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Hello and welcome to Spotlight. I'm Steve Myersco,
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And I'm Ruby Jones. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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‘The discovery of a new bird is really special. It is a beautiful bird with no similar kinds nearby. And it was found in a part of the world where bird collectors have looked for birds for more than a century. This makes it nothing less than a miracle.'
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These are the words of Aasheesh Pittie, the Editor of Indian Birds magazine. He was describing the discovery of a species, or kind, of bird in Northern India. People call it a new bird, but the bird is not really new - it is just that we humans have only recently discovered it. This bird is called the Bugun Liocichla. It lives in the Eastern Himalayas. Today's Spotlight is about this mountainous area. The programme looks at several kinds of wildlife that have recently been discovered there. It also looks at some of the problems this area is facing.
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A man called Ramana Athreya officially discovered the Bugun Liocichla bird in 2006. Athreya is really an astronomer - he studies the stars and planets. However he also enjoys bird watching.
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Athreya first saw two of these birds in 1996. He knew they were not a kind of bird that he had seen before. However, before he could get a closer look, they flew away. He had to wait ten years before he saw the birds again. This time he was able to get closer. And it was worth the wait. The Bugun Liocichla was the first new kind of bird discovered in India in over fifty years.
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But Ramana Athreya is not the only person who has discovered a new kind of life in the Eastern Himalayas in recent years. Since 1998 people have found hundreds of new species of plants and animals in the area.
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For many years scientists have found it difficult to record all the different species living in the Eastern Himalayas. This is because parts of the Eastern Himalayas are very difficult to reach. However, since 1998, scientists have managed to record much more of the wildlife in the area.
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One wildlife organisation has now brought together these new discoveries. WWF published a report on the new species that many different scientists and animal experts had discovered. In total there were 353 ‘new' kinds of life. 242 of these discoveries were plants. The scientists also discovered new kinds of fish, birds, insects and snakes.
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Two of the most surprising discoveries were two new species of mammal. Mammals are species like cows, dogs, and humans that feed their babies with milk from the mother. The two new mammals the scientists discovered were a monkey and a deer. Discovering new kinds of mammals is very rare. Discovering a new kind of monkey is even rarer.
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The new species of monkey is called the Arunachal Macaque. It was discovered in 2005. When it was found, it was the first new species of monkey that anyone had recorded in over one hundred years. Scientists have counted a total of 569 individual monkeys - living in two different areas. The monkey may be new to scientists, but the people who live in these areas know it very well. They call it ‘mun zala' or ‘deep forest monkey'. They blame the monkey for damaging their crops. And so, even though the monkey is very rare, the local people hunt it.
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Hunting is just one of the problems now facing much of the wildlife in the Eastern Himalayas. Mark Wright works for WWF. He is pleased with the recent discoveries in the Eastern Himalayas. However he says that the area is also at risk. He explains,
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‘These exciting discoveries show just how little we know about the world around us. The Eastern Himalayas is an area of amazing beauty. It has some of the richest areas of life on the planet. However, it is also one of the areas that is most at risk from climate change. This is shown by the fast melting of the ice in the glaciers. Only time will show how well the species will be able to change to survive - if at all.'
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As Mark Wright suggests, many of these newly discovered species are at risk. Climate change is beginning to have an effect on the Himalayas. As temperatures rise, the ice rivers - glaciers - are beginning to melt. Often these glaciers act as a barrier that holds a lake in place. When the glacier melts, the lake can flood down the mountain.
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The other problem facing the area is human behaviour. The population in Eastern Himalayas is growing. This is creating more and more pressure on the area. People are cutting down forests for wood. This also clears land for farming. Some building projects in the area are also causing damage. The wildlife faces its own dangers. Hunters kill some animals for their skin or to make medicine. The WWF believe that the authorities in the area need to work together to help save the wildlife living in the Eastern Himalayas.
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The Eastern Himalayas is spread over a number of different countries. Much of it lies in Bhutan, India and Nepal. Government ministers in these countries agree that the area is very important. The Minister for Forests and Soil Conservation in Nepal is Deepak Bohara. He says,
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‘Few places on Earth can equal the amazing beauty of the Himalayas. Its huge mountains and hidden valleys have interested nature lovers, explorers, and people of faith for centuries... The Himalayan ecosystem is shared by several countries in South Asia. So it is important for countries to come together to protect this natural gift. We need to develop ways of working together and sharing information. This will lead towards the protection of a natural gift we were all given at birth - the Himalayas.'
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163 species currently living in the Eastern Himalayas are at risk of dying out. About half of these species are not found anywhere else in the world. The WWF believes that if local people and authorities work together, they can protect this important area and its wildlife. If they are not successful, the Bugun Liocichla bird, the Arunachal Macaque monkey, and many other species, may become a thing of the past.
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