Ladakh’s extreme cold desert climate with its bleak, high-altitude terrain has shaped enormously the life habits and adaptations of the 🐾 animals that exist on the high plateaus 🌲
Black and White yaks along the grass
and shrublands of Ladakh
The wildlife and bird species have evolved and thrive in the rugged environment, showcasing unique adjustments that made them survive in extreme cold, low oxygen, and scarce food resources.
As we drove through the valleys and mountains, we captured a few of these animals 🐃
Zanaskari & Chumurti Horses, Ladakh
breed of horses, typical of the Ladakh region
mainly towards the Chumur
village of Changthang
grazed along a shallow stream reflected
the morning sunlight around the
Tsokar area of Ladakh
Avian Species, Ladakh 🦅
Himalayan Sea Gulls
Sea gull flew over us with a wary eye
on us at Pangong TSO lake
Masked White Wagtail
jumped about the bank of TSO Moriri
lake and pecked for food morsels
Black Necked Crane 🐦
in the shallow water that scattered around
the plateau were too busy to notice us as we
drove through a section of grass filled ground
far away bordering the huge plateau area.
The Black necked cranes were buoyant
under the cool sun as we drove past
Ladakh’s Wild and Domesticated Animals🐄
Changthangi goats 🐐
lazily grazed the high lands
that skirted the highway
around the high lands of Ladakh and
coexist with the nomadic Changpa
people of the Changthang plateau
Kiang, the Wild Ass 🫏
Ass grazing the montane grasslands: they
exist in the Tibetan Plateau, Ladakh,
northern Pakistan, Tajikistan,
China and northern Nepal
shrublands that covered the Ladakh’s
flat plains as we headed towards Hanle
Himalayan Yaks 🐃
wherever streams flowed. Streams
made the land fertile,
helping the shrubs and grasses to
grow and these Yaks feasted
looked around for shrubs as we drove past
Bactrian Camels 🐫
Bactrian camels: two-humped camel species
adapted to the high-altitude desert
Please Click the Play to see Bactrian camels in action 👇
Maremma Sheep Dogs 🐕
at these beautiful Maremma Sheep
dogs, very friendly, sharp and alert
from Italy, the Romans used them for
managing sheep and also kept them as pets
As we travelled fast, we could not apportion much time for discovering the wildlife, perhaps in our next visit 😊
Inference
- Wildlife – Ladakh’s high-altitude wildlife, includes, the snow leopard, Tibetan wolf, Himalayan brown bear, and blue sheep (bharal)
- Birds – Ladakh has the famed golden eagle, Lammergeier vulture, and bar-headed goose
- Yaks provide milk, meat, wool, and helps in transportation
- Pashmina Goats – They offer fine wool, Changthangi or Pashmina goats are owned by the nomadic herders and help the economy by producing pashmina shawls
For the complete ✨Ladakh Diary Series, click below 👇
SPITFIRE GAUTAM 