Ladakh Wildlife, Information about Wildlife in Ladakh

The area of Ladakh is unique and its climate supports some rare species of animals and birds. Due to its geographical location, the Ladakh's ecosystem is possibly one of most fragile and at the same time most fascinating in the world. With its barren plateaus it makes feel one surprising to know that Ladakh is so rich in flora and fauna.

As a visitor one will have the chance to see red foxes, wolves, ibex, mouse hare and marmots and the bird watcher would be able to spot the black necked cranes, Bactrian magpies, Turkoman rock pigeon, desert wheaters, buntings, larks, kite, kestrel and many kinds of finches, ducks, geese and hundreds of species of birds that inhabits this region. The Ladakh region is home to many rare Himalayan birds. Many migratory birds can be seen in Ladakh during the summer month. The most famous of them is the

Black-necked Crane, which can be seen in V-shaped formation across the clear Himalayan sky. Some of the mammals are only found in Ladakh, among them are the brong drong (wide yak), kyang (wild horse) and nyan (the large-horned sheep). The snow leopard is one of the rarest wild animal and you are unlikely to see some other rare animals like the musk deer, the Tibetan gazelle or the Tibetan antelope which is prized for its fleece which produces Shahtoosh, the very best wool.

Small sheeps, also known as Urial can be seen at a height of 3000 to 4000 meter. Urial also play an important role in the local food chain of the hunting animals. At the height of 6000 feet also a blue sheep can be sited which is known as Bharal. As this species of sheep posses the appearance of both sheep and goat, so they play a vital role in the mythological stories related to Buddhism. The great Tibetan Sheep is another attraction of Ladakh. This sheep is known as Nyan. Male Nyans are attractive as they have long and huge curving horns which can measure as long as up to 140 cms. The fighting between two Nyan makes it a good photo motive.

One of the most interesting sight for the traveler is to see to yaks grazing on the Himalayan valley at the heights of over 6,000 meter in summer.

Local people can see the yaks often as in the winters yaks migrate to lower altitude. On the high steep cliffs of Ladakh where you do not see any other animals you can see the Ibex. Ibex is an impressive goats with huge curved horns.

A rare Antelope “Chiru” can also be seen in small groups. “Chiru” falls under the protected species. This antelope provides very fine wool which has been used earlier to make shawls. Now the trading of their wool has been banned in order to ensure the survivals of these wonderful Antelopes.
In the isolated regions of Ladakh small herds of Himalayan wild ass can also be observed. The greatest attraction of Ladakh is the snow Leopard. The snow Leopard faces extreme threat from the poachers as the skins being popular in Tibet are smuggled and sold in the local market. The Snow Leopard is one of the endangered species and is officially a protected animal. In the area of Kargil and Zanskar one may also encounter the Brown Bear as well as black Bear. During your sightseeing or trek in Ladakh you would have a local Guide of Indo Vacations at your disposal and he would be glad to tell you more about the wildlife in Ladakh.