Astore Wildlife Sanctuary

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Astore Wildlife Sanctuary
Pakistan location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location Astore District
Nearest town Bungi
Coordinates Coordinates: 35°38′00″N74°40′00″E / 35.6333°N 74.6667°E / 35.6333; 74.6667
Area 414.72 km2 (160.12 sq mi) [1]
Max. elevation 6,060 m (19,880 ft)
Min. elevation 1,212 m (3,976 ft)
Designated 22 November 1975
Named for Astore Valley

Astore Wildlife Sanctuary is as wildlife refuge located in Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. [2] It is within the Astore District, between Nanga Parbat 8,126 metres (26,660 ft) to the west and the plains of Deosai to the east, and about 11 km (6.8 mi) from the town of Bungi. Its area is approximately 414.72 km2 (160.12 sq mi) and its altitude is from 1,212 m (3,976 ft) to 6,060 m (19,880 ft). [1]

A wildlife refuge, also known as a wildlife sanctuary, is a naturally occurring sanctuary, such as an island, that provides protection for wildlife species from hunting, predation, competition or poaching; it is a protected area, a geographic territory within which wildlife is protected. Refuges can preserve animals that are endangered.

Pakistan federal parliamentary constitutional republic in South Asia

Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the world’s sixth-most populous country with a population exceeding 212,742,631 people. In area, it is the 33rd-largest country, spanning 881,913 square kilometres. Pakistan has a 1,046-kilometre (650-mile) coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest, and China in the far northeast. It is separated narrowly from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor in the northwest, and also shares a maritime border with Oman.

Astore District District in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Astore is one of the ten districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. The district contains the Astore Valley and is bounded to the west by Diamer District, to the north by Gilgit District, to the east by Skardu District and to the south by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Neelum District of Azad Kashmir. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan the population was 71,666.

The sanctuary is home to a small population of the near threatened (since 2015) Astor Markhor, [1] the national animal of Pakistan, it further provides home to endangered snow leopard, Himalayan brown bear and Eurasian lynx. [3]

Snow leopard species of mammal

The snow leopard, also known as the ounce, is a large cat native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because the global population is estimated to number less than 10,000 mature individuals and decline about 10% in the next 23 years. It is threatened by poaching and habitat destruction following infrastructural developments.

Himalayan brown bear subspecies of mammal

The Himalayan brown bear, also known as the Himalayan red bear, isabelline bear or Dzu-Teh, is a subspecies of the brown bear and is known from northern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, northern India, west China and Nepal. It is the largest mammal in the region, males reaching up to 2.2 m (7 ft) long while females are a little smaller. These bears are omnivorous and hibernate in a den during the winter. Although present in a number of protected areas, they are becoming increasingly rare because of loss of suitable habitat and hunting by humans, and have become "critically endangered." This bear is thought by some to be the source of the legend of the Yeti.

Eurasian lynx Small wild cat

The Eurasian lynx is a medium-sized wild cat occurring from Northern, Central and Eastern Europe to Central Asia and Siberia, the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. It inhabits temperate and boreal forests up to an altitude of 5,500 m (18,000 ft). Because of its wide distribution, it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2008. It is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching and depletion of prey. The European lynx population is estimated at comprising maximum 10,000 individuals and is considered stable.


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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Sanctuaries - Wildlife of Pakistan". wildlife.com.pk. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  2. ↑ http://www.wildlifeofpakistan.com/sanctuaries.html
  3. ↑ "WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES IN PAKISTAN". pique.pk. Retrieved 2017-12-03.


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