Page 82 - World of Animals - Issue #30

Wildlife of the Sichuan forest

Life in the trees Bamboo

Bamboo is one of the world’s fastest-
Elaborately plumed birds pick through the undergrowth growing plants. It’s technically a grass, and
and golden monkeys swing though the canopy – the has a woody stem with delicious shoots
and leaves (if you’re a panda, that is). Some
Sichuan biome is teeming with remarkable oriental species species can grow into colossal forests, and
other species are present in more varied
woodland, shooting up below the canopy.

Sichuan takin
Living in large herds on the mountainside,
the takin is a curious-looking creature with
big horns, a stocky build, a rounded nose
and a thick, golden, shaggy coat to keep
out the cold. The takin herds migrate yearly
up and down the mountainside, following
the availability of vegetation to eat.

Giant panda
These cuddly-looking bears live in
the mountains, where the forest
supports a dense canopy of bamboo
for them to feast on, spending up to
16 hours foraging and eating per day.
Listed as Endangered on the IUCN
Red List, there are less than 2,000

giant pandas le‚ in the wild.

Tremminck’s tragopan
This is a small pheasant that lives
on the ground in the high-altitude
forest. It forages in the leaf on the
forest floor scratching around on

the lookout for bugs, grubs, seeds
and berries. Male tragopans are
incredibly vibrant, wearing bright
blues and reds on their face and bib.

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