Animals of the highlands. Mountain animals. Altitudinal belts of mountains

As we have already said in the article about the mountain climate, it is fundamentally different from the plain climate, therefore the living conditions of both plants and animals in the mountains and on the plain are different. Not every animal is able to survive in the mountains. This is due, first of all, to the rarefied air, and secondly, to the change of vegetation, which is necessary for feeding many lowland animals.

Despite the hard-to-reach rocky places, steep cliffs and descents, the fauna of the mountains is very diverse. In the middle belt of mountains, where there are forests and the climate is milder, the number of animal species is much greater than on the plain. Above the subalpine edges, the number of animal species begins to noticeably decrease. And the tops of the mountains, covered with eternal snows, are almost devoid of life. On the top of Mont Blanc (4807 m) traces of chamois were seen; mountain goats, yaks and some types of sheep also go high into the mountains (up to 6000 m). Occasionally at such a height you can meet an irbis - a snow leopard.

Birds manage to climb above all mountain animals. On Everest, climbers observed alpine jackdaws, in the Nepalese Himalayas at an altitude of 5700 m, a nest of snow partridge was found. In the Andes they saw a condor, in the Himalayas (7500 m) - a bearded lamb.

For each mountain zone a certain type of animal is characteristic, based on commonality with the fauna living in the corresponding latitudinal zone.
For example, in the mountains of southern Siberia in the tundra belt, there is a reindeer, a horned lark, a tundra partridge, for which the native zone is the northern tundra. Homogeneous in in general terms mountain belt of Europe, Asia, North America, since the way of life of the fauna is similar in the Alpine belt of mountains and it is the common center of its speciation.

For many animals, for example: mountain goat, bighorn sheep, argali, goral and musk deer, rocks are the most comfortable habitat, as they can escape from predators. Rocks are also a shelter from bad weather for birds, and a convenient place for nesting. The red-winged wall-climber got its name because it moves along a sheer cliff, like a woodpecker on a tree. Pigeons and swifts familiar to us also nest in rocky niches with pleasure.

A mountain pika, also called a snow vole, scurries back and forth in stony screes. On stones she dries thin twigs, straws, blades of grass, leaves, and then takes them to stone shelters: she uses them as hay.

Summer in the mountains is cold, so you rarely see reptiles there (they are thermophilic), with the exception of viviparous - lizards and vipers, and in northern Africa - chameleons. Hummingbirds have adapted to endure the cold in a peculiar way: during the day they gather in groups in caves, thus warming each other, and at night they fall into a stupor, saving energy for heating the body.

Deer, roe deer, wild boars and other wild ungulates descend from the mountains to the forest in summer, where the snow has melted and it is easier to get food. They are followed by predators - wolves, snow leopards, foxes. The natural conditions in the mountains are so diverse that they allow animals to winter near those areas where they live in summer.

The insects of the mountainous regions are so diverse in their appearance and lifestyle that they deserve a separate encyclopedic article and special attention inquisitive naturalists.

Living conditions in the mountains are very different from the plains. As you climb the mountains, the climate changes rapidly: the temperature drops, the amount of precipitation increases, the air becomes more rarefied. Changes from the foot of the mountains to the peaks and the nature of the vegetation.

On some mountains Central Asia desert and steppe foothills are gradually replaced by forests; first it is dominated by deciduous, and then - conifers. Higher up, the forest gives way to stunted subalpine crooked forests and thickets of shrubs, curved down the slope. Alpine stunted vegetation begins even higher, vaguely resembling the vegetation of the northern tundra. The Alpine zone directly borders on snow fields, glaciers and rocks; there, among the stones, only rare grass and lichens are found (see Art. "").

The change of vegetation on the mountains occurs over a distance of only a few thousand meters. This phenomenon is called vertical zoning. This vegetation change is similar to latitudinal zonality nature on Earth: deserts and steppes are replaced by forests, forests - by forest-tundra and tundra - but the latitudinal zones stretch for hundreds and thousands of kilometers.

Natural conditions in the mountains change not only with height, but also when moving from one slope to another, sometimes even to a neighboring section of the same slope, if it has a different position in relation to the cardinal points, a different steepness, or it is otherwise open to winds. All this creates an exceptional variety of living conditions in close to each other parts of the mountains.

The diversity of living conditions contributes to the fact that the mountains are inhabited by many species of animals. By the number of species of mountain animals forest zone the richest. Highlands are much poorer than them. There, the living conditions are too harsh: even in summer, frosts are possible at night, the winds are stronger here, the winter is longer, there is less food, and on very high altitude The air is thin and there is little oxygen in it. The higher up the mountains, the fewer species animals - this is typical for most mountainous countries.

The most elevated parts of the high mountains are covered with eternal snow and are almost completely devoid of life. Only small insects live there - podura, also called glacial fleas and. They feed on pollen coniferous trees carried there by the wind.

Very high in the mountains - almost up to 6000 m - mountain goats and sheep can enter. Of the vertebrates, only vultures and eagles penetrate above them, and occasionally other smaller birds fly in. In 1953, when climbing Chomolungma (Everest), climbers saw at an altitude of 7900 m cloves - close relatives of our crows.

Some animals, such as ravens and hares, are found in almost all zones of the mountains; most animals live in only a few or even in one zone. For example, bullfinches and yellow-headed beetles nest in the Caucasus Mountains only in the zone of dark coniferous forests formed by fir and spruce.

On the mountains, each vertical zone has its own fauna, to some extent similar to the fauna of the corresponding latitudinal zones of the Earth.

The tundra partridge lives on the northern coast of Siberia and on arctic islands, but is also found in the alpine zone of the mountains of Europe and Asia, where living conditions are most similar to those in the Arctic. In the alpine zone of the mountains, there are also some other animals common in the Arctic, for example, in the mountains Southern Siberia And East Asia reindeer lives.

The fauna of the alpine zone is the most peculiar, where many animals are found that are unknown on the plains: different kinds mountain goats (in Western Europe- stone ibex, in the Caucasus - tour, in the mountains of Asia - Siberian ibex), chamois, Asian red wolf, some rodents, vulture, mountain turkey, or snowcock, alpine jackdaw, etc.

Interestingly, the fauna of the Alpine zone in Europe, Asia, North America and northern Africa is generally homogeneous. This is due to the fact that in the highlands of different parts of the world, living conditions are very similar.

Many mountain animals live only where there are rocks. Musk deer, mountain goats and goral antelope are saved in the rocks from predators. The red-winged wall-climber, the rock pigeon and the swift find suitable nesting places there. Now on many mountains one can meet argali and other wild sheep in the rocks. This is apparently due to the long pursuit of them by hunters. Where wild sheep are little disturbed, they prefer to live on relatively gentle slopes, and only the bighorn sheep, or chubuk, which lives in the mountains of Northeast Asia, is very similar in lifestyle to mountain goats.

In many mountains, screes form; the life of interesting animals is connected with them - snow voles and mountain pikas (otherwise it is called haystack). These rodents prepare small piles of hay for winter. Starting from the second half of summer, especially in autumn, the animals diligently collect blades of grass and twigs of shrubs with leaves, dry them and put them under a shelter of stones.

The peculiar conditions of life in the mountains affected appearance animals, on the forms of their bodies, their way of life and habits. Many generations of these animals lived in the mountains, and therefore they developed characteristic adaptations that help in the struggle for existence. For example, mountain goats, chamois, American bighorn goats, bighorn sheep have large, mobile hooves that can move apart widely. Along the edges of the hooves - from the sides and in front - a protrusion (welt) is well defined, the pads of the fingers are relatively soft. All this allows animals to cling to barely noticeable bumps when moving along rocks and steep slopes, and not to slip when running on icy snow. The horny substance of their hooves is very strong and grows back quickly, so the hooves never “wear out” from abrasion on sharp stones. The legs of mountain ungulates allow them to make strong jumps on steep slopes and quickly reach rocks where they can hide from persecution.

During the day, ascending currents of air prevail in the mountains. It favors soaring flight large birds- bearded lamb, large eagles and vultures. Soaring in the air, they seek out carrion or live prey for a long time. The mountains are also characterized by birds with fast, swift flight: Caucasian mountain grouse, mountain turkey, swift.

The mountains are constantly blowing strong winds. They make life difficult for flying insects. The wind often brings them to snow fields and glaciers - places unsuitable for the life of insects, where they die. As a result of long natural selection species of insects arose in the mountains with greatly shortened, underdeveloped wings, which had completely lost the ability for active flight. The closest relatives of these insects, living on the plains, are winged and can fly.

It is cold in the summer high in the mountains, so there are almost no reptiles there: after all, for the most part they are thermophilic. Above others, viviparous species of reptiles penetrate the mountains: some lizards, vipers, in northern Africa - chameleons. In Tibet, at an altitude of more than 5000 m, a viviparous round-headed lizard is found. Roundheads, living on the plains, where the climate is warmer, lay eggs.

On the plains, night bats are active both at dusk and at night, in the highlands they lead daytime look life: at night the air is too cold for them.

Some species of butterflies, bumblebees and wasps that live high in the mountains have dense pubescence on the body - this reduces heat loss. The magnificent plumage of mountain birds and the thick fur of animals also protect animals from the cold. The snow leopard, which lives in the high mountains of Asia, has unusually long and lush fur, while its tropical relative, the leopard, has short and rarer fur. Animals living in the mountains molt much later in spring than animals of the plains, and in autumn their hair begins to grow back earlier.

One of the remarkable adaptations caused by living conditions in the mountains is vertical migrations, or migrations.

In autumn, when it becomes cold high in the mountains, snowfalls begin and, most importantly, food is difficult to obtain, many animals migrate down the slopes of the mountains.

A significant part of the birds that live in the mountains of the Northern Hemisphere fly south for the winter. Of the birds that remain in the mountains for the winter, most descend to the lower zones, often to the very foothills and surrounding plains. Very few birds winter at high altitudes, such as the mountain turkey.

Deer, roe deer and wild boars are found in the mountains up to the alpine meadows; in autumn they descend into the forest. Most of the chamois go here for the winter. Mountain goats migrate to the forest part of the mountains and settle here on steep rocky slopes. Sometimes they move to the southern slopes, where snow melts in alpine meadows in the very first hours or days after a snowfall, or to steeper windward slopes, where the snow is simply blown away by the winds. Following wild ungulates, predators hunting them migrate - wolves, lynxes, snow leopards.

Diversity natural conditions in the mountains allows animals to find places for wintering near the areas where they live in the summer. Therefore, the seasonal migrations of animals in the mountains are, as a rule, much shorter than the migrations of animals and birds on the plains. In the mountains of Altai, Sayan and Northeast Siberia wild reindeer make seasonal migrations for only a few tens of kilometers, and deer living in the far north, in order to reach their wintering place, sometimes make a journey of a thousand kilometers.

In the spring, as the snow melts, the animals that descend down migrate to the upper zones of the mountains. Among wild ungulates, adult males are the first to rise, later - females with recently born, not yet strong enough babies.

Chamois, mountain goats, wild sheep and other ungulates living in the mountains often die in winter and in early spring during snow storms. In the Alps in the winter of 1905-1906. one of snow avalanches a herd of chamois was buried - about 70 goals.

IN Caucasian reserve it was possible to observe goat-turs during a heavy snowfall. Snow avalanches fell from the opposite slope of the gorge. But the tours, usually very cautious, did not pay attention to this. Apparently, they are accustomed to the menacing sounds of a snow avalanche.

When a lot of snow falls in the mountains, it is very difficult for ungulates: it prevents them not only from moving around, but also from getting food. In the mountains of the Western Caucasus in 1931-1932. was very snowy winter. The snow layer in some places exceeded 6 m. Many deer, roe deer and other animals migrated to the lower parts of the mountains, where the snow cover was less. In this winter, roe deer ran into the villages and were easily given into hands. They were caught and kept in barns along with cattle until the snow melted in the mountains.

At the end of December 1936, snowfall continued for four days in the Caucasian Reserve. At the upper border of the forest, a layer of new loose snow reached a meter. The scientists of the reserve went out to explore the state of the snow and noticed a fresh deep path that went down the slope. They skied down this trail and soon overtook a large tur. Only a head with horns was visible from the snow.

The tour was so helpless that one of the employees could even afford to take liberties with him - he sat down on wild tour on horseback! Another employee photographed the scene. Tur was helped out of the snow and left. The next day, his tracks were found much lower - in the forest on a steep slope, where the tour could feed on lichens hanging from fir branches.

Some species of mountain animals have good wool and edible meat. They can be used to crossbreed with pets. held in the Soviet Union interesting experiences: tours and bezoar goats were crossed with domestic goats, argali and mouflon - with domestic rams.

From mountain animals to different time and in different parts In the world, a man domesticated a goat, in Asia - a yak, in South America - a llama. Yak and llama are used in the mountains mainly for the transport of goods by pack; Yak females give very rich milk.

Mountain animals have not been studied enough, many interesting pages from their life have not yet been read by anyone and are waiting for young inquisitive naturalists. Exceptional opportunities for observing the life of wild animals in the mountains are the reserves: Caucasian, Crimean, Teberdinsky, Aksu-Dzhabagly (Western Tien Shan), Sikhote-Alinsky and others (see article "").

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Living conditions in the mountains are very different from the plains. As you climb the mountains, the climate changes: the temperature drops, the wind strength increases, the air becomes more rarefied, the winter is longer.
The nature of the vegetation is also different from the foot of the mountains to the peaks. In the mountains of Central Asia, desert and steppe foothills are usually replaced by forests, in which deciduous and then coniferous species predominate. Higher up is a stunted, subalpine crooked forest, curved down the slope, and thickets of shrubs. Alpine stunted vegetation begins even higher, vaguely resembling the vegetation of the northern tundra. The Alpine belt of mountains directly borders on snow fields, glaciers and rocks; there among the stones there are only rare grass, moss and lichens.
The change of vegetation in the mountains occurs over a distance of only a few thousand meters, counting vertically. This phenomenon is called vertical zonality or zonality. Such a change in vegetation in the most general terms is similar to the latitudinal zonality of nature on Earth: deserts and steppes are replaced by forests, forests by forest-tundra and tundra.
Natural conditions in the mountains change not only with height, but also when moving from one slope to another. Sometimes even neighboring areas of the same slope have different natural conditions. It all depends on the position of the site in relation to the cardinal points, on its steepness and on how open it is to the winds.
The diversity of living conditions contributes to the fact that the mountains are inhabited by many species of animals. In terms of the number of species of mountain animals, the forest belt of mountains is the richest. Highlands are much poorer than them. There, living conditions are too harsh: even in summer frosts are possible at night, there is little food. Therefore, the higher the mountains, the usually less species of animals. The most elevated parts of the high mountains are covered with eternal snow and are almost completely devoid of life.
Mountain goats and sheep come very high into the mountains - almost up to 6 thousand meters; occasionally, after them, a mountain leopard rises here - an irbis. Of the vertebrates, only vultures, eagles and some other birds penetrate even higher. The bearded lamb was seen in the Himalayas at an altitude of almost 7 thousand meters, and the condor was seen in the Andes at an even higher altitude. When climbing Chomolungma (Everest), climbers observed at an altitude of 8100 m choughs - close relatives of our crows.
Some animals, in particular crows and hares, are found in almost all zones of the mountains, but most species live in only a few or even in one zone. For example, bullfinches and yellow-headed kinglets nest in the Caucasus Mountains only in the belt of dark coniferous forests formed by fir and spruce.

Irbis or snow leopard.

On the mountains, each vertical zone has its own fauna, to some extent similar to the fauna of the corresponding latitudinal zones of the Earth. Animals of the forest belt of mountains resemble animals deciduous forests and taiga.

Argali.

The tundra partridge, living on the northern coast of Siberia and on the Arctic islands, is also found in the alpine belt of the mountains of Europe and Asia, where living conditions are similar to those in the Arctic. Some other animals common in the Arctic also live in the alpine belt of mountains: for example, reindeer lives in the mountains of South Siberia and East Asia. Deer habitats in Altai are located in most cases not lower than 1500 m above sea level, that is, mainly in the subalpine and alpine belts of mountains, where reindeer moss and other terrestrial lichens grow in abundance. IN winter time when in reindeer diet great importance have reindeer moss and other lichens, important role the nature of the snow cover plays a role in the choice of habitat. If the snow is too deep and dense, then ground lichens are inaccessible to deer. In winter, the treeless slopes of the mountains of the alpine belt are most favorable for the life of deer, where the snow is blown away by the winds, and on clear days it melts in the sun.
The fauna of the alpine belt is very peculiar, where many animals are found that are unknown on the plains: various types of mountain goats (in Western Europe - alpine ibex, in the Caucasus - tour, in the mountains of Asia - Siberian mountain goat), chamois, Asian red wolf, some rodents, vultures, mountain turkey, or snowcock, alpine jackdaw, etc.
Animal world in the alpine belt of the mountains of Europe, Asia, North America and northern Africa, it is generally homogeneous. This is due to the fact that in the highlands northern hemisphere living conditions are very similar.
Many mountain animals live only where there are rocks. Musk deer, mountain goats, bighorn sheep chubuk, argali and goral antelope are saved in the rocks from predators. Birds - rock pigeon, swifts and red-winged wall-climbers - find convenient places for nesting there. The wall climber crawls along sheer cliffs like a woodpecker along a tree trunk. With its fluttering flight, this small bird with bright crimson wings resembles a butterfly. Keklik is often found in dry sunny areas of the mountains.
In many mountains, screes form; the life of such animals as the snow vole and the mountain pika is associated with them (otherwise it is called a haystack). Starting from the second half of summer, especially in autumn, these animals diligently collect blades of grass and twigs of shrubs with leaves, lay them out on stones to dry, and then take the hay under the shelter of stones.
The peculiar natural conditions of life in the mountains were reflected in the appearance of the animals constantly living there, in the forms of their body, lifestyle and habits. They have developed characteristic adaptations that help in the struggle for existence. For example, mountain goats, chamois, American bighorn goats have large, mobile hooves that can move apart widely. Along the edges of the hooves - from the sides and in front - a protrusion (welt) is well defined, the pads of the fingers are relatively soft. All this allows animals to cling to barely noticeable bumps when moving on rocks and steep slopes and not to slip when running on icy snow. The horny substance of their hooves is very strong and grows back quickly, so the hooves never “wear out” from abrasion on sharp stones. The structure of the legs of mountain ungulates allows them to make big jumps on steep slopes and quickly reach rocks where they can hide from persecution.

Siberian mountain goat.

During the day, ascending currents of air prevail in the mountains. This favors the soaring flight of large birds - bearded lamb, eagles and vultures. Soaring in the air, they seek out carrion or live prey for a long time. The mountains are also characterized by birds with fast, swift flight: Caucasian mountain grouse, mountain turkey, swifts.
It is cold in the summer high in the mountains, so there are almost no reptiles there: after all, for the most part they are thermophilic. Only viviparous species of reptiles penetrate above others: some lizards, vipers, in northern Africa - chameleons. In Tibet, at an altitude of more than 5 thousand meters, there is a viviparous round-headed lizard. Roundheads, living on the plains, where the climate is warmer, lay eggs.
Lush plumage of mountain birds and thick fur of animals protect them from the cold. The snow leopard, which lives in the high mountains of Asia, has unusually long and lush fur, while its tropical relative, the leopard, has short and rarer fur. Animals living in the mountains molt much later in spring than animals of the plains, and in autumn their hair begins to grow back earlier.
Hummingbird in the Andean highlands South America nest in caves in large societies, which contributes to the warming of birds. On cold nights, hummingbirds fall into a stupor, thus minimizing the energy consumption for heating the body, the temperature of which can drop to + 14 °.
One of the remarkable adaptations to life in the mountains is vertical migrations, or migrations. With the onset of autumn, when it becomes cold high in the mountains, snowfalls begin and, most importantly, food is difficult to obtain, many animals migrate down the slopes of the mountains.
A significant part of the birds that live in the mountains of the northern hemisphere fly south for this time. Most of the birds that remain to winter in the mountains descend to the lower zones, often to the very foothills and surrounding plains. Very few birds winter at high altitudes, such as the mountain turkey. It usually stays near places where tours graze. The snow here is torn apart by their hooves, and it is easier for the bird to find food. The loud, alarming cry of a cautious snowcock warns the aurochs of danger.

Partridge partridges.

Deer, roe deer and wild boar, found in the mountains up to the alpine meadows, descend into the forest in autumn. Most of the chamois also go here for the winter. Mountain goats migrate to the forest part of the mountains and settle here on steep rocky slopes. Sometimes they move to the southern slopes, where snow melts in alpine meadows in the very first hours or days after a snowfall, or to steeper windward slopes, where snow is blown away by winds.

Bearded lamb.

Following wild ungulates, predators hunting them migrate - wolves, lynxes, snow leopards.
The variety of natural conditions in the mountains allows animals to find places for wintering near those areas where they live in summer. Therefore, the seasonal migrations of animals in the mountains are, as a rule, much shorter than the migrations of animals and birds on the plains. In the mountains of Altai, Sayan and North-Eastern Siberia, wild reindeer make seasonal migrations for only a few tens of kilometers, and their relatives living on Far North, in order to reach the wintering place, they sometimes make a journey of five hundred kilometers or more.
In the spring, as the snow melts, the animals that descend down migrate back to the upper zones of the mountains. Among wild ungulates, adult males are the first to rise, later - females with recently born, not yet strong enough babies.
Chamois, mountain goats, wild sheep and other ungulates living in the mountains often die in winter and early spring during snowfalls. In the Alps in the winter of 1905/06, one of the snow avalanches buried a herd of chamois - about 70 heads.
When a lot of snow falls in the mountains, it is very difficult for wintering ungulates: snow prevents them from moving and foraging. In the mountains of the Western Caucasus in 1931-1932. it was a very snowy winter. The snow layer in some places exceeded 6 m. Many deer, roe deer and other animals migrated to the lower parts of the mountains, where the snow cover was less. In this winter, roe deer ran into the villages and were easily given into hands. They were caught and kept in barns along with cattle until the snow melted in the mountains and the roe deer were no longer threatened with starvation. At the end of December 1936, snowfall continued for four days in the Caucasian Reserve. At the upper border of the forest, a layer of new loose snow reached a meter. The researchers of the reserve, being in the mountains, noticed a deep path that went down the slope. They skied down this trail and soon overtook a large tur. Only a head with horns was visible from the snow.

Lama.

Some species of butterflies, bumblebees and wasps that live high in the mountains have dense pubescence on the body - this reduces heat loss. The latter is also facilitated by the shortening of the appendages of the body - the antennae and legs.
Strong winds in the mountains make life difficult for flying insects. The wind often brings them to snow fields and glaciers, where they die. As a result of long-term natural selection in the mountains, species of insects arose with greatly shortened, underdeveloped wings, which had completely lost the ability to actively fly. Their closest relatives, living on the plains, are winged and can fly.
At high altitudes, insects are found only in places where living conditions are most favorable for them.

Tundra partridge.

Mountain animals have not yet been studied enough, many interesting pages from their life have not yet been read and are waiting for young inquisitive naturalists. Exceptional opportunities for observing the life of wild animals in the mountains are the reserves: Caucasian, Crimean, Teberdinsky, Aksu-Dzhabaglinsky (Western Tien Shan), Sikhote-Alinsky and others.

PEACE TO YOU, ANIMALS!

Flocks of chamois scurry up and down the slopes with equal ease. The tops of the rocky ridges are guarded by argali, propping up the sky with powerful horns. Eagles soar in the sky and do not realize that someone props up their sky there. Hares jump on the ground and marmots sing their songs. Groundhogs in general, if only to sing songs.

Today, the nature of the Alps is extremely rich in all living creatures. But the realization that nature should be preserved did not come to the Europeans immediately. The facts of the monstrous " royal hunts» with the killing of hundreds and thousands of animals for fun, and completely exterminated animal species such as wild bull- a tour that lived in the middle latitudes of Eurasia. By the way, the Polish monarchs tried to save the tour by issuing relevant laws, it seems, in 1400 ... But from the first half of the 20th century, a movement for the conservation of nature began in the Alps. Remarkably, its first initiators and even the creators of the first national parks became the same type of person last kings Italy, which recently decorated their castles with the horns of chamois and wild goats killed in the hunt. That is, the consciousness of Europeans has changed, and as a result, today we meet all kinds of animals on our path and politely make way for each other without fear of being eaten, bypassing any licenses and UN conventions.

Free-roaming animals are free to roam on their own. Which means - they are not at all obliged to come out to you and let themselves be stroked. Therefore, if you meet anyone on your morning run or not depends on the case. But if you want to be guaranteed to see the real wild creatures in the conditions of the real wild forest, and even stroke some of them, you should go to visit the local park Parc de Merlet (www.parcdemerlet.com), located on the mountain between Chamonix and Les Houches. You can go there by car, but if someone wants to combine business with pleasure, that is, the pleasure of learning environment with the benefit of deep penetration into it through hard trekking, then for true heroes from the center of Chamonix to the mountain, where the park is, a special path leads. An hour and a half, and you are there, hand over to the cashier at the entrance the amount of about seven euros per person and penetrate into the world of animals. By the way, there are all human conditions there - a conference hall and a restaurant.

Just don't be scared, - says the girl who sold the entrance tickets. We have very independent animals. Yesterday, a little goat went into a restaurant, walked around the hall and grabbed customers by the shirt flaps with his teeth, and invited them to play.

It's kind of touching...

Yes, our animals approach visitors wholeheartedly, and some ... not only are afraid, they are simply not used to it, and therefore they do not react quite adequately. Now you will go along the path, and llamas will surely come to you. They are the most sociable here. Do not drive them away, otherwise they will be offended. They love being stroked.

Is it necessary to say that the most grateful visitors to this world of animals are the smallest guests of the park? The objects of adoration squeak with pleasure at the hands of the subjects, and it is not clear for certain which of them squeaks louder.

In terms of population density of animal souls per square six acres, the park can be compared to a zoo. But no cages, aviaries, fences. It's like a nature reserve, only small. Animals share territory with each other in a natural way, as in nature, and do not compete for the right to influence. In fact, what kind of competition can there be between an antelope and a marmot? Here, by the way, is the groundhog - dug himself underground palaces and went to the surface to see what was happening around. Nothing special happened around, except for the light rain that was already drizzling.

So that a walk through the reserve does not turn into a chaotic movement in an attempt to catch up and photograph this or that animal, it is recommended to follow the laid routes - one is “easy”, the other, relatively speaking, is “difficult”. The difficulty lies in the fact that there is a segment of the way to climb the natural mountainous terrain, which in the absence of asphalt, as it were, requires boots with a pronounced tread. At the entrance, you can take a map showing animals that are most likely to be encountered on specific sections of the route. There are even several benches on the upper terrace of the park, so if you have a thermos of hot tea in store, it’s good to sit on one of them, drink tea and watch how they frolic a little lower, in the gully. mountain goats and little deer. Drops of spring rain rustle on your hood. To merge with nature is to merge.

The high mountains are sparsely populated by people. The cultivation of the land is difficult here, and it can only be used in summer as a pasture for domestic animals. In the last century, the mountains have become a popular place for entertainment - first they were chosen by climbers, later by skiers. The laying of ski tracks, the construction of lifting devices, hotels and recreation centers sometimes cause adverse changes in the natural environment.

High in the mountains, even on the rocks, flowers of extraordinary beauty grow, such as aquilegia.

The highest city in the world is Lhasa (China), located in Tibet at an altitude of 3,630 meters.

Mountains of North America.

The Rocky Mountains are located in the western part of North America, stretching from north to south - from Alaska to Mexico - for a distance of 3,200 kilometers. The conditions of the local climate are not conducive to development Agriculture, but quite favorable for summer pastures of fat herds of large and small cattle.

During the last ice age As glaciers occupied more and more of the earth's surface towards the equator, animals retreated south in search of warmer areas. In Europe and Asia, they met on their way an insurmountable obstacle in the form of mountains stretching from west to east. Some species of animals became extinct, never being able to cross the mountains.

In America, the mountains are located in a different direction - from north to south - and this contributed to the survival more various types.

The most high peak North America - Mount McKinley - 6194 m, Alaska.

snow sheep

The bighorn sheep is larger than the ordinary sheep, its skin is dark in color, and it has long twisted horns. Snow sheep arrange such loud battles with their horns that they can be heard from afar.

snow goat

The mountain goat is a big fan of salt and often travels miles in search of salt deposits, which she licks greedily. Its food is very diverse - from willow to herbs and conifers.

Grizzly

Grizzlies are once a very common species in the Rocky Mountains; currently preserved only in Alaska and in the mountains of Canada.

Wolverine

Wolverine. This animal, similar to a small bear, is found in the northern forests. She leads a solitary life and every evening digs a hole in which she spends the night. Wolverine is a predator, moves by trotting or jumping and attacks open space, so her intended victim often manages to escape. However, the wolverine does not refuse from animals killed by a bear or a cougar.

Andes.

In the western part of South America is the world's longest Mountain chain. This is the Andes (Andean Cordillera) - high mountains stretching from north to south. The highest peak of the Andes is Mount Aconcagua, its height is 6,959 meters.

The mountains of the Andean Cordillera are very high and steep, most of them all year round covered with snow. And only to the north, where the climate is somewhat milder, people live on the plateaus. The Andes were formed in a relatively recent geological epoch as a result of large displacements earth's surface, thanks to which they rose from the depths of the sea. For this reason, in the Andes there are many active volcanoes, one of them is Ojos del Salado with a height of 6,863 meters.

Condor This large bird of prey is found at any altitude, up to 5,000 meters above sea level. Like other vultures, he lives in the company of his relatives, and not as a hermit like an eagle.

andean condor- the largest of birds of prey, its mass reaches 12 kilograms, and its wingspan is 3 meters.

spectacled bear

Spectacled bear. This small black bear is called such an unusual name because of the yellowish ring around the eyes in the form of glasses. Found in the Northern Andes.

Lama

This animal has been considered the property of the Andes since the time of the Incas, whose culture reached its peak here by the middle of the 15th century. The llama has a dense and very delicate coat, which is the best suited to the cold weather. mountain climate. A disturbed lama defends himself in a very peculiar way: he vigorously spits at the enemy, completely discouraging him.

The llama looks like a small camel, only without the hump.

Vicuna. Most petty representative camelids, usually weighs no more than 50 kilograms. The vicuña is bred for its beautiful soft coat.

Guanaco. wild ancestor llamas. Exactly this large mammal South America - its mass reaches 75 kilograms.

Alpaca is a hybrid of guanaco and vicuña.

Mountains of Asia.

On the roof of the world.

The roof of the world - that's what they call the Pamirs, mountain system in Central Asia, which occupies almost 100 thousand square meters. km. and is located on the territory of Tajikistan, Afghanistan and China. Average Height plateaus exceeds 3,000 meters, the ridges reach a height of more than 6,000 meters. There are deep gorges and glaciers, alpine deserts and steppe areas, river valleys and lakes.

The highest peak in the world: Everest (Chomolungma), height 8,846 meters.

The largest glacier in the mountains of Asia: Siachen, 75.5 km.

white-breasted bear

White-breasted bear. He has a black coat with a light stripe on his chest, resembling a collar. It feeds on plants, berries, fruits, as well as invertebrates and small crustaceans, which it catches in rivers. It lives mainly in forests, where there is more than enough food for it and where it quickly climbs trees.

four-horned antelope

Four-horned antelope. Large, almost like gazelles, these animals form mating pairs or live alone. Males have four horns, and the front ones are very small. This antelope is found in the wooded mountains of India, near water bodies.

musk deer

Musk deer. An atypical representative of the deer family: it has no horns, and the upper fangs are very developed, like those of predators. It lives in wooded and steep mountains from Tibet to Siberia. One of its glands, the so-called musky sac, produces a secret with a very strong odor.

diamond pheasant

Diamond pheasant. It has colorful plumage and a long tail. Lives in the mountains at an altitude of 2,000 - 3,000 meters in dense thickets of bamboo, which feeds on buds.

Takin and yak.

Like a bull, Takin is more massive and clumsy, and in addition, he has adapted to life at an altitude of 2,500 to 4,000 meters, only in winter he descends lower due to lack of food. And the yak lives even higher up to 6,000 meters. locals yaks have been bred since time immemorial. In the wild, these animals are preserved in Tibet.

If a hunter frightens off a takin, he hides in a forest thicket and lies down, bending his head low to the ground. He is so sure that now no one will see him that you can quietly approach him. Little Takin is born after 8 months of intrauterine development.

The yak has a very thick black skin, which, high in the mountains, protects it from the cold. Domestic yaks are bred in the highlands of Asia as working and, in part, dairy cattle.

Irbis

This representative of the cat family is also called snow leopard. The length of his body along with the tail is more than 2 meters. It has wide paws so as not to fall into the snow, and a thick skin, the color of which merges with the color of the rocks among which it lives. The irbis is extremely dexterous: it can chase its prey by jumping along the steep slopes of mountains, and is the only one among the cats capable of jumping 15 meters.

Usually, a female snow leopard gives birth to two cubs. After they stop feeding on milk, the mother takes them hunting with her, in this case, ambushing elevated places to expand the field of view. In summer, snow leopards live very high in the mountains, and in winter they descend into the valleys.

Panda

The giant panda, or bamboo bear, is the symbol World Fund wildlife. It is found only in the mountains of Southeast China and Western Tibet. The giant panda is endangered and strictly protected by law.

There are only a few hundred giant pandas in the world.

The body length of a newborn bamboo bear is 10 centimeters!

Mostly giant panda It feeds on shoots and leaves of bamboo, roots, and only occasionally changes its vegetarian habit by eating small rodents.

The red panda is less well known than the bamboo bear, and much smaller. Her back and tail are red, and her belly and paws are black.

Argali, tar and markhor.

On the "roof of the world" various types of hard-horned herbivores live freely, outwardly similar to goats. They are very agile: they can easily jump over sheer cliffs or stop to nibble grass in places where it would seem impossible to climb. Some species, such as the taru, are threatened with extinction, although they do not have many enemies, except for humans.

markhor

Markhor. He has unusual twisted horns, directed vertically upwards. Markhor can climb steep cliffs to feast on tender tree leaves.

Tar can jump up to 10 meters without hurting himself. He did well in America.

Argali

Argali. In another way, it is called a wild Altai goat. Lives in herds. Males have very developed horns. Sometimes fierce battles are tied between them, while they butt with force, but they never seriously injure each other.

Alpine arc.

The Alps are the oldest mountain range in Europe. This is a mountain range in the form of an arc, stretched from west to east, about 1100 long and about 250 kilometers wide. The borders of such states as Italy, France, Switzerland and Austria pass along it. Many alpine peaks are covered with eternal snow, and often melting ice and glaciers from them. Broad-leaved and coniferous forests. At an altitude of 2000 meters, the forests disappear, giving way to dense shrubs and meadows. The animal world is just as diverse, and the number of various animals is constantly growing, despite the presence of man in the Alps, due to the fact that hunting and fishing is strictly controlled. Recently, the lynx has reappeared in Italy, having disappeared here more than two centuries ago.

The highest peak of the Alps: Mont Blanc - 4,810 meters.

Redwing wall climber

Red-winged wall climber. This bird has gray plumage on the body, and black-red on the wings. She quickly moves her nimble paws over sheer cliffs, exploring cracks in search of insects that she feeds on.

Viper

Viper. This snake does not lay eggs in the ground, they develop directly in its body, and therefore the cubs are born alive. Never attacks first unless disturbed.

black grouse

Grouse. IN mating season Male black grouse attract females with certain behavior: they scream, bounce, mutter, bowing their heads and fluffing their tails, and sometimes they will fight. The place where this happens is called a lek, and the behavior of males is lekking.

Golden eagle

Golden eagle. It lives in the highest and inaccessible areas of the Alps. Lives alone and only during incubation of eggs and feeding of chicks - with a female. Soaring high in the sky, the golden eagle surveys its territory, looking for prey and driving out alien relatives. The golden eagle, hunting for artiodactyl cubs, grabs them and takes them to its nest.

It is the horns and hooves that allow many mountain animals, the so-called artiodactyls, to survive. Horns are an important defensive weapon against predators and an effective means to assert their dominance in the herd. Hooves that look so slippery are actually well adapted to their habitat - sheer, often snow-covered rocks; they allow animals to climb the steep and move with amazing ease. The enemies of artiodactyls are wolves and lynxes, which, after many years, return to the Alps again.

Chamois

Chamois. Found at heights where there is no longer woody vegetation; in winter it descends lower and visits the forest thickets. Lives in small herds. The female gives birth to only one cub, which after a couple of hours can independently follow the mother. When the chamois rests on the foot, the hoof spreads out and forms an ideal footing both on the ground and on the snow. The horns of the chamois are short and bent back almost at a right angle.

Mountain goat

The mountain goat is a massive artiodactyl animal with a short beard and large horns, which in males can reach one meter.

mouflon

Mouflon. The only wild sheep living in Europe. The male is easily recognizable by the horns, wide at the base and twisting in a spiral. The mouflon's horns grow throughout its life. Mouflon is a herbivore, sometimes gnaws at the bark of young trees.

Marmot

Marmots are large alpine rodents. The mass of this rodent, depending on the season, ranges from 4 to 8 kilograms. Like all rodents, the groundhog has very developed incisors that do not stop growing throughout their lives, and in cubs they are white, and in adult rodents they are yellowish. The groundhog has been known since ancient times: even the Roman writer Pliny the Elder (23 - 79 AD) called it an alpine mouse, noting that "it lives underground and whistles like a mouse" in winter, the groundhog hibernates in a hole prudently filled with food, which he will gnaw during short awakenings. He will leave his hole only in the spring.

The groundhog has a short tail covered with tousled hair and small paws. Under the groundhog's skin there is a thick layer of fat that protects it from the cold and serves as an energy reserve. The inhabitants of the Alps are convinced that this fat - good remedy for the treatment of respiratory organs.

These animals spend a lot of time near their burrow, looking for food. Older marmots sit on their hind legs and carefully study the surroundings. Noticing the danger, they warn other marmots about it with a characteristic whistle.

One of the groundhog's enemies is the raven, an agile predator that attacks groundhog cubs. If crows usually attack in flocks, then the golden eagle flies quietly alone. From a height, he outlines the prey and swoops down on it. Approaching, it slows down the fall, stretching out its paws, releases its claws and grabs the unfortunate victim, not giving it the slightest opportunity to escape. The golden eagle preys not only on marmots, but also on rabbits, hares, snakes, artiodactyl cubs.

The marmot feeds on roots, leaves, and grass; while eating, he sits on his hind legs, and holds food with his front legs.

Whistling for marmots is not only a signal warning of approaching danger, but also a means of communication. In case of alarm, as soon as they hear the whistle, all the marmots immediately take refuge in their burrows, not even making sure that they are actually threatened. It seems that the chamois perceive the whistle of the marmot alarming them as a warning of danger.

St. Bernard.

St. Bernard is a large dog with a very long hair black-red-white color. Back in the 17th century, they were bred by the monks of the monastery of St. Bernard, located on one of the Alpine passes. They used these dogs to search for travelers caught in a snow fall or avalanche. The St. Bernards found the unfortunate and pulled them out from under the snow, raking it with their paws.

Despite the fact that this is one of the largest dogs - it weighs about 8 kilograms, its character is meek and docile.

Barry is the nickname of the most famous St. Bernard; in 12 years he saved about 40 people.