Where the Wild Things are
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Endangered Mountain gorilla in Rwanda (photo by Alton Byers)
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Mountains are home to many wild things -- endangered animals, medicinal plants, or ancient trees. Mountains are usually less crowded and have fewer roads than the lowlands around them. This means they are a great place for wild things to live.
There are many places to live on a mountain. If you like mild weather, try a tropical mountain -- that’s where mountain gorillas live. If you have warm clothes and you’re not afraid of heights, try a high mountain -- that’s where you’ll find snow leopards, yaks, llamas and mountain goats. If you just love to explore the woods, try the green slopes of mountains almost anywhere -- you are likely to see signs of bears and marmots.
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On the wildest slopes, some people believe in mysterious ape-like mountain creatures, called Sasquatch in the Cascade Mountains, or Yeti in the Himalayas. How could you try to find out if these creatures really exist?
Even on a single mountainside, there are thousands of different homes for wild things. A 4,000 year old bristlecone pine tree may live in a crack on an open cliff face, while tucked away in a shadowy ravine you will find beautiful rare orchids. Monarch butterflies like to spend the winter in the shelter of deep forests in Mexico’s mountains. Gigantic Puya raimondi flowers grow on open slopes in the Andes mountains. They bloom only once in 100 years.
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Giant Puya raimondi in bloom (photo by Jake Kosek)
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Andean child washing potatoes and other tasty tubers (photo by Florencia Zapata)
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Have some mountain plants for dinner! Potatoes come from the Andes mountains of South America, but now they are grown and enjoyed all over the world. How many different kinds of potato have you eaten? Families in the Andes grow and eat more than 4,000 different kinds! Apples, corn, and beans are originally from the mountains, too.
Today mountain ecosystems are threatened by too much human use. Cutting down forests, mining, tourism, and war all spell danger for our wild mountain friends.
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Would you like to meet some of the “wild things” that live in mountains? Try these links:
Snow Leopards in the Wild
Watch the first close-up video of wild snow leopards, just filmed by the Snow Leopard Conservancy.
Meet more mountain creatures on “Hinterland Who's Who”, with video clips from Parks Canada:
Mountain Sheep
Black Bear
Cougar
Featured lesson plan on wildlife:
- Snow Leopard Conservation
The ecological balance between predator and prey can be disturbed by human activities. Through respect and cooperation, the natural balance can be restored, and people's livelihoods protected at the same time.
Find more great learning resources by searching our on-line guide. Or, click on the keywords to do an automatic search for mountain learning resources related to biodiversity, wildlife, and animals.
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