Tiny deer among 350 new species found in Himalayas

[Behind the Aegis]

Source: AP

KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) -- The world's smallest deer, a flying frog and catfish that stick to rocks - as well as more than 350 other species - have been discovered over the past decade in the Himalayas, making it one of the world's most biologically rich regions, an environmental group said Monday.

But researchers warn that the effects of climate change, as well as development, threaten the diverse habitat that supports these species.

"This enormous cultural and biological diversity underscores the fragile nature of an environment which risks being lost forever unless the impacts of climate change are reversed," said Tariq Aziz, the leader of the World Wildlife Fund's Living Himalayas Initiative, a regional conservation program that covers India, Nepal and Bhutan.

The WWF is calling on the countries to develop a conservation plan for the region - which also includes parts of Myanmar and Tibet - and for governments to give local communities more authority to manage the forests, grasslands and wetlands.

The group found that almost three-quarters of the discoveries between 1998 and 2008 were plants, including 21 new orchid species. But it also listed 16 amphibians, 16 reptiles, 14 fish, two birds, two mammals and at least 60 new invertebrates. Most of the discoveries have already been reported in peer-reviewed, scientific journals.



Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_HIMALAYAS_NEW...

[Heidi]

1. Recommended.

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Lithos]

2. K&R

[FVZA_Colonel]

3. Certainly, not all of the Himalayas are like Everest.

But it still amazes me to learn just how vibrant life is in areas like that.

[maglatinavi]

4. himalayas

tiny deers or frogs??? pl4ease save them!

[JCMach1]

13. the bio-diversity is huge in Nepal... in just a few hours

or a few thousand feet you can go from jungle to Glacier...

[Skittles]

5. they'd kill them with tiny guns here

[The Doctor.]

9. No, we'd use .50 cal.

You know... 'Americans' and all that.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

21. Probably have to add "Venison Helper" to make a meal

Bon apetit!

[proteus_lives]

29. And I'd eat them with a tiny fork.

[aquart]

6. So cool.

[orleans]

7. i want to see a pic of the tiny deer! n/t

[Behind the Aegis]

Follow the link....

This is the WWF and has a pic of the frog and deer, as well as more info: WWF

[Lorien]

8. It looks like a slightly smaller version of this:

On edit; here you go:

[orleans]

10. both great pics. thank you! n/t

[ozone_man]

22. Here is a picture.

http://www.newser.com/article/d9a04hmg0/more-than-350-s...

It would be nice to see it standing. It's so cute!

[dugaresa]

28. its cute only because it isn't eating my shrubs

now the whitetail that come to my yard every night and eat my little sapling trees, they aren't so cute.

[sofa king]

11. Breathtaking photo of flying frogs.

Evolutionary biologists are still pondering the function of the Tom Selleck mustache.

[Skittles]

12. sofa king auto-scheduled for ass-kicking

yes INDEED

[BlancheSplanchnik]

18. Because the chest hair was creating aerodynamic drag?

[dipsydoodle]

14. Worthy topic

K & R

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[nashville_brook]

17. the deer sound like Key Deer which also only grow to about 30 inches tall

the biologist who discovered Key Deer, Thomas Barbour, believed that they belonged in a category separate from North American White Tail Deer. But, b/c of the culture of science (he didn't want to ignite a fight) he put them in a category that suggested they are dwarfs of White Tail. Would be cool to study the Himalayan and Key Deer for similarities.

posting this pic for scale -- i'm not advocating approaching the Key Deer. Losing their fear of humans is one of the reasons they're endangered:

[slackmaster]

23. They're unbelievably cute, too

I love little deer.

[nashville_brook]

26. i love them TOO! we planned a whole vacation around going to Big Pine Key to see them.

adorable!

[The2ndWheel]

19. If any of them are economically productive, we'll think about keeping them around

[jpak]

20. Wow - 2 deleted posts in a cool biodiversity thread?

Did they discover Himalayan Trolls too?

[GoddessOfGuinness]

24. Probably more of the "Global Warming Doesn't Exist" clubmembers

Schmucks.

[dipsydoodle]

30. I noticed that too.

All I wrote was "worthy topic" which to me was a valid statement and a reply was deleted.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

25. Great news!

I hope we can keep them alive!

[Shanti Mama]

27. In Nepal, whose upper half is dominated by the Himalayas

the altitude goes from a few hundred feet above sea level to the summit of Everest. We have incredible diversity, tropical weather with monsoons but at relatively high altitudes. This creates diversity like no other, in a relatively small area. I recently took a trip to a village that is only a few hours walk from a road. Pictures are here. http://bit.ly/18Vdau . The mountain sides, when not terraced for farming, are covered in forest that often is actually jungle or rain/cloud forest.

The Himalayas are most definitely not all like Everest. Remember, there are "foothills" before there are the awe-inspiring peaks. Here's a link to the google map of the Himalayas. http://bit.ly/zLHiR . In the eastern Himalayas they are 10,000 plant species, 300 mammal species, 977 bird species, 176 reptiles, 105 amphibians, 269 types of freshwater fish.

The glaciers up between the peaks are melting at a terribly alarming rate. If global climate change is not stopped, the wealth of species will be lost.