Mountains are an area often inaccessible to humans, but this does not mean that mountains are inaccessible to various species of animals and plants. The nature of the mountains differs significantly from the nature of the plains for the reasons that at a height the air is more rarefied, and water is less available - all this leads to the fact that the mountains have a special flora and fauna.

Animal world

Mountain animals are forced to have a dense skin and strong limbs - this is necessary in order to endure the temperature dropping with height, climb up and feel comfortable on hard surfaces. Ungulates, felines, monkeys, various reptiles and insects - these are the most often found in the mountains. The inhabitants of the mountains are unpretentious and hardy. Bighorn sheep, yaks and mountain goats can feed on lichens and dry grass, thanks to which they survive in harsh mountains. Asian snow leopards and cougars living in the highlands of America can easily move through rocky areas and live in solitude. Golden eagles, mountain eagles notice their prey from afar - and strong air currents at the height of the mountains do not create obstacles for them. In the mountainous equatorial regions, gorillas are found, whose strong limbs help to move. Also, a wide variety of lizards feel comfortable in mountainous areas.

Vegetable world

The delicate edelweiss flower is considered the main decoration of the mountains of Europe and Asia - the leaves of an amazing flower prevent the evaporation of moisture from the plant. Blue spruce is a tree most commonly found in the mountains of America. This tree can grow at astonishing heights of up to 3,000 meters above sea level. Mostly, mountainous areas covered with lichens and thorns, as the close sun dries everything, but in the tropical mountains you can find a wide variety of plants, since the forests there are filled with moisture. As a rule, at the foot of the mountains the vegetation is dense, but on high altitude vegetation is rare.

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 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 has contributed to the survival of more different species.

The highest peak in 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 northern forests. She leads a solitary life and every evening digs a hole in which she spends the night. The wolverine is a predator, trotting or jumping, and attacks in the open, so its intended prey 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. These are 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 era as a result of large displacements of the earth's surface, due to which they rose from the depths of the sea. For this reason, there are many active volcanoes in the Andes, 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 the birds of prey, its mass reaches 12 kilograms, and its wingspan is 3 meters.

spectacled bear

Spectacled bear. This little black bear is named like this 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. The smallest representative of camelids, usually weighs no more than 50 kilograms. The vicuña is bred for its beautiful soft coat.

Guanaco. wild ancestor llamas. This is the largest mammal in 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 V Central Asia, which occupies almost 100 thousand square meters. km. and is located on the territory of Tajikistan, Afghanistan and China. The average height of the 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 high mountainous areas Asia as working and partly dairy cattle.

Irbis

This representative of the cat family is also called the 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 cease to feed on milk, the mother takes them with her to hunt, arranging an ambush in this case on elevated places in order 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

Giant panda, or bamboo bear, is the symbol of the World Foundation 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 big 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" live freely different kinds steep-horned herbivores, 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 fought 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 also diverse, and the number of various animals is constantly growing, despite the presence of humans in the Alps, due to the fact that hunting and fishing are 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 the 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. It is found at such 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 food, which he will gnaw during short awakenings. He will leave his hole only in the spring.

Groundhog 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 is a good remedy for the treatment of the respiratory system.

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 very long hair in 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.

Living conditions in the mountains are very different from the plains. As you climb the mountains, the climate changes: the air temperature drops, the wind strength increases, and often the amount of precipitation, the winter becomes longer. High in the mountains, the air is rarefied, it is difficult to breathe. The nature of the vegetation from the foot of the mountains to the peaks is replaced over a distance of only a few thousand meters, counting vertically (see the article "Vegetation of high mountains").

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 differ in climate and vegetation. It all depends on the position of the site in relation to the cardinal points, the steepness of the slopes and their openness to wet or dry winds.

Dagestan tour.

The living conditions in the mountains are varied, their rich and varied animal world. In the middle belt of mountains, where the climate is not yet too severe and there are forests, as a rule, there are significantly more species animals than in the same area of ​​the adjacent plain. The animal world is rich in a relatively narrow strip of the upper limit of the forest, especially on the subalpine edges. Above, the number of animal species begins to noticeably decrease. The tops of high mountains, where eternal snows lie, are almost devoid of life.

In the Alps, traces of chamois were seen on the top of Mont Blanc (4807 m). Mountain goats, some species of sheep and yaks come very high into the mountains - almost up to 6 thousand meters. Occasionally, after them, a snow leopard rises here, a snow leopard - an irbis. Of the vertebrates, only vultures, eagles, and a few other birds penetrate even higher. The bearded lamb was seen in the Himalayas at an altitude of 7.5 thousand meters, and the condor was seen in the Andes at an even higher altitude. When climbing Chomolungma (Everest), climbers observed alpine jackdaws at an altitude of 8100 m. A nest of a snow partridge with a laying of eggs was found in the Nepalese Himalayas at an altitude of almost 5.7 thousand meters.

Often the same animals are found in several zones of the mountains, but, as a rule, their numbers are significant only in one of them, the most suitable for the life of this species. A large number of species outside one or two of their most characteristic zones are rare or not found at all, and only a few can be seen in different zones of the mountains. Therefore, each mountain zone has its own fauna. It consists, as a rule, of a number of species close or identical to those found in the fauna of the corresponding latitudinal zone of the Earth. For example, in the tundra belt of the mountains of southern Siberia, called loaches here, one can observe reindeer, tundra partridge and horned lark, characteristic of the northern tundra.

Snow goat.

The fauna of the Alpine belt of the mountains of Europe, Asia, North America and, to a lesser extent, North Africa in in general terms homogeneous. This is explained by the fact that in the highlands of the Northern Hemisphere, living conditions are similar, and the core of the mountain fauna comes from common centers of speciation - mountains. Central Asia and some other mountainous areas.

Many mountain animals live only where there are rocks. Mountain goats, bighorn sheep, argali, as well as goral and musk deer are saved in the rocks from predators. Birds - rock pigeon, swifts and red-winged wall-climbers - find convenient places for nesting there, hiding from bad weather. 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.

In many mountains, screes form; the life of the mountain pika, also called the haystack, snow voles, and some other rodents is associated with them. In the second half of the summer, they all 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 shelters of the stones.

Alpine goats.

The peculiar natural conditions of life in the mountains affected appearance animals constantly living there, on the shape of their body, lifestyle and habits. They have developed characteristic adaptations that help in the struggle for existence. At mountain goats, chamois and the American bighorn goat have large mobile hooves that can spread 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.

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 can notice carrion or live prey from afar. The mountains are also characterized by birds with fast, swift flight: Caucasian mountain grouse, mountain turkey, or snowcock, swifts.

Yak. Long and thick hair on the belly and sides serves as a kind of bedding for him.

In summer it is cold high in the mountains, so there are almost no reptiles there: for the most part they are thermophilic. Above others penetrate only viviparous species reptiles: 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. What has been said about reptiles is also true to a large extent for amphibians, although they penetrate the mountains a little higher - up to 5.5 thousand m. Of the amphibians common in our country, the Asia Minor frog and the gray, or common, toad penetrate the mountains higher than others . The upper limit of the vertical distribution of fish is about 5 thousand m.

Snow leopard, or irbis.

Lush plumage of mountain littsi and thick fur of animals protect them from the cold. The snow leopard living in the highlands of Asia has unusually long and fluffy 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.

Vultures.

Hummingbirds in the Andean highlands nest in caves in large communities, which helps keep the birds warm. On cold nights, they go into a stupor, thus minimizing the expenditure of energy 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 - migrations. With the onset of autumn, when it becomes cold high in the mountains, snowfalls begin and, most importantly, it becomes more difficult to get food, many animals migrate down the slopes of the mountains.

Condor.

A significant part of the birds that live in the mountains of the Northern Hemisphere fly south for the winter. Most of the birds that remain to winter in the mountainous areas descend to the lower zones, often to the very foothills and surrounding plains. Very few birds spend the winter at high altitudes, such as the mountain turkey. In the Caucasus, it usually stays near the places where tours graze - the closest relatives of mountain goats. 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.

Deer, roe deer and wild boars, found in the mountains in summer up to alpine meadows descending into the forest in autumn. Many chamois also go here for the winter. Tours and other mountain goats migrate closer to the upper border of the forest, settling on steep rocky slopes. Some of them descend into the forest. Sometimes they move to the southern slopes, where snow melts on alpine meadows in the very first hours or days after a snowfall, as happens in the Caucasus Mountains, or go to steeper windward slopes, where the snow is blown away by the winds. In the mountains of Siberia, "blowing" often winters reindeer rising here from the forest. If the snow is too deep and dense and the ground lichens in the loaches are inaccessible to reindeer, they go back to the forest and feed on tree lichens there.

Mountain turkey, or ular.

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 northeastern Siberia, wild reindeer make seasonal migrations within 10-20 km, and their relatives living in the Far North, in order to reach the wintering place, make a journey of several hundred kilometers. In the spring, as the snow melts, the animals that descend down migrate back to the upper zones of the mountains. Chamois, mountain goats and other ungulates living in the mountains often die in winter and in early spring during snow storms.

Alpine insects: on the left - a glacial flea; on the right - springtail.

From mountain animals to different time and in different parts light, a man domesticated a goat, in Asia - a yak, in South America- llama and alpaca. Yak and llama are used in the mountains mainly for the transport of goods by pack; Yak females give very rich milk. The alpaca, like the llama, belongs to the group of New World camels (American calluses); it gives a fine wool, superior in quality to sheep.

We have not yet said anything about invertebrates - insects and spiders, meanwhile, it is they, and not animals and birds, that are permanent inhabitants of high altitudes. Scientists from India and other countries discovered in the Himalayas at an altitude of 3500 to 6000 m above sea level several hundred species of arthropods settled here - flies, springtails, beetles, aphids, butterflies, mayflies, locusts, ticks, centipedes, etc. In 1924 when trying to climb Chomolungma, the expedition members found active jumping spiders at an altitude of 6600 m. This is still the highest limit at which live invertebrates were found in the mountains.

Strong ascending currents of air bring from the lower zones of the mountains and from the plains masses of plant pollen, especially juniper and other conifers, spores, seeds, as well as aphids, winged ants, midges, mosquitoes, butterflies, etc. There are known cases of aphids carried by wind over a distance up to 1280 km. According to the Indian entomologist Mani V spring-summer months on the Pir-Pind-jal mountain in the Himalayas at an altitude of 3.5-4 km, at least 400 dead arthropods were deposited in 20 minutes on a snow field area of ​​\u200b\u200babout 10 m 2 different types. Especially a lot of organic remains accumulate at the foot and in the cracks of the rocks. Due to them, many high-altitude insects and spiders live. Coniferous pollen feeds, in particular, on small insects, podura, or glacial fleas, living directly on snow and firn fields.

Groupings of invertebrates that exist due to organic remains brought by mountain breezes are called aeolian (Eol is the god of the winds in ancient Greek mythology). In terms of the nature and origin of their food coming from other vertical zones, they are similar to deep-sea animal groups that ultimately exist due to organic residues that sink to the bottom of the oceans from the upper layers of water (see article "Animal world of the seas and oceans") .

Insects in the mountains often live under rocks; summer in sundial the stones are very hot, and the air temperature near them is higher than in other places. As shelters, insects also use cracks in the earth and crevices in the rocks, rare spots of carpets. alpine plants, soil, small ponds and even snow. Most mountain insects are small in size, living under stones - a flat body shape, due to which they can successfully find shelter. Especially a lot of insects are found near the edge of melting snow, where the air and soil are more humid and where it is easiest to find food - organic remains carried out by melt water. The low density of the atmosphere and the associated low oxygen content in it do not have a noticeable negative effect on insects.

Insects spend a long winter under a thick layer of snow. In summer, they are usually active during the hours when the sun is shining brightly; therefore, their periods of intense life and rest often alternate several times during the day. But some insects were observed in an active state even when snow began to fall in the mountains and the thermometer showed several degrees of frost. Podura are unusually resistant to cold. On the plains, night bats are active at dusk and at night, in the highlands they lead a diurnal lifestyle: at night the air is too cold for them.

Many insects in the mountains are dark in color and highly pigmented (spotted). This better protects insects from excessive exposure to ultraviolet rays, which are very intense in the mountains. In some species of butterflies, bumblebees and wasps that live high in the mountains, the body is densely pubescent - this reduces heat loss. The shortening of the antennae and legs also contributes to the latter. High in the mountains, bees and bumblebees are extremely rare, and here the main role in the pollination of flowers is played by flies and other Diptera and butterflies.

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 completely lost the ability to actively fly. Their closest relatives, living on the plains, are winged and can fly.

The living conditions in the equatorial highlands of Africa are very peculiar - on the mountains Kilimanjaro (5895 m), Rwenzori (5119 m), etc. If seasonal differences in air temperature in these mountains at an altitude of 4-4.5 km above sea level are insignificant, then its daily fluctuations are extremely large. In the alpine desert belt, the air temperature almost always drops below zero at night, while during the day, at an air temperature of about 6 °, the soil surface, illuminated by the sun, heats up to 70 ° and above. Therefore, almost all animals are active here only early in the morning and late in the evening, for a total of no more than 2-3 hours. For the rest of the day, all living things hide and hide in burrows, cracks in the ground, under stones, and only in cloudy days active life lasts longer.

The coloration of mountain equatorial insects is usually dominated by faded, desert tones; in some insects, on the contrary, the chitinous surface of the body is shiny, silvery, conducive to the reflection of sunlight. Beetles are characterized by bright colors and roundness of the elytra, forming, as it were, a vault over the abdomen; the air gap under the arch of the elytra protects the beetle from overheating.

Thus, the insects of the equatorial highlands combine adaptations for protection both from very low temperatures and from excessively high ones. Many interesting pages from the life of animal mountains have not yet been read and are waiting for young inquisitive naturalists.

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 fewer species 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 beetles nest in the Caucasus mountains only in the belt 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, in the mountains Southern Siberia And East Asia reindeer lives. 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, when reindeer feed 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 - the Alpine ibex, in the Caucasus - the tour, in the mountains of Asia - the Siberian mountain goat), chamois, the Asian red wolf, some rodents, vultures, mountain turkey, or snowcock, alpine jackdaw, etc.
The fauna in the alpine belt of the mountains of Europe, Asia, North America and northern Africa is generally homogeneous. This is due to the fact that in the highlands of the 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 carry the hay under a 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 one who lives in high mountains The Asiatic snow leopard has unusually long and luxuriant fur, while its tropical cousin the leopard has short and sparse 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.
Hummingbirds in the Andean highlands of South America nest in caves in large communities, which helps keep the birds warm. 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 of only a few tens of kilometers, and their relatives living in the Far North, in order to reach their wintering grounds, 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. 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 and the roe deer were no longer threatened with starvation. At the end of December 1936 in Caucasian Reserve The snowfall continued for four days. At upper bound forest layer of new loose snow reached a meter. Researchers of the reserve, being in the mountains, they 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.
On 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-Dzhabagly (Western Tien Shan), Sikhote-Alinsky and others.

The change of vegetation zones from the foot to the top of the mountains is very similar to the change of vegetation on the way to the poles. The higher you climb the mountains, the colder it gets: every 90 m, the air temperature drops by about 0.55 C. At the bottom, the mountains are covered with deciduous forests.

They are followed by coniferous forests, then alpine meadows and shrubs, and on the peaks there are only ice and stones. Animals living in the mountains are forced to endure low temperatures, squally winds and very bright sun. Many types of mountain dwellers move higher in the mountains in spring and return to warmer valleys in winter. Some have adapted well to environment and stay high in the mountains all year round. Some insects, such as springtails, can survive in ice for up to three years.

mountain animals

Yaks

In the Himalayas in the mountains and on the high plains at an altitude of about 4000 m live large strong animals - yaks. Thick wool protects them from the piercing cold. Yaks need a lot of water. In winter, they sometimes even eat snow. Since the hunt for yaks was very active in the past, wild yaks have practically disappeared. Now they are kept as pets, providing milk, meat and skins. Herds of yaks graze in highland meadows.

mountain goats

On the border of snow high in the mountains, between the rocks, mountain goats feel at home. Here they are not threatened by any predators, such as wolves. Widely spaced hooves with a soft edge allow animals to stay on bare rocks. Just a few days after birth, little goats can follow their mother up steep cliffs and jump from ledge to ledge.

Chamois, distant relatives of American snow goats, live among the rocks in the mountains of Europe. Above the slope live bearded goats with long, curved back horns. Other mountain ungulates include the hairy Himalayan tahr, a close relative of the bearded goat, and mountain sheep: mouflon in Europe and bighorns in North America.

puma

Puma is one of the largest felines in the Americas. Cougars live in the area between British Columbia and South America. They are found in regions with completely different living conditions - from coastal forests and swamps to peaks of about 4500 m. Since they were once uncontrolled hunted in North America, cougars now prefer to live in seclusion in the Andes and in the area around the Rocky Mountains. Pumas are solitary animals. They mark their hunting territory, which is about 400 square kilometers, and protect it from relatives.

Gorilla

In mountainous regions near the equator, a completely different climate and different vegetation. Below the high alpine meadows are bamboo forests - the birthplace of gorillas. Gorilla is one of the most large mammals tropical montane forests of Western and Central Africa. There are only 500 to 1,000 free-living gorillas in the forests, and the species is endangered. Many of the forests where these monkeys live are uprooted in order to use them for agricultural land, in addition, illegal hunting is carried out on monkeys. Skulls, skins and hands of gorillas are sold in African markets as souvenir trophies.

mountain birds

The mountains provide shelter, roosts and nesting territories for some of the largest birds. One of them - the Andean condor, whose wingspan reaches 3 m - breeds chicks on inaccessible rocks from Venezuela to Tierra del Fuego. Condors belong to the American vultures. Feeding, like other vultures, on carrion, Andean condors often fly to the shores of the ocean, where you can find dead fish.

The California condor is only slightly smaller than the Andean. Today, this bird lives only in a reserve located in the coastal mountains of California. Weak reproduction (the female lays only one egg every two years), poachers and the destruction of natural habitats have put this species on the brink of extinction.

In the remote mountainous regions of Europe, Asia and Africa, the bearded vulture, or lamb, is fighting for survival. This bird not only looks unusual (her head is decorated with a beard - hence the name), there is a lot of surprise in how she eats. You can often see a bearded man carrying a bone in his paws, like a fish caught in an osprey. The bird breaks the bone by dropping it from a height, and then descends to the ground to feast on the marrow.

Of course, American vultures are not the only birds living in the mountains. The golden eagle, whose flight is a spectacular sight, is distributed in the temperate zone in the Northern Hemisphere. Many smaller birds also live in the mountains, including the mountain finch and white-tailed partridge in North America, the hummingbird - Andean mountain star - in South America, the Mongolian snow finch and red-winged wall climber in Eurasia, the malachite sunbird in Africa.

Golden eagles live in the mountains and plains of North America, Asia and Europe. These are large predator birds, whose wingspan reaches 2 m. They are excellent glider pilots and are able to use ascending air currents, hovering in height for hours and without flapping their wings. Golden eagles nest on high rocks or isolated trees. These birds have very sharp eyes, which allows them to notice prey from afar.

Who lives in the mountains in winter

Some predators, including the Himalayan Snow Leopard, go down in winter, where it is warmer. So do wapiti (the North American race of red deer) and many other large animals. But not everyone makes such vertical migrations with the advent of winter. Voles, for example, stay put and make holes in deep snow. The temperature in such burrows is sometimes 40° higher than outside, and the roots and other plant food provide the animals with food all winter. Almost all the cold season, as in summer, hares are active. They feed on bark and twigs and take refuge under snow-covered spruces or firs.

Where there are hot springs, animals enjoy the benefits that this provides. Bison in Yellowstone national park in USA, mountain sheep and Japanese macaques, with the approach of cold weather, move to hot springs and heated areas of land around them. There they feed on green vegetation all winter and enjoy the surroundings. reminiscent of a couple.