Mountain – Discover-Nature

The High Life, animal species

In the last blog, we investigated the conditions and constraints of living at high altitudes, generally above 10,000 feet. A few physiological adaptations listed included enhanced breathing and blood supply to get more oxygen to the body, internal temperature regulation allowing some mammals to adjust to a colder environment, and smaller plants requiring less moisture and having a short growing season.

^{Common springtail, Orchesella cincta, by Mvuijlst, Feb 2009}

^{Springtail, Isotoma caerulea, by Andy Murray, Jul 2014}

The Himalayan jumping spider, Euophrys omnisuperstes, is generally found above 22,000 feet, living among rock crevices and feeding on stray insects blown upward by rising mountain winds. The spider also feeds on springtails, Collembola, once considered an insect but now classified as a free-ranging hexapod. These tiny organisms have antifreeze compounds in their blood, enabling them to live in higher, colder habitats.

Reptiles from four lizard species have been found living in higher elevations. Two species of iguana in the genus Liolaemus live in Bolivia; a third iguana species, Liolaemus tacnae, lives in Peru; and an Asian lizard, Phrynocephalus erythrurus, lives on the Tibetan plateau. All were found between 16,000 feet and 18,000 feet, but very little is known about them since these areas are difficult to access for study.

^{Golden eagle, Aquila chrysaetos, by Giles Laurent, Dec 2021; Andean condor, Vultur gryphus, by Bastihitzi, May 2013; Alpine chough, Pyrrhocorax graculus, by Jim Higham, 2008}

Birds can be found living near mountain tops year-round. The Alpine chough, Pyrrhocorax graculus, lives in social flocks from the Alps to the Himalayas. Standing 15″ high with a 30″ wingspan, they have black feathers with distinct yellow beaks and red legs. They eat insects and berries in summer, but have become well-adapted to scavenging in winter, especially around ski resorts. The Andean condor, Vultur gryphus, another social bird, roosts on cliffs and outcrops above 16,000 feet. The steep terrain provides additional protection from potential predators. Golden eagles, Aquila chrysaetos, are found world-wide in many habitats. In the mountains, they hunt marmot, hare, and young goats at lower elevations, but nest in eyries, large cliff-hugging nests at higher elevations. With wingspans up to seven feet, they can dive at speeds of up to 150mph over unsuspecting prey.

^{Left top to bottom: Common crane, Grus grus, by Savithri Singh, Feb 2020; Whooper swan,Cygnus cygnus, by KyoichiNarukami, Japan, Jan 2012; Bar-headed goose, Anser indicus, by J.M.Garg, India, Mar 2000; Ruppell’s Griffon Vulture, Gyps rueppellii, by Lip Kee, Kenya, Aug 2008}

High altitude bird species with physiological adaptations for breathing and blood supply include those whose migration routes take them over the world’s highest mountain ranges. Ruppell’s Griffon Vulture, Gyps rueppellii, with an 8-foot wingspan, has been observed at altitudes exceeding 36,000 feet over the Ethiopian Highlands of Central Africa. The common crane, Grus grus, lives across eastern Europe and northern Asia, migrating over the Alps to Africa, India and southern China. The bar-headed goose, Anser indicus, and the whooper swan, Cygnus cygnus, both live in south Asia and migrate over the Alps to central and sub-Arctic Asia to breed.

^{Above: Large-eared pika, Ochotona macrotis,}
^{by Karunakar Rayker, Ladakh India, Feb 2008}

^{Right: Snow leopard, Panthera uncia, by Vassil, Aug 2007}

The heights of the Himalayas support mammals that can concentrate their hemoglobin and allow the blood to carry more oxygen, avoiding issues with hypoxia, a shortage of usable oxygen in the body. Species with this physiological adaptation include large-eared pika, Ochotona macrotis, living above 7,700 feet up to 20,000 feet; wild yak, Bos mutus, which have larger heart and lungs than domesticated yaks; and the snow leopard, Panthera uncia, living above 3,000 feet up to 18,000 feet. The snow leopard has short, heavily furred limbs and a long, heavy tail for use as a blanket. Its large nasal cavity and strong chest allows more oxygen to be taken in with each breath.

^{Ethiopian wolf, Canis simensis, by Charles J. Sharp, Ethiopia, Dec 2017; Mountain goat, Oreamnos americanus, by Darklich14, Colorado, Aug 2009; Tibetan argali, Ovis ammon, by DonArnold, Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum, Mar 2026; Guanaco, Lama guanicoe, by Charles J. Sharp, Chile, Oct 2025; Yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse, Phyllotis xanthopygus, drawing by Charles Darwin, 1832}

Mountain goats, Oreamnos americanus, can climb steep cliff faces with hooves that grip ledges and rock surfaces in the Rocky Mountains. The yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse, Phyllotis xanthopygus, feeds on grains, seeds, roots, and insects in the Andean Mountains of Chile, living at altitudes to 22,000 feet. Guanaco, Lama guanicoe, a member of the camel family, lives in the Andes up to 13,000 feet and has about four times as many red blood cells as a human does. The Ethiopian wolf, Canis simensis, is an endangered species living up to 15,000 feet in central Africa with populations fragmented by pressure from human farming activities. Tibetan argali, Ovis ammon, is a wild sheep found in the Altai Mountains of Mongolia up to 19,000 feet. The ewes and lambs prefer steep, treacherous slopes as protection against predators.

Scientists continue to study species in these habitats to learn more about their specific adaptations and survival abilities in a harsh environment. You can learn more by visiting zoos or nature museums near you to investigate these fascinating species.

The High Life

Mountainous regions with high altitude habitats, generally defined as those found above 10,000 feet, are found in only a few places around the world. They include the Tibetan plateau and Himalayas in Asia, the Andean Altiplano in South America, the Ethiopian Highlands of Central Africa, the Rocky Mountains in western North America, and the Haleakala Mountains of Hawaii. High altitude regions have common characteristics that provide an array of challenges for the plant and animal species that live there.

_{Ethiopian Highlands by Martino’s doodles}

Air is composed of several gases including oxygen which makes up a consistent 21% of it. Barometric pressure is a measurement of the weight of the atmosphere above, and with more weight pressing down, air molecules are more compacted together. As one ascends, the pressure decreases with the result being that the air is thinner, less compacted, breathing becomes more difficult with less oxygen entering the lungs for every breath taken. About 3% of available oxygen is lost for every 1,000 feet of elevation gain. At 10,000 feet, there is 30% less oxygen available to breathe.

_{Haleakala Mountains by Kent Buckingham, Jul 2005}

As one ascends, along with thinning atmosphere, the temperature decreases by 4^◦Ffor every 1,000 feet, and may decrease even faster in drier air. At 10,000 feet, the average temperature is 40^◦F lower than at sea level in the same region, resulting in cool summers and frigid winters. Snow may cover these areas for much of the year, but many higher mountain peaks are too dry for snow. Vegetation is shorter, smaller in size, and slower growing. The tree-line defines a point where tress cannot survive the lower temperatures and general lack of moisture of higher altitudes.

_{Rocky Mountain National Park by Jim & Robin, Aug 2012}

When animals or humans who normally live in lower altitudes venture higher, they often experience acclimatization issues – changes in bodily functions that occur for short periods while at a higher altitude. As an example, one may experience difficulty breathing as air becomes thinner, and this strain eases after several minutes or hours. However, these changes occur every time a person ascends to those elevations. Permanent changes, which we call physiological adaptation, are known in relatively few animal species.

_{The Canapa Lagoon on the Andean Altiplano by Elias Rovielo, Feb 2019}

Physiological adaptations in birds include altered hemoglobin genes, allowing more oxygen to be carried in each molecule of blood. Birds optimize the process of getting oxygen into their blood as air moves across breathing surfaces during both inhalation and exhalation. High altitude fliers have larger hearts providing increased blood volumes for every heartbeat. In addition, they have more capillaries than other bird species, so oxygen-rich blood has to travel a shorter distance in the body to reach muscles, increasing the ability to maintain energy and movement in an efficient manner.

Mammals create their own body heat and maintain a consistent internal temperature through regulation of heat gained from burning calories and heat lost through layers of hair to the external environment. Many species living permanently in higher altitudes are able to decrease their body temperature for long periods, making it easier to adjust to a colder environment. Some species have a higher percentage of fat cells containing carbohydrates that can be called upon for extra energy for short periods.

_{The Tibetan Plateau by Tony Phillips, Aug 2006}

Typical plant life in these regions consist of grasses, sedges, lichens, and mosses. These are adapted to low temperatures, dry conditions, high ultraviolet radiation, and a short growing season. Mosses are found at the highest levels, growing above 21,000 feet on Mt. Everest. The flowering plant Arenaria bryophylla, a sandwort, lives above 20,000 feet.

In our next blog, we will take a look at the animal species that call these regions home, but you can check out mountain region displays at your favorite nature museum including the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum.

Pamir Wildlife

The Pamir Mountains form the western edge of the Tibetan Plateau. A pamir is a high-altitude valley or plateau surrounded by mountains. Many valleys in this range exceed 14,000 feet in altitude, and peaks reach well above 20,000 feet, making these some of the highest mountains on the Euroasian continent. The area contains the major center of glaciation in this part of the world, and all of the nearby mountain ranges are still being forced upwards by movement of the Indian-Australian tectonic plate pushing northward under the continent.

^{Pamir Knot, Hindu Kush satellite image by Jeff Schmaltz, NASA}

^{Pamir Mountains by Amanov Dmitry, Jun 2014}

Wildlife in the Pamir region is well-adapted for high altitudes, long, cold winters, and short growing seasons. Mountain people use the land for grazing large herds of domesticated sheep and yaks, but grazing space must also be shared with wild sheep, wild yaks, dozens of bird species, over 700,000 insect species, and many large predators. Let’s look at a few of the more notable species.

^{Himalayan vulture, Gyps himalayensis, on Rupin Pass trail by SahanaM, Oct 2018}

^{Himalayan vulture, Gyps himalayensis, by OK-Photography, Getty Images}

The Himalayan vulture, Gyps himalayensis, inhabits the pamirs up to 18,000 feet. These birds easily soar on warm thermal updrafts, but are not capable of long distance flight. They are often found basking in the sun on high, rocky perches. Traveling in large flocks, they follow grazing herds, keeping watch for dead animals. They can be aggressive to most other predators at a kill site, but give way to snow leopards, wolves, and cinereous vultures. The biggest threat to current populations is from drug overdoses of diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory drug that has been heavily used to treat injury in domesticated herds.

^{Herd of Marco Polo sheep in the Tien Shan mountains, by okyela, Getty Images}

^{Marco Polo sheep, taken at Berlin Zoo by Cloudtail, Aug 2018}

The Marco Polo sheep, Ovis ammon polii, is the largest sheep in the world, with large, spiral horns reaching six feet in length, with spans up to five feet across. They feed in the early morning and spend the remainder of the day basking quietly in sunny grassland. Their feet and hooves provide sure footing among sharp ridges and loose scree, and they spend nights sleeping among large boulders for protection. As the climate has warmed, there has been a loss of snowpack, resulting in less available fresh water for drinking and growing thick grasslands. These factors are driving the sheep to lower altitudes where they are more susceptible to predators including gray wolves, red fox, and brown bear.

^{Snow leopard, Panthera uncia, by Irbis1983}

^{Snow leopard, Panthera uncia, by Bernard Landgraf, Jan 2005}

Snow leopards, Panthera uncia, have seen a steady decline with a current population of fewer than 10,000. Their thick fur, gray/white with black rosettes, provides great warmth in colder altitudes, but is prized by poachers, who constitute their main threat. They are solitary animals, active for several brief periods daily, and dependent on healthy populations of ibex and sheep to eat. Powerful legs and furred paws enable them to pursue prey, in any weather, across rocky mountain terrain. After making a kill, they move the carcass to a protected area to eat. At one time, these predators were hardly ever seen, but overgrazing has caused humans to move domesticated animals into areas where snow leopards normally hunt, providing more opportunities for these predators to be killed by protective herdsmen.

^{Wild yak, Bos mutus, by Adarsh Thakuri, Jun 2008}

^{Wild yak, Bos mutus, by the Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica}

Wild yak, Bos mutus, can live in extreme conditions at altitudes up to 20,000 feet. They are large animals standing 6′ tall, weighing 1500 pounds, with black horns spanning six feet. Black, long, fine hair hangs all the way down to their feet, providing warmth for the body and legs. Yaks are very social, forming large herds of several hundred animals. They graze in two groups, with the females typically found about 300′ higher in altitude than the males. Females with young often keep to high, steep slopes where predators, including wolves and bears, are less prone to roam. Wild yaks readily hybridized with domesticated species, resulting in a natural spread of the gene pool.

^{Apollo swallowtail butterfly, Parnassius apollo, by Hectonichus, 2007}

^{Clouded Apollo swallowtail butterfly, Parnassius apollo, by Zeynel Cebeci, Adana Turkey, May 2016}

Butterflies are another common inhabitant of high-altitude mountain regions, particularly from the genus Parnassius, known as the snow Apollo swallowtail family. They are color adapted with dark bodies and wing bases that readily absorb heat from the sun providing a source of quick energy. Their normal ranges are found above 14,000 feet, and they are active for only 2-3 months annually, during the short summer season. Dozens of species have been identified with many having very small populations, numbering only a few hundred individuals. Poaching for collectors remains their main threat.

At the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum, we have many of these and other species on display in our mountain region diorama. Consider a visit to learn more about the wildlife of high-mountain plateaus worldwide.

^{High-altitude species from around the world on display at the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum include: Marco Polo argali sheep, Alaskan brown bear, bighorn sheep varieties, mountain goat.}