nepalenis), etc.

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Accentor

Barbet

Nuthatche

Zoogeography of Nepal In the Himalayan fauna, there are distributional gaps also.

For example, the red deer (Cercus elaphus) found in kashmir and Bhutan is not found in Nepal. The Himalayan marmot (Marmota bobak) found in west Nepal and Sikkim does not appear in the intervening region

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Snow leopard Wild bore

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Musk Deer

Himalayan Tahr

Lynx

Wolf

Tibetan sheep

Four-horned Antelope

Yak

One-horned Rhino

Red Panda

Hispid hare

pygmy hog

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