Flora and Fauna of Almora

Flora and Fauna of Almora

Flora and Fauna of Almora : Almora district, located in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, is blessed with incredibly diverse flora and fauna. Situated across different altitudes, the district harbors tropical, sub-tropical, temperate, sub-alpine and alpine vegetation zones. The lush green forests cover 60-80% of the region and are home to thousands of floral and faunal species.

Vegetation Zones

The flora and vegetation of Almora ranges from tropical deciduous to alpine vegetation, broadly categorized into four major types:

Sub-Tropical Zone (300m – 1500m)

Key vegetation:

• Sal (Shorea robusta)
• Pine (Pinus roxburghii)
• Vijaysar (Engelhardtia spicata)

Other trees and shrubs:

Lannea coromandelica, Buchanania lanzan, Dalbergia sissoo, Haldina cordifolia, Syzygium cumini, Mallotus philippinensis, Ficus spp., Bauhinia variegata, Bombax ceiba etc.

Temperate Zone (1500m – 3000m)

Key vegetation:

• Oak (Quercus spp.)
• Rhododendron (Rhododendron arboreum)
• Deodar (Cedrus deodara)

Other trees and shrubs:

Myrica esculenta, Ilex dipyrena, Taxus wallichiana, Aconitum heterophyllum, Swertia chirayita etc.

Sub-Alpine & Alpine Zone (above 3000m)

Key vegetation:

• Fir (Abies pindrow)
• Birch (Betula utilis)
• Rhododendron

Other trees and shrubs:

Juniperus spp., Cotoneaster spp., Berberis spp., Saxifrage spp., Primula spp., Saussurea spp. etc.

The bugyals (meadows) of this zone also harbor many medicinal herbs like Nardostachys grandiflora, Picrorhiza kurrooa, Gentiana kurroo etc.

Unique Wildlife

The forests of Almora provide shelter to a wide variety of wildlife species including endangered, threatened and rare ones.

Mammals

Carnivores:

• Snow Leopard
• Common Leopard
• Clouded Leopard
• Jungle Cat
• Fishing Cat
• Jackal
• Himalayan Black Bear
• Himalayan Brown Bear

Herbivores:

• Himalayan Tahr
• Bharal (Blue Sheep)
• Serow
• Barking Deer
• Sambar
• Goral
• Wild Boar
• Rhesus Macaque
• Common Langur
• Indian Porcupine

Others:

• Red Fox
• Yellow-throated Marten
• Otters
• Pangolin
• Himalayan Weasel
• Flying Squirrels
• Giant Squirrels
• Himalayan Palm Civet
• Small Indian Civet
• Masked Palm Civet
• Himalayan Mouse Hare
• Royle’s Mountain Vole
• Marmots

Birds

Pheasants:

• Himalayan Monal
• Koklass Pheasant
• Kalij Pheasant
• Cheer Pheasant

Others:

• Lammergeier
• Himalayan Griffon
• Crested Serpent Eagle
• Mountain Hawk-Eagle
• Eurasian Eagle Owl
• Collared Owlet
• Spotted Owlet
• Tawny Fish Owl
• Brown Fish Owl
• Grey Nightjar
• Common Hoopoe
• Great Barbet
• Lineated Barbet
• Golden-throated Barbet
• Crimson-breasted Woodpecker
• Darjeeling Woodpecker
• Great Slaty Woodpecker
• Grey-headed Woodpecker
• Lesser Yellownape
• Streak-throated Woodpecker
• Scaly-bellied Woodpecker
• Grey-crowned Pygmy Woodpecker
• Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker
• Lesser Yellownape
• Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher
• Black-throated Tit
• Green-backed Tit
• Black-lored Tit
• Spot-winged Tit
• Rufous Sibia
• Whiskered Yuhina
• Striated Yuhina
• White-browed Shrike Babbler
• Rufous-chinned Laughingthrush
• Spotted Laughingthrush
• Scaly Laughingthrush
• Blue-winged Laughingthrush
• Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush
• Streaked Laughingthrush
• Variegated Laughingthrush
• White-crested Laughingthrush
• Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush
• Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush
• Rufous-necked Laughingthrush
• Grey-sided Laughingthrush
• Spotted Forktail
• Little Forktail
• Slaty-backed Forktail
• Spotted Nutcracker
• Red-billed Chough
• Yellow-billed Chough
• Eurasian Jay
• Black-headed Jay
• Grey Treepie
• Oriental Magpie Robin
• Grandala
• Blue Whistling Thrush
• Plain-backed Thrush
• Scaly Thrush
• Tickell’s Thrush
• Blue-capped Rock Thrush
• Long-tailed Minivet
• Short-billed Minivet
• Scarlet Minivet
• Bar-winged Flycatcher Shrike
• Long-tailed Shrike
• Grey-backed Shrike
• Rufous-bellied Niltava
• Small Niltava
• Verditer Flycatcher
• Large Niltava
• Pygmy Blue Flycatcher
• Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher
• Greenish Warbler
• Green Warbler
• Greenish Warbler
• Green Warbler
• Grey-hooded Warbler
• Chestnut-crowned Warbler
• Whistler’s Warbler
• Blyth’s Leaf Warbler
• Yellow-browed Warbler
• Ashy-throated Warbler
• Lemon-rumped Warbler
• Smoky Warbler
• Tickell’s Leaf Warbler
• Buff-barred Warbler
• Ashy-throated Warbler
• Large-billed Leaf Warbler
• Western Crowned Leaf Warbler
• Orange-flanked Bush Robin
• Rufous-breasted Bush Robin
• Blue-fronted Robin
• White-tailed Robin
• Little Forktail
• Spotted Forktail
• Slaty-backed Forktail
• Rufous-breasted Accentor
• Black-throated Accentor
• Rufous-breasted Accentor
• Maroon Oriole
• Slender-billed Oriole
• Black-hooded Oriole
• Mountain Bulbul
• Black Bulbul
• Red-vented Bulbul
• White-cheeked Bulbul
• Red-whiskered Bulbul
• Himalayan Bulbul
• Grey-winged Blackbird
• Chestnut-tailed Starling
• Common Myna
• Jungle Myna
• Fire-tailed Sunbird
• Mrs Gould’s Sunbird
• Green-tailed Sunbird
• Black-throated Sunbird
• Crimson Sunbird
• Streaked Spiderhunter
• House Sparrow
• Russet Sparrow
• Eurasian Tree Sparrow
• White Wagtail
• White-browed Wagtail
• Citrine Wagtail
• Grey Wagtail
• Large Cuckoo-shrike
• Black-winged Cuckoo-shrike
• Rosy Minivet
• Short-billed Minivet
• Scarlet Minivet
• Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike
• Blue-capped Rock Thrush

Reptiles

• Indian Python
• Common Krait
• Banded Krait
• King Cobra
• Common Sand Boa
• Red Sand Boa
• Indian Rat Snake
• Indian Wolf Snake
• Himalayan Pit Viper
• Big-headed Turtle
• Asian Leaf Turtle
• Crowned River Turtle
• Indian Flapshell Turtle

Amphibians

• Himalayan Newt
• Marbled Toad
• Himalayan Toad
• Boulenger’s Lazy Toad
• Indian Burrowing Frog
• Cricket Frog
• Indian Bullfrog
• Marbled Cascade Frog
• Amolops marmoratus
• Torrent Frog

Butterflies

Nearly 500 butterfly species found. Some rare ones are:

• Kaiser-e-Hind
• Bhutan Glory
• Chestnut-tailed Starling
• Common Rose
• Crimson Rose
• Great Windmill
• Spot Swordtail
• Baronet
• Yellow Gorgon
• Golden Birdwing
• Paris Peacock
• Tabby

Conclusion to Flora and Fauna of Almora

Flora and Fauna of Almora : The wide range of altitudes and climatic conditions make Almora home to extremely diverse flora and fauna. While the lower hills harbor tropical vegetation and wildlife, the higher altitudes contain temperate forests and alpine meadows with unique Himalayan biodiversity. Many threatened, endangered and endemic species are found here. Thus conservation of these pristine forests and their inhabitants is the need of the hour.