Conservation status | |
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Other names | |
Country of origin | India |
Distribution | Zanskar valley of Ladakh |
Standard | Indigenous Horse Society of India |
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The Zaniskari or Zanskari is a breed of small mountain horse or pony from Ladakh in northern India. [6] It is named for the Zanskar valley or region in Kargil district. [7] It is similar to the Spiti breed of Himachal Pradesh, but is better adapted to work at high altitude. [8] Like the Spiti, it shows similarities to the Tibetan breeds living on the other side of the Himalayas in neighbouring Tibet. [4] : 197 It is of medium size, and is often grey in colour. The breed is considered endangered, as there are only a few hundred alive today, and a conservation programme has been started at Padum, Zanskar, in the Kargil district of Ladakh.
In 1977 the population of Zaniskari horses was estimated at 15000–20000. [2] The breed was listed as "not at risk" by the FAO in 2007. [1] : 61 However, it has been endangered by indiscriminate cross-breeding with other horses and it is thought that only a few hundred pure-bred animals now remain, mainly in the valleys of Ladakh, including the Zanskar Gorge from which the breed takes its name. [3] The Animal Husbandry Department of Jammu and Kashmir operates a farm at Padum, Zanskar, for the breeding and conservation of the breed. [3] The population has declined rapidly due to mechanisation and to increases in the number of roads in its native area. However, the population did not in 2006 show signs of any significant genetic bottleneck. [9] : 199
In 2013 there were approximately 9700 of the horses. In 2022 the conservation status of the breed was listed in DAD-IS as "at risk/critical maintained", based on a reported population of 346 animals. [2]
A genetic analysis of five Indian horse breeds in 2007 found the Zaniskari to be close to the Manipuri, Spiti and Bhutia breeds, and more distant from the Marwari. [10] A study of all six Indian breeds in 2014 grouped the Zaniskari with the Bhutia, Manipuri and Spiti breeds, and found it to be most closely related to the Spiti. [11]
The Zaniskari is strong, compact and well built, and is particularly adapted to work in the hypoxic environment of Ladakh. [7] : 60 Height is usually between 120 and 140 cm (12 and 14 h); [3] thoracic circumference is 140–150 cm (55–60 in) and body length about 95–115 cm (38–45 in). The most usual coat colour is grey; bay, brown, black and chestnut also occur. [6]
The Zaniskari is particularly adapted to work as a pack animal in the high altitudes and challenging conditions of its native region, which lies between 3000 and 5000 m above sea level, and where temperatures may reach −40 °C. It is strong and sure-footed, and has good stamina. [5] : 57 The Indian army in Ladakh uses it as a pack-beast. It is also used for riding and for polo. [5] : 58
Ladakh is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India and China since 1959. Ladakh is bordered by the Tibet Autonomous Region to the east, the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh to the south, both the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan to the west, and the southwest corner of Xinjiang across the Karakoram Pass in the far north. It extends from the Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram range to the north to the main Great Himalayas to the south. The eastern end, consisting of the uninhabited Aksai Chin plains, is claimed by the Indian Government as part of Ladakh, and has been under Chinese control since 1962.
Zanskar, Zahar (locally) or Zangskar, is a tehsil of Kargil district, in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. The administrative centre is Padum. Zanskar, together with the neighboring region of Ladakh, was briefly a part of the kingdom of Guge in Western Tibet. Zanskar lies 250 km south of Kargil town on NH301.
Kargil district is a district in Indian-administered Ladakh in the disputed Kashmir-region. It is one of the two districts comprising the Indian-administered union territory of Ladakh. The district headquarters are in the city of Kargil. The district is bounded by the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir to the west, the Pakistani-administered administrative territory of Gilgit–Baltistan to the north, Ladakh's Leh district to the east, and the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh to the south. Encompassing three historical regions known as Purig, Dras and Zanskar, the district lies to the northeast of the Great Himalayas and encompasses the majority of the Zanskar Range. Its population inhabits the river valleys of the Dras, Suru, Wakha Rong, and Zanskar.
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The Suru Valley is a valley in the Kargil District in the Union Territory of Ladakh, India. It is drained by the Suru River, a tributary of the Indus River. The valley's most significant town is Sankoo.
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Nimmu–Padum–Darcha road (NPDR) or Zanskar Highway is a road under construction between the Indian union territory of Ladakh and the state of Himachal Pradesh, passing through the region of Zanskar. It connects Nimmu in the Indus Valley to Padum, the capital of Zanskar, to Darcha village in Lahul and Spiti. It provides an alternative to the Leh–Manali Highway in linking Ladakh with the rest of India. It is being built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) of the Indian army. Construction of road is expected to be completed by late 2023. The already completed Atal tunnel and the proposed unidirectional-twin-tube total-4-lane Shingo La Tunnel which is expected to be completed by 2025 will provide all weather connectivity and reduce the Manali to Kargil distance by 522 km.