The elevation of Nepal rises from about 150 feet above sea level on its southern border to five and a half miles above sea level at the peak of [P 025 / Mount Everest]. This astounding incline occurs over a linear distance of just 100 miles. Over this short distance, the [I 007 / habitats of Nepal] range from sub-tropical to near-polar. As you would expect, the animals and plants that inhabit these regions are a diverse group.
In the region adjacent to Everest, with its high elevations, the [L2 301 / animals] as well as the [L2 302 / plants] are somewhat restricted both in number and type. Creatures as small as spiders and as big as bears can be found here. And, according to legend, the [G 12 / Himalaya]s are home to the strange and fearsome creature known as the [L2 303 / yeti] - the Abominable Snowman.
There are sturdy pine trees as well as rhododendrons that bloom in a prism of colors. In the warm monsoon months (when few visitors are around to see them), wildflowers in dazzling hues spread across meadows.
As is true elsewhere in the world, however, the living beings of the Himalayas are all connected to each other and to their physical environment in a vast and delicate fabric. They have evolved unique [L2 304 / adaptations] that allow them to cling to life at high altitudes. Any change in the balance among these creatures and their world threatens to disrupt - even destroy - their existence.
Since the early 1950s the popularity of the region as a tourist destination has increased dramatically. The presence of so many humans, with their insatiable demand for food, water, and fuel, has placed enormous demands on the resources of the region. So, too, did the influx of refugees from Tibet, who brought with them their domestic grazing animals. Thrill-seekers have hunted many beautiful animals to the brink of extinction - or beyond. As a result, the landscape has been changed. Forests and other habitats are disappearing, and with them the habitat of animals who depend on the plants and trees for food and shelter.
The creation of [G 25 / Sagarmatha] National Park in the mid-1970s was a response to the threat to this unique and precious world. Whether the Park will be enough to protect and revitalize the land, however, is by no means certain.
