Endemic Animals of Tibet

The Gobi bear (Ursus arctos gobiensis ), known in Mongolian as the Mazaalai (Мазаалай), is a subspecies of the brown bear (Ursus arctos ) that is found in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. It is listed as critically endangered by the Mongolian Redbook of Endangered Species and by IUCN standards. Based on a long-term DNA population demographic study, the population are existing with less than 40 adults in 2017, and is separated by enough distance from other b ...
rown bear populations to achieve reproductive isolation. In 1959, hunting of the animal was prohibited in order to preserve the dying subspecies. Less

Thermophis baileyi, also known commonly as Bailey's snake, the hot-spring keelback, the hot-spring snake, and the Xizang hot-spring keelback, is a rare species of colubrid snake endemic to Tibet. Less

The bharal (Pseudois nayaur ), also called the blue sheep, is a caprine native to the high Himalayas. It is the only member of the genus Pseudois. It occurs in India, Bhutan, China (in Gansu, Ningxia, Sichuan, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia), Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. The Helan Mountains of Ningxia have the highest concentration of bharal in the world, with 15 bharals per km2 and 30,000 in total.Its native names include yanyang (岩羊) in Mandarin, bha ...
ral, barhal, bharar, and bharut in Hindi, na or sna in Tibetan and Ladakh, nabo in Spitian, naur in Nepali and na or gnao in Bhutan.The bharal was also the focus of George Schaller and Peter Matthiessen's expedition to Nepal in 1973. Their personal experiences are well documented by Matthiessen in his book, The Snow Leopard. The bharal is a major prey of the snow leopard. Less

Salim Ali's swift (Apus salimalii ) is a small bird, superficially similar to a house martin. It is, however, completely unrelated to those passerine species, since swifts are in the order Apodiformes. The resemblances between the groups are due to convergent evolution reflecting similar life styles.These birds have very short legs which they use only for clinging to vertical surfaces. The scientific name comes from the Greek απους, apous, mean ...
ing "without feet". They never settle voluntarily on the ground. Salim Ali's swifts spend most of their lives in the air, living on the insects they catch in their beaks.Salim Ali's swifts breed from the eastern Tibetan Plateau eastwards through western Sichuan province. This species is migratory, however its wintering range is unknown. This swift is longer tailed and has a narrower white rump compared to other species in the complex. A 2011 study has many taxonomists splitting this species from the fork-tailed swift complex.These swifts build their nests on cliffs, laying 2 or 3 eggs. A swift will return to the same site year after year, rebuilding its nest when necessary.Salim Ali's swifts are similar in size to common swift, and they are black except for a white rump. They can be distinguished from a partially leucistic common swift by the deeper tail fork, longer wings, bigger head and larger white throat patch.It was previously mis-categorized as an alternative name for Apus pacificus kanoi. Less

The Tibetan snowfinch or Henri's snowfinch (Montifringilla henrici ) is a species of bird in the sparrow family.It is found in Tibet. Its natural habitat is high altitude dry shrubland. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the white-winged snowfinch. Less

Gracixalus medogensis, also known as the Medog bubble-nest frog or Medog small treefrog, is a species of shrub frog, family Rhacophoridae. As currently known, it is endemic to the Mêdog County in southern Tibet, although its distribution might extend into the adjacent Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India. Less

Scutiger wuguanfui is a species of toad in the family Megophryidae. It is endemic to Tibet and only known from its type locality in the Medog County. The specific name wuguanfui honours Wu Guanfu, a Chinese herpetologist. Common names Wu's lazy toad, Medog lazy toad and Medog cat-eyed toad have been coined for it. Less

Gloydius strauchi is a species of venomous pit viper in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. The species is native to western China. It is a small snake with a pattern of four longitudinal stripes, although some older specimens may be a uniform black. G. strauchi may be distinguished from G. monticola by its higher midbody dorsal scale count. This species jointly holds the altitude record for pitvipers together with Crotalus ...
triseriatus of Mexico, both being found even above the tree line at over 4,000 m (13,000 ft). No subspecies were recognized as being valid, until a recent publication (Kai Wang et al., 2019) re-evaluated the taxonomic statuses of populations of G. strauchi and described the eastern Tibetan populations as a new species. Less

Diploderma drukdaypo, also known as the dwarf mountain dragon, is a species of lizard native to Tibet. Less

The Sichuan deer (Cervus canadensis macneilli ), also known as MacNeill's deer, is a subspecies of the wapiti native to Western China. Less

The Kansu red deer (Cervus canadensis kansuensis ) is a subspecies of wapiti found in the Gansu province of China. This subspecies forms, along with the closely related Sichuan deer, and Tibetan red deer, the southernmost wapiti group. Less

The Gansu pika (Ochotona cansus ) is a species of mammal in the pika family, Ochotonidae. It is endemic to China. Less

The Kam dwarf hamster (Cricetulus kamensis ) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in the mountains of western China where it inhabits grassland, shrubby marshes and steppes. Although it has a limited range, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern". Less

The Lama dwarf hamster (Cricetulus lama ) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in the mountains of western China where it inhabits grassland, shrubby marshes and steppes. Although it has a limited range, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern". Less

Kozlov's shrew (Sorex kozlovi ) is a red-toothed shrew found only at the Mekong River, Tibet, China. This shrew is listed as a data deficient species. Less