BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE
estled in the eastern Himalayas between Tibet and India, the kingdom of Druk Yol, or Bhutan as it is known to the rest of the world, possesses an extraordinary and largely untouched biological wealth. This small nation harbours some of the best remaining representatives of Himalayan wildlife and habitat types. Scientists consider the region an ecological "hotspot" due to the tremendous diversity of species, which is a result of the country's wide altitude range, moist climate and position on the junction of major bio-regions -- the temperate Palearctic and tropical Indo-Malayan. With large areas of intact forests, from tropical duars to alpine trees, Bhutan can achieve what its Himalayan neighbours cannot -- complete representational protection of this rich range of habitats. Unlike its neighbours which suffer from high deforestation and environmental degradation, over 64 per cent of Bhutan's natural forest cover is intact.
Bhutan has over 160 mammal species including threatened species such as the Himalayan musk deer (Moschus moschiferus), Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), greater one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), tiger (Panthera tigris), snow leopard (Panthera uncia), bharal or blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur), takin (Budorcas taxicolor), and the golden langur (Presbytis geei), a primate now found only in Bhutan.
More than 700 bird species are found in Bhutan. These include the rare Indian shag (Phalacrocorax fuscicollis), Blyth's tragopan (Tragopan blythii), Temminck's tragopan (Tragopan temminckii), grey peacock pheasant (Polyplectron bicalcaratum), Tibetan sandgrouse (Syrrhaptes tibetanus), wreathed hornbill (Aceros undulatus), and wintering black-necked crane (Grus nigricollis).
The flora of Bhutan is just as extensive with no less than 5,000 plant species including at least 50 endemic rhododendron species (Rhododendron spp.).
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