Ladakh is the home to endemic Himalayan wildlife, such as the bharal, yak, Himalayan brown bear, Himalayan wolf and the iconic snow leopard. Hemis National Park, Changthang Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, and Karakorum Wildlife Sanctuary are protected wildlife areas of Ladakh. The Mountain Institute, the Ladakh Ecological Development Group and the Snow Leopard Conservancy work on ecotourism in rural Ladakh. For such an elevated, arid area, Ladakh has great diversity of birds — 318 species have been recorded (including 30 species, in the 21st century, not seen since 1960). Many of these birds reside at or seasonally breed in high-altitude wetlands, such as Tso Moriri, or near rivers and water sources.

Due to its harsh montane environment, the mammals, reptiles and amphibians of Ladakh have much more in-common with the fauna of Central Asia and the Tibetan Plateau than with the species of the greater Indian subcontinent; one exception to this are the birds, many of which migrate seasonally from the warmer southern parts of India (and beyond), in an effort to escape the summer heat. Before winter's frosts first arrive in Ladakh, the birds that are not residents will, once again, embark on their journey south.

History

The flora and fauna of Ladakh was first studied by Ferdinand Stoliczka, an Austrian–Czech palaeontologist, who carried out a massive research expedition in the 1870s.

Birds

Many species of finches, robins, redstarts (like the black redstart) and the hoopoe are common in summer. The brown-headed gull is seen in summer on the river Indus, and on some lakes of the Changthang. Resident water-birds include the brahminy duck also known as the ruddy sheldrake, and the bar-headed goose (Ladakhi: ngangpa). The black-necked crane (trhung-trhung) is a rare species found scattered in the Tibetan Plateau, and is also found nesting in summer in parts of Ladakh. Other birds include the raven, red-billed chough (chungka), Tibetan snowcock and chukar (a partridge, srakpa).^[1] The lammergeier and the golden eagle are common raptors here. The marshes of Ladakh are a breeding ground for many migratory birds.

Bird species recorded are:^[2][3][4]

Mammals

The Siberian ibex (skin), also known as the Himalayan ibex, is a species of wild goat found in the high, craggy terrain of Ladakh, one of the snow leopard's top prey choices. Several thousand are believed to inhabit the mountains of Ladakh. The bharal, or "blue sheep" (napo), is even more common than the ibex, ranging across the Himalayas from Pakistan's east as far as Sikkim and Bhutan. The bharal is the basis of the snow leopard's diet. The Ladakhi urial (shapo), another wild sheep, is a rarer subspecies of urial found at lower elevations, mostly in river valleys; thus, it is often directly in-competition with domesticated grazing animals. They are now rare, numbering about a thousand in the region. The Tibetan argali (nyan) is a relative of the Marco Polo sheep of the Pamirs. Impressive animals with huge horizontal curving horns, they are extremely rare in Ladakh, numbering only a few hundred, but they do have a wide range throughout mountainous areas of the Chinese provinces of Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Gansu. The habitat of the extremely rare Tibetan gazelle (gowa) is near the Tibetan border in southeastern Ladakh. The Himalayan musk deer (lhawa) is extremely elusive, and has not been seen in Ladakh for decades, if not generations.

The Tibetan antelope (tsos, Indian English chiru) is also endangered. Early in the 20th century the chiru was seen in herds of thousands, surviving on remarkably sparse vegetation, but they are vanishingly rare now. It has been hunted for its fine under-wool (Urdu: shahtoosh, tsoskul), which must be pulled out by hand, a process done after the animal is killed. This shahtoosh is valued in South Asia for its light weight and warmth, but more than anything else, as a status symbol. Owning or trading in shahtoosh is now illegal in most countries.

The Tibetan wild ass (kiang) is one animal that visitors can expect to see, if they take a wildlife tour on the Changthang. Favouring the rolling grasslands of this area, their natural curiosity makes them fairly easy to spot, despite their relatively low numbers, about 1500 individuals.

The snow leopard (shan) once ranged throughout the Himalayas, Tibet, and as far as the Sayan Mountains on the Mongolian-Russian border, at elevations of 1800 m to 5400 m. They are extremely shy and hard to spot, and as such, not well-studied, though this has changed in the 21st century somewhat. It is believed that there are about 200 in Ladakh. While tourists are unlikely to see leopards themselves, during winter, footprints and other identifiers are not uncommon. Other cats in Ladakh are even rarer than the snow leopard: the Siberian lynx (ee), numbering only a few individuals, and the Pallas's cat, which looks somewhat like a house cat. The Tibetan wolf (shangku) is the greatest threat to the livestock of the Ladakhis and as such is the most persecuted. There are only about 300 wolves left in Ladakh. There are also a very few brown bears (drenmo / tret) in the Suru valley and the area around Dras. The red fox is common, and Tibetan sand fox has recently been discovered in this region (both: watse).

Among smaller animals, marmots (pheya) are common; you can even sometimes see them from the road, although they do not look very different from the marmots common to other mountainous areas of the world. There are also plenty of hares (ribong), and several types of voles and pika (both: rdzabra / zabra).

Mammal species recorded by Otto Pfister are: