The Himalayas are usually imagined as a place of stillness, lined with snow, silence, prayer flags, and incredibly high peaks.But beneath that postcard landscape, calm runs something far wilder and much less serene. These mountains, along with the forests and grasslands on the foothills, are home to some of the most formidable hunters on Earth, who survive even in the places where the air is thin and the cold is merciless.Most of them go almost unnoticed, and that is what makes them really special and adapted to camouflage to live in the terrain.Here are some of the most formidable predators that live in the Himalayan region
Representative Image
The snow leopard
The snow leopard is the Himalayas’ most famous phantom, due to its solitary, shy and excellence in camouflaged, so much so, that it’s often called the ghost of the mountains.But don’t fall for its fluffy coat as this phenomenal athlete can leap as far as around 15 metres in a single bound and take down prey up to three times its own weight, which is rare among big cats.
The golden eagle
Few predators are as breathtaking as a golden eagle mid-dive. With a wingspan of around two metres and quite sharp eyesight, it can plummet toward prey at speeds reaching up to 150–200 mph, hunting down its prey with huge, powerful talons.It hunts mammals and birds, including hares, marmots, and even foxes, across open mountain country. Surprisingly, these golden eagles are largely monogamous and have been known to mate for life, returning to the same partner season after season after season.
Pallas’s cat
About the size of a house cat and wrapped in thick fur, Pallas’s cat looks more like a grumpy cushion than a killer.But its adorable looks are quite deceiving as this small wild cat is a specialised, patient hunter of rocky grassland and shrubland, stalking and ambushing small prey, and capable of catching up to five rodents in a single day.
The Bengal tiger
The Bengal Tiger is one of the biggest cats on the planet that is found in the Himalayan foothills. It is a solitary, supremely patient ambush hunter, using dense cover and its famous striped camouflage to all but vanish before exploding into a charge.Its canine teeth grow as long as 10cm, and are the longest of any cat.
The Himalayan black bear
The Himalayan Bear is also popularly called the moon bear for the pale crescent on its chest, while the adorable looking black bear is generally shy, but can turn aggressive and dangerously unpredictable when it feels threatened.