Page 84 - World of Animals - Issue #30

Wildlife of the Sichuan forest

Forests of the

Upper Yangtze

This vast region encompasses a few separate
ecosystems: the deciduous forests of the Qin
Ling Mountains, the evergreen forests of the
Daba Mountains and the evergreen broadleaf
forests of the Sichuan Basin, covering 390,000
square kilometres (150,680 square miles) in total.
The subtropical climate produces cool winters
and warm summers, with hazy fog being a
distinct feature of the region. Because of huge
agricultural use over the last 5,000 years, there
are only a few areas of natural forest left, mostly
higher up the mountains. Mount Emei, one of the
four sacred Buddhist mountains of China, is the
most untouched area in the region.
Plants and animals that inhabit the Sichuan
forests are rich and varied, with some of the
highest diversity of life in the area. There are also
many endangered species such as the giant and
red pandas and the giant salamanders, which are
not found anywhere else in the world.
As more towns and cities expand in the region,
there has been increased demand on the forest.
Habitats for the native creatures have been
destroyed as the demand for timber increases,
squeezing the animal populations into smaller and
smaller areas higher up the mountains. There is
also a high agricultural demand on the fertile soil
of the Sichuan Basin.

“As more towns and cities
expand in the region,

there has been increased
demand on the forest”

Forest friends

Meet the natives of this beautiful Chinese ecosystem

Chinese goral Silver pheasant Golden pheasant
These agile goat relatives can nimbly navigate With its bright red head and legs and flowing This brilliantly coloured bird belongs to a group
their rocky, mountainous home. If they feel white tail feathers, the male silver pheasant is a known as the ruffed pheasants. They have a
threatened, they will communicate with each large and distinctive bird. It takes the male two section or ‘ruff’ of hair that can be raised and
other using loud wheezing sounds and stomp years to achieve its full majestic plumage. The spread around the face when the bird is trying
their feet in an attempt to ward off predators, pheasant lives on the forest floor, eating berries to woo a partner. The female is more subtle in
which include lynx and snow leopards. and nuts and other foods it can forage. colour, but still has a yellow beak and legs.

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