Animals in the world in the mountains. Mountain animals: yak, bighorn sheep, grizzly, wolverine, condor, llama, spectacled bear, irbis, panda, argali, golden eagle. Dangerous natural phenomena

Unlike flat territories, which are characterized by horizontal (sprat) zonality of landscapes, mountainous regions have vertical zonality, i.e., a change of landscapes in the direction from the base of the mountains to their peaks. When climbing the mountains, a sequential transition from one belt to another is revealed in accordance with the change in temperature and air humidity by different height. Thus, in the mountains, the flora and fauna naturally, as it were, repeats the features of latitudinal landscapes - steppe, deciduous, mixed and coniferous forests, alpine tundra with alpine meadows and, finally, the glacial zone. However, the complete similarity between mountain landscapes and their corresponding horizontal natural areas does not exist, since the mountains are located in different climatic regions of the Earth and rise above sea level from the territory of various latitudinal zones, which inevitably has a certain effect on the nature of mountain flora and fauna. For example, the appearance and composition of flora and fauna mountain steppes and deserts Central Asia reminiscent of the nature of the Central Asian plains. The mountains of the forest zone in the corresponding belts have a close species composition of the flora and fauna of the lowland forests.

Within Russia, mountain landscapes occupy more than 6% of the entire territory of the country and are well expressed in the Caucasus, Western Siberia (Altai, Sayans). As for the Ural mountains and Eastern Siberia, then they rise from the territory of the taiga, which smooths out the specificity of the mountain belts of these regions.

Since the mountain systems of Russia are located on vast expanses and remote from each other, their fauna does not represent a single whole. Animal world Each one of them differs to some extent species composition from the rest. In this regard, it is more expedient to consider the characteristics of the animal population of the mountains in relation to those species groups that are represented in the zone of alpine meadows, since it is these animals that have the most pronounced features characteristic of the mountain fauna.

The influence of eternal snow affects the nature of the alpine belt adjoining it. Here, the main habitats suitable for the life of plants and animals are sufficiently moist, since during most of the summer there is an influx of melt water from the side of the snow cover. According to the conditions of the mountainous relief, surface water quickly flows down and does not form wetlands, so it does not form anywhere. permafrost. In spring, moisture-loving perennial grasses of the meadow type develop, on which peculiar ground mountain birds feed on snowcocks, stone partridges, kekliks, etc. These birds move well along uneven hard ground, maneuvering among rubble placers and rocky ledges, and quickly run along steep slopes.

Typical for the highlands are also various herbivorous animals - marmots and haystacks (pikas). Some of them live among stony placers, others inhabit high-mountain areas of the steppes. Many of them dig holes and hibernate for the winter (marmots); others do not hibernate, but prepare stacks of fragrant hay for the period of winter starvation (hay delivery). No less characteristic of the mountains are stone voles, living either in burrows, or in crevices of rocks, or among stony placers, where they arrange warm spherical nests from wool, down and feathers collected in the vicinity.

PEACE TO YOU, ANIMALS!

Flocks of chamois scurry up and down the slopes with equal ease. The tops of the rocky ridges are guarded by argali, propping up the sky with powerful horns. Eagles soar in the sky and do not realize that someone props up their sky there. Hares jump on the ground and marmots sing their songs. Groundhogs in general, if only to sing songs.

Today, the nature of the Alps is extremely rich in all living creatures. But the realization that nature should be preserved did not come to the Europeans immediately. The facts of the monstrous "royal hunts" with the killing of hundreds and thousands of animals for fun are also known, and completely extinct species animals such as wild bull- a tour that lived in the middle latitudes of Eurasia. By the way, the Polish monarchs tried to save the tour by issuing relevant laws, it seems, in 1400 ... But from the first half of the 20th century, a movement for the conservation of nature began in the Alps. Remarkably, its first initiators and even the creators of the first national parks became the same persons of the type of the last kings of Italy, who quite recently decorated their castles with the horns of chamois and wild goats killed in the hunt. That is, the consciousness of Europeans has changed, and as a result, today we meet all kinds of animals on our path and politely make way for each other without fear of being eaten, bypassing any licenses and UN conventions.

Free-roaming animals are free to roam on their own. Which means - they are not at all obliged to come out to you and let themselves be stroked. Therefore, whether you meet someone on your morning run or not depends on the case. But if you want to be guaranteed to see the real wild creatures in the conditions of the real wild forest, and even stroke some of them, you should go to visit the local park Parc de Merlet (www.parcdemerlet.com), located on the mountain between Chamonix and Les Houches. You can go there by car, but if someone wants to combine business with pleasure, that is, the pleasure of learning environment with the benefit of deep penetration into it through hard trekking, then for true heroes from the center of Chamonix to the mountain, where the park is, a special path leads. An hour and a half, and you are there, hand over to the cashier at the entrance the amount of about seven euros per person and penetrate into the world of animals. By the way, there are all human conditions there - a conference hall and a restaurant.

Just don't be scared, - says the girl who sold the entrance tickets. We have very independent animals. Yesterday, a little goat went into a restaurant, walked around the hall and grabbed customers by the shirt flaps with his teeth, and invited them to play.

It's kind of touching...

Yes, our animals approach visitors wholeheartedly, and some ... not only are afraid, they are simply not used to it, and therefore they do not react quite adequately. Now you will go along the path, and llamas will surely come to you. They are the most sociable here. Do not drive them away, otherwise they will be offended. They love being stroked.

Is it necessary to say that the most grateful visitors to this world of animals are the smallest guests of the park? The objects of adoration squeak with pleasure at the hands of the subjects, and it is not clear for certain which of them squeaks louder.

In terms of population density of animal souls per square six acres, the park can be compared to a zoo. But no cages, aviaries, fences. It's like a nature reserve, only small. Animals share territory with each other in a natural way, as in nature, and do not compete for the right to influence. In fact, what kind of competition can there be between an antelope and a marmot? Here, by the way, is the groundhog - dug himself underground palaces and went to the surface to see what was happening around. Nothing special happened around, except for the light rain that was already drizzling.

So that a walk through the reserve does not turn into a chaotic movement in an attempt to catch up and photograph this or that animal, it is recommended to follow the laid routes - one is “easy”, the other, relatively speaking, is “difficult”. The difficulty lies in the fact that there is a segment of the way to climb the natural mountainous terrain, which in the absence of asphalt, as it were, requires boots with a pronounced tread. At the entrance, you can take a map showing animals that are most likely to be encountered on specific sections of the route. There are even several benches on the upper terrace of the park, so if you have a thermos of hot tea in store, it’s good to sit on one of them, drink tea and watch how mountain goats and small deer frolic a little lower in the ravine. Drops of spring rain rustle on your hood. To merge with nature is to merge.

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 in general terms similar to latitudinal zonality 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 in the mountains, the usually fewer species animals. The most elevated parts high mountains covered with eternal snow and almost completely devoid of life.
Very high in the mountains - almost up to 6 thousand m - they go mountain goats and sheep; 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 kinglets nest in the Caucasus Mountains only in the belt of 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 of 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. AT winter time when in reindeer diet great importance have reindeer moss and other lichens, character plays an important role in choosing a habitat snow cover. 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: different kinds mountain goats (in Western Europe - alpine ibex, in the Caucasus - tour, in the mountains of Asia - Siberian mountain goat), chamois, Asian red wolf, some rodents, vultures, mountain turkey, or snowcock, alpine jackdaw, etc.
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 chibouk, 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 take the hay under the shelter of stones.
The peculiar natural conditions of life in the mountains affected appearance animals constantly living there, on the forms of their bodies, lifestyle and habits. They have developed characteristic adaptations that help in the struggle for existence. For example, mountain goats, chamois, American bighorn goat large, mobile hooves, capable of spreading 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. It favors soaring flight 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 snow leopard, which lives in the high mountains of Asia, has unusually long and lush 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.
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. On the high altitude very few birds hibernate, 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.
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 North-Eastern Siberia wild reindeer make seasonal migrations for only a few tens of kilometers, and their relatives living on Far North, in order to reach the wintering place, they 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 snow avalanches a herd of chamois was buried - about 70 goals.
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, snowfall continued for four days in the Caucasian Reserve. At the upper border of the forest, a 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 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 the high altitudes But insects are found only in places, where the 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-Dzhabaglinsky (Western Tien Shan), Sikhote-Alinsky and others.

The third honor of land, almost 50 million square kilometers, is occupied by mountains on earth. Conditions in the mountains are significantly different from the plains: much colder, large quantity precipitation, long winters, frequent winds, rarefied air and little vegetation.

The main feature of the mountains is low pressure and lack of oxygen in the air, which is a very serious obstacle to the habitation of living beings.

Starting from 4 thousand meters above sea level, most living beings, including humans, feel the so-called oxygen starvation. A living organism deprived of sufficient oxygen cannot withstand normal stress, and in some cases can lead to death.

And yet, these places are by no means lifeless. In these extreme conditions, life has not stopped, and enough animals live in the mountains. a large number of animals and birds adapted to these conditions.

On the different continents peculiar ones live in the mountains. So in South America in the Andes at an altitude of more than 4000 meters live, alpacas, guanacos, vicuñas. These are peculiar relatives of camels known to us. They have the same long legs and neck, but only there are no humps, and they are smaller in size.

Several species of mountain goats and aurochs live in the mountains of Europe, Asia and America. These are wild animals and are mainly hunting species, now, of course, not commercial, but purely amateur. The mountain goat is considered honorary hunting trophy most hunters.

In the mountains of Europe and Asia, you can see snow leopards, beautiful and fast. big cats which, being predatory, there in the mountains find their prey. Because of its beautiful fur, Snow Leopard For many years it has been a desirable prey for hunters. Now this animal is on the verge of extinction, listed in the Red Book.

In the mountains of Tibet and Pamir lives another amazing view mountain animals. These huge buffalo-like animals, covered with long fur, generally prefer to live only in mountainous areas. Their body is so different from the lowland animals that they are not able to survive at a lower altitude.
Large lungs and heart, as well as a special composition of blood with high hemoglobin, provide oxygen to the body of the yak when it is deficient in the air. A thick layer of subcutaneous fat and the absence of sweat glands provide it with the ability to tolerate low temperatures, but at the same time create overheating of the body at temperatures above 15 ° C. Under familiar conditions, yaks are much more enduring than ordinary bulls, and females, in comparison with cows, give more milk of high fat content.

People have noticed the features of mountain animals and their endurance for a very long time. One of the first people domesticated a wild goat and began to receive fluff and milk from it. Several millennia ago, Indians living in the South American Andes tamed llamas and used them as beasts of burden. Alpacas and vicuñas began to be bred in order to obtain excellent fur, which is mainly for export, guanaco for the most part semi-wild and serve as a source of meat and wool for the local population.

The inhabitants of Tibet and the Pamirs domesticated yaks and began to use them both as pack animals and for meat, milk and wool. In order to give the special qualities of a yak to a domestic large cattle, yaks were crossed with Mongolian cows and got a hybrid, the so-called haynaks, which have the calm disposition of an ordinary cow and the endurance and productivity of a Tibetan yak. Hainaks can also live in flat conditions, so they began to be bred in Russia, Buryatia and Tuva.

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.

Living conditions in the mountains are varied, their animal world is rich and diverse. 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 is usually composed whole line 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 mountains in Europe, Asia, North America and, to a lesser extent North Africa generally homogeneous. This is explained by the fact that living conditions are similar in the highlands of the Northern Hemisphere, and the core of the mountain fauna comes from common centers of speciation - the mountains of Central Asia and some other mountainous regions.

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 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 were reflected in the appearance of the animals constantly living there, in the shape of their body, lifestyle and habits. They have developed characteristic adaptations that help in the struggle for existence. Mountain goats, chamois and the American bighorn goat have large mobile hooves that can move widely apart. 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. 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. 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 up to alpine meadows in summer, descend 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 along the "blowing" reindeer often winter, 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. 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 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 early spring during snowfalls.

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

From mountain animals to different time and in different parts In the world, a man domesticated a goat, in Asia - a yak, in South America - a llama and an 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 being carried by wind to a distance of up to 1280 km. According to the Indian entomologist Mani in 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 feed, in particular, 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, which ultimately exist due to organic residues that sink to the bottom of the oceans from the upper layers of water (see Art. "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 rocks, rare spots of carpets of alpine plants, soil, small reservoirs 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 zone, the air temperature at night almost always drops below zero, 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 reflection sun rays. 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, in insects of the equatorial highlands, adaptations are combined for protection both from very low temperatures, and from excessively high. Many interesting pages from the life of animal mountains have not yet been read and are waiting for young inquisitive naturalists.