World Wildlife Fund is one of the world’s largest and most experienced independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in more than 100 countries.
WWF for Nature has lately published a report on the new species found in the charismatic regions of Eastern Himalayas in Asia.
About the Eastern Himalayas:
The
Eastern Himalayas is a part of 300km long Himalayan ranges, spanning Bhutan, the north-eastern Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Sikkim, North Bengal, the trans-boundary landscape of Terai Arc, far north of Myanmar, Nepal and southern Tibet is one of the enriched biological regions in the world. The most of the regions of the Himalayas is still intact and many flora and fauna are yet to come in front of the world.
The Eastern Himalayas includes four of the Global 200 eco-regions, critical landscapes of international biological importance, and is home to more than 10,000 plant species, 300 mammal species, 977 bird species, 176 reptiles, 105 amphibians and 269 freshwater fish. The region also has the highest density of the Bengal tiger and is the last bastion for the charismatic greater one-horned rhino.
Himalayas plays a very important role in Asia region where not only natural inhabitants and wildlife live, but also its a part of local people's tradition, livelihood and lifestyle. It also feeds to the perennial rivers in South East Asia such as Indus, Brahmaputra, Ganges and Mekong which are lifeline to millions of people living in these regions and down the plains. It also a part of important cultural and economic activities of the countries that share these regions. Peoples of different ethnicity such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and Animism, lives there and depend on the vegetation of Himalayas of that region.
WWF Report Summary:
The Himalaya ranges have been part of discovery of natural flora and fauna for many years. It is home to thousands of plants and hundreds of reptiles, 40% of different amphibians species are found here.
The Eastern Himalayas has witnessed at least 354 new species between 1998-2008 and in addition to this,
new 211 species are found in between 2009-2014.
Some 133 plants, 39 invertebrates, 26 fish, 10 amphibians, one reptile, one bird and one mammal have been discovered over the past 6 years in the Eastern Himalayas. The new finds include a new
shy bird species,
Himalayan pitviper (
Protobothrops himalayansus), miniature ‘
Dracula fish’ (
Danionella dracula) and
dwarf ‘snake head’ fish (
Channa Andrao),
snub-nose monkey (
Rhinopithecus strykeri), strikingly
blue-eyed frog (
Leptobrachium Bompu), and 133 plants from a diverse assemblage, including 15 beautiful orchids. The botanical discoveries derive from some 35 different plant families. In total, an extraordinary 211 new finds have been identified.
And, at least 15 species were found in Bhutan region only. A
team explored in Bhutan-Manas landscapes of Eastern Himalayas and 55 new
species uncovered, comprised 20 amphibian species and 35 reptile
species, since July 2014.
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