I would like to share it specially for the students of Zoology.

1. Khwopa College
BSc, Environment Science
Zoology
Zoogeography of Nepal
Saroj Raj Gosai
2014

2. Zoogeography of Nepal
 Nepal is a country of great natural diversities
 It is mountainous country lying between India and China
on the southern slopes of the Himalayas
 Nepal has wide range of elevation and rough terrain
 More than 25 percent of the land surface is at an
altitude of about 3000 m whereas only 20 percent is
lower than 300 m
 Nepal is divided into three physical divisions:
A. Lowland including Terai, Bhabhar, Churia (Shiwalik)
B. Midland, including Mahabharat range
C. Highlands
2

3. 3

4. Zoogeography of Nepal
 Terai is about 25 to 32 km wide occupies about 17 percent of
the total land area and is fertile with alluvial soil. Northern
part is little more elevated and the rugged area called Bhabhar
and is ideal for growth of forests
 Churia hill in the north rise suddenly from gentle slopes and are
intersected by gorges and streams
 Hills crisscross the Mahabharat range at several places except
in area where valleys are formed
 The Mahabharat range lies above Churia hills and the low areas
of midland and rises up to 3500 m altitude. It is covered with
thick forests
 The northern part of the country which is about 45 km wide
from east to west is highland. Most of the snow-covered peaks
lie in this zone. The snow line here is at 5000 m and in the east
is 4000 m. The land above 4573 m is perpetually covered with
snow. The area comprises about 14 percent of the total area of
the country 4

5. Zoogeography of Nepal
5
 Physiographically, Nepal can be arbitrarily divided into
the following subdivisions.

6. Zoogeography of Nepal
 It is regarded that Nepal is one of the richest natural animal
reserves in the world considering its relatively small geographical
area
 The unique wildlife is Bengal Tiger, great one-horned Rhinoceros,
snow leopard, red panda, musk deer, barasigha, wild-boar,
elephant, etc.
 The bird population is about 10 percent of the known birds in the
world
 The loss of habitat, overgrazing of pasture land by domestic
animals and poaching have caused the decline of many wild animals
 Even some mammals such as pygmy hog, hispid hare and four
horned antelope have become either extinct as they have not
been reported for several years from Nepal
 Wild Yak and Great Tibetan sheep have become rare in the
Himalaya
6

7. Zoogeography of Nepal
 Nepal lies in Oriental region in zoogeography
 The Oriental region is characterised by dense forest which
extended up to an altitude of 2438-3048 m along the slopes of
the Himalayas
 Nepal has diverse and rich fauna
 Endemic Himalayan fauna has not evolved. The number of
mammalian species in the Himalayas of central Nepal is less than
that of the east and west regions of Nepal. The cause of less
endemic species in the Himalayan fauna has been attributed by
biologists to the fact that the Himalayas are recent in origin
probably about 70 million years ago in the Mesozoic Era.
 Scientists mention that the fauna of the west zone of the
Himalayas has similarities with those species found in western
For example, high altitude the Agamid Lizard is found in western
Himalayas and are related species in west China
7
Agamid Lizard

8. Zoogeography of Nepal
 The Terai region of Nepal is a belt of predominant forest mixed
with swamps and open fields, foothills separate the Himalayas
from the true plains of India
 The fauna of Nepal is also unique owing to its position at the
centre of Asia. For example, in Nepal accentors are from east
Asia, barbets from tropical south east Asia, numerous timalids
from east Asia, nuthatches from Europe and west Asia and
Storks from South Asia. Thus, Nepal shares its fauna from other
places
 Regarding mammalian fauna, it can be pointed out that there is a
significant reduction of mammalian fauna. The most common
mammals are Musk Deer (Moshus moshiferus), Himalayan Tahr
(Hemitragus jemlahicus), Lynx (Lynx sp.) ,Wolf (Canis lepus), bear
(Ursus arctos), Snow leopard (Panthera uncia), Blue bull
(Boselaphus tragocamelus), Tibetan sheep (Ovis sp.), Mouse hare
(Ochotona nepalenis), etc.
8

9. 9
Accentor
Barbet
Nuthatche

10. Zoogeography of Nepal
 In the Himalayan fauna, there are distributional gaps also. For
example, the red deer (Cercus elaphus) found in kashmir and
Bhutan is not found in Nepal. The Himalayan marmot (Marmota
bobak) found in west Nepal and Sikkim does not appear in the
intervening region
10
Snow leopard
Wild bore

11. 11
Musk Deer
Lynx
Wolf
Tibetan sheep
Four-horned Antelope
Yak
One-horned Rhino Red Panda
Hispid hare
pygmy hog

12. 12