|
Jammu and Kashmir is magnificently rich in its incredible variety of wildlife. Its wildlife sanctuaries offer an exciting assortment of wild animals and birds. The Kashmir wildlife is included as one of the major tourist attractions of this valley. The varied and rich wildlife of Kashmir valley owes its origin to the Himalayas which are the largest chain of mountains in the world.
Himalayas is the home for some of the rarest species of birds and animals and almost one third of these mountain animals are found in these ranges. The state of Jammu and Kashmir provides a diversity of climates, vegetations and geographical regions. This diversity has led to the inhabitation of such a variety of wildlife in this region of Kashmir.
The prosperous avifauna of Kashmir can be seen in summer as well as winter. The high altitude bird species such as Black Bulbuls, Cinnamon Sparrows and Monal Pheasants move tothe lower valleys in winter. There are a couple of National Parks in the valley of Kashmir such as the Gulmarg Biosphere Reserve, Overa-Aru Biosphere Reserve, Overa Wildlife Sanctuary, Dachigam National Park, Jasrota National Park, Hemis High Altitude National Park, Kishtwar High Altitude National Park, Ramnagar National Park, Surinsar Mansar Wildlife Sanctuary and Nandni Wildlife Sanctuary.
Overa-Aru Biosphere Reserve has several species of birds such as brown bear, musk deer, and leopard. At the Gulmarg Biosphere Reserve there are birds like the Himalayan musk deer, black bear and the red fox. The perfect time to view animals in this reserve is during the months from September to March and for birds it is during March to May. Ramnagar Wildlife Sanctuary sustains eight mammal species that include barking deer and nilgai and also 15 bird species.
The Hemis High Altitude National Park maintains ten mammal species that include great Tibetan Sheep, snow leopard, shapu, ibex and bharal. The Dachigam National Park contains the hangful population of over 400 animals which include 20 mammals and 150 species of fauna. This pre serve was declared as the National Park in the year 1951.
|
