Wildlife Tours in Ala-Archa park.

"And it is impossible to imagine how dangerous a world without animals will become."

 Elias Canetti.

Observation of wild animals in Ala-Archa park.

The fauna of the Ala-Archa gorge is rich and unique. There are many animals and birds, as well as animals with an interesting and unusual biology, characteristic only of the inhabitants of the highlands. It should be noted the abundance of various flying insects in the highlands, carried onto the glaciers by mountain breezes.
This wind carries to the very crests of the snowy mountains a kind of "air plankton" in the form of insects. In the middle of the day, the surface of snow fields and glaciers is sometimes literally strewn with insects. Even such large and fast-flying insects as horseflies and butterflies fall on glaciers.
By the end of the day, they are eaten here by birds. In general, the nival belt of the mountains is not so lifeless as it might seem at first glance. Let's take this example: climbers quite often have to observe areas of snow or ice colored red on glaciers, firn and snow fields.
They usually occupy an area of ​​several tens, less often hundreds of square meters. This phenomenon is explained by the development of microscopic algae "Chlamydomonas nivalis" on the snow. They exist at temperatures below 0 °, and their growth and development occurs under the influence of sunlight, when the surface of snow and firn begins to thaw.
Algae feed on insects, which in turn are eaten by spiders. Spiders and insects serve as food for birds. Thus, on eternal snows and ice, where life would seem almost impossible, a complex complex of living nature appears, consisting of several types and classes of animals.
Of the rodents, the most common animals for the Ala-Archi region are the tolai hare, the pika, and especially the red or long-tailed marmot. The weasel family is represented here by several species - this is a white-billed marten, a steppe or white polecat, an ermine, a weasel and a badger.
You can meet a fox here, a snow leopard and a bear are possible, although these animals are now rare here. Of the wild ungulates, there is also the Siberian roe deer, or in the local “spruce”, - and the ibex, or “teke” (the Kyrgyz call the female “ichke”).
There are more than a hundred species of birds in the Ala-Archa gorge. Perhaps the most interesting and characteristic bird of the highlands is the snowcock. It is sometimes incorrectly called mountain turkey. Ular belongs to the pheasant family and outwardly resembles a huge partridge.
This bird constantly lives in the uppermost parts of the mountains on the ridges and rocks and only in winter descends on subalpine meadows and dwarf juniper. Ptarmigan, or partridge, is much more widespread; it can be found near glaciers and in the foothills.
Among the birds of prey there are falcons - hobby and kestrel, goshawk and sparrowhawk, golden eagle and dwarf eagle, black kite and scavengers - vultures, griffon vulture, bearded vulture. Owls include a long-eared owl and a rough-legged owl.
All predators live in the forest zone and below, in the highlands there are only golden eagles and scavengers. About eighty percent of all birds belong to the order of passerines. Here you can also find a mistress, field ash, black-throated, black-throated and stone thrushes.
They also include the bluebird living in several places of the gorge. In the camp itself, the most numerous bird is the royal, or red-capped finch, small, nimble, with a bright red cap. In the forest, especially in the juniper forest, there are birds that are found only in the mountains of Central Asia - black-green-yellow with a massive beak, juniper grosbeak, pink lentils, mountain species of redstart, brightly colored painted titmouse.
On mountain rivers live wagtails and dippers (brown and white-bellied) who can dive well, run and even "fly" under water. Any hunting in the Ala-Archa gorge is prohibited. Climbers must be uncompromising towards poachers, protect and protect animals in the most careful way as a decoration of this beautiful corner of Kyrgyzstan.

Authority:
A. Kuznetsov "Alaarcha". “Defeated peaks. 1973 - 1974 ". “Mysl”. Publishing House, 1976.

Photos by
Alexander Petrov.