Flora and Fauna

Bhutan is blessed with rich flora and fauna and Bhutanese people value it a lot. It has been tactically preserved that you can even see endangered and rare species which are at the verge of extinction. The flora and fauna of Bhutan supports in defining the beauty of nature. Therefore, the National Forest Policy of Bhutan recognizes national parks and wildlife sanctuaries as a long-term strategy to protect the flora and fauna as forests in Bhutan occupy a large part of the country; they are the dominant land cover. Thus, they are vital for both ecology and economics. High altitude in Bhutan is home to animals like Snow leopard, blue sheep, red panda, tiger, takin, marmot and musk deer. Temperate zone fauna include Tiger, leopard, goral, gray langur, Himalayan black beer, red panda, sambur, wild pig, and barking deer. The tropical forests in the south have tiger, clouded leopard, elephants, one horned Rhinoceros, water buffalo, golden langur, gaur, swamp deer, hog deer horn bills etc. Black necked crane, Green-backed tit, Plumbeous water Redstart and Oriental Turtle Dove are some of the famous birds found in Bhutan. The national bird of Bhutan is Raven. Indo Malayan and pale arctic elements are among those that have been recorded. Approximately 73 percent are resident. In Bhutan, there are four national parks, one nature reserve and four wildlife sanctuaries provide habitats to some 170 species of mammals, over 770 bird species and at least 5,600 species of vascular plants. Bhutan is putting its maximum effort to minimize the risk of local extinction amongst populations of plants and animals. Bhutan is blessed with almost 60 percent of the endemic plant species of the eastern Himalayas. Of these 5500 known species of vascular plants, 50 or more are endemic to Bhutan itself. It is a known fact to the Bhutanese government that several species are highly valuable for our conservation properties. These include some for Alkaloids and gene pools for crop research, and those that are potential horticultural crops. Bhutanese forests are of three ecological units or zones. The Alpine zone (4,000 and above) has no forest cover. The Temperate zone falls between 2,000m to 4,000m with conifer/broad leaf forests. The Sub-tropical zone has tropical/sub tropical vegetation from an elevation of 1,500m to 2,000m.Forest types include Fir forests, mixed conifer forest blue pine, Chirpine forest, and broad leaf mixed with conifer, upland hardwood forest, lowland hardwood and tropical lowland forests. Three ecological units may be distinguished within Bhutan: High altitude, temperate, and tropical.