My Interest in Wildlife
One of my Biggest concerns I guess is Environmental destruction. It has to be one of the most serious issues affecting this world today. Since I was a child I have always been an animal lover. I used to collect figures of african wildlife and I had a sticker book from WWF and it really opened my eyes up about the number of different species globally. By the age of 13 I lost interest and it was not until when I was 18 my interest was rekindled. It was on a visit to my ancestral area in North West pakistan and seeing a Black and White bird flashing as it took off and landed further on in the fields. It was not something I could recognise but somethign which had caught my eye. I found out the local name and realised this bird occured in England and was known as the Lapwing. But by the time I had found that out I had trawled through many books in relation to wildlife of the Middle East, South Asia and also Europe.
What suprised me the most was that in my ancestral country there was quite a number of species which i was shocked that occurd - Snow Leopards, Leopards, Gazelles, a number of Wild Sheep and Goat Species, Deer - although nearly every one was under threat from extinction. In one of the books I saw a reference to "The Mammals of Pakistan" written by Dr T J Roberts. I ordered this book from the library as to be honest it is cheaper than buying it and the day it arrived was the day my life probably took a turn. I read the book on the way home and then I realised the vast wealth of wildlife that occured there - Snow Leopard, Leopard. Lynx, Caracal - medium sixed cat, Wolf, 3 species of Foxes, Hyaenas, Brown, Bears, Black Bear, Honey Badger, 4/5 species of small wild cats, 2 species of Wild Monkeys, Porcupine, Pangolin, Wild Ass - wild horse not the nasty bit you are thinking of, Nilgai - a large antelope, 3 wild deer, 2 species of gazelle, 4 species of Wild Goats, 2 species of wild sheep, 2/3 species of Goat-antelopes, a river Dolphin, a huge array of perching birds and waterfowl, falcons, eagles, partridges and 5 species of pheasants.
On the extinct List were - Lion, Tiger, the Asiatic Cheetah, 2 species of large Deer, the BlackBuck antelope - the male being a striking black with white underbelly. Sadly most of the above list were already suffering due to Hunting and Habitat destruction. I compared the list to what we have here in the UK and thought how lucky Pakistan is with its diversity. Being a larger country and not an Island Pakistan would have much moe variety for sure. The habitats range from coastline, mangrove swamps, rivers, lakes, scrub forest, steppe, dry and barren mountains, dry forests, moist forests, alpine meadows, riverain forests. From the coastline at 0 m high and then the second highest mountain at k2 which is abouve 8000 plus - you'd expect alot of change.
For today that is it. I will wite again shortly.
What suprised me the most was that in my ancestral country there was quite a number of species which i was shocked that occurd - Snow Leopards, Leopards, Gazelles, a number of Wild Sheep and Goat Species, Deer - although nearly every one was under threat from extinction. In one of the books I saw a reference to "The Mammals of Pakistan" written by Dr T J Roberts. I ordered this book from the library as to be honest it is cheaper than buying it and the day it arrived was the day my life probably took a turn. I read the book on the way home and then I realised the vast wealth of wildlife that occured there - Snow Leopard, Leopard. Lynx, Caracal - medium sixed cat, Wolf, 3 species of Foxes, Hyaenas, Brown, Bears, Black Bear, Honey Badger, 4/5 species of small wild cats, 2 species of Wild Monkeys, Porcupine, Pangolin, Wild Ass - wild horse not the nasty bit you are thinking of, Nilgai - a large antelope, 3 wild deer, 2 species of gazelle, 4 species of Wild Goats, 2 species of wild sheep, 2/3 species of Goat-antelopes, a river Dolphin, a huge array of perching birds and waterfowl, falcons, eagles, partridges and 5 species of pheasants.
On the extinct List were - Lion, Tiger, the Asiatic Cheetah, 2 species of large Deer, the BlackBuck antelope - the male being a striking black with white underbelly. Sadly most of the above list were already suffering due to Hunting and Habitat destruction. I compared the list to what we have here in the UK and thought how lucky Pakistan is with its diversity. Being a larger country and not an Island Pakistan would have much moe variety for sure. The habitats range from coastline, mangrove swamps, rivers, lakes, scrub forest, steppe, dry and barren mountains, dry forests, moist forests, alpine meadows, riverain forests. From the coastline at 0 m high and then the second highest mountain at k2 which is abouve 8000 plus - you'd expect alot of change.
For today that is it. I will wite again shortly.
posted by saffyh at 3:31 AM
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