Robert L. Fleming Jr.
Dorje Tsering
Liu Wulin
With a foreword by Jimmy Carter

Here is the most comprehensive photography to date of a little-known land whose area equals western Europe. The beauty and diversity of the Tibetan plateau is staggering: from Mount Everest to the word’s deepest gorge, from tropical jungles to arctic-like tundra, from trees twenty feet in diameter to vast herds and solitary specimens of some of the least-known animals on the planet. Certain photographs, such as those of a newborn Tibetan antelope or the elusive red ghoral, are among the first ever taken of these subjects.

The book brings American, Tibetan, Chinese scholarship to bear on the natural history of the Tibet Autonomous Region, and it describes an extraordinary conservation accomplishment that has gone virtually unnoticed by the outside world. Where else has 40 percent of the land been set aside in nature preserves in the last twenty years? As a result of this effort, the animals and landscapes shown here will be saved for future generations.

Contents

  The Tibetan Plateau: An Introduction  ……………………  9
1 Ferns & Firs: The Wet Southeast …………………………… 15
2 Lhasa, Qomolangma, & Sand Dunes: The South  …………… 29
3 Gorse, Geese, & Kailash: The Far West …………………… 39
4 Wild Yaks & Turquoise Lakes: North  ……………………… 51
5 Gorges & Spruces: The East  ………………………………… 63
6 Rivers, Weather, Biomes, & Birds  ………………………… 75
7 Topography & Seasons  ………………………………………… 89
8 Conservation Paths of the Tibetan Plateau  …………… 101
  Index  …………………………………………………………… 118
  Acknowledgments  ……………………………………………… 120

Saussurea gossypiphora, one of the Asteraceae, usually appears on open, stony slopes between 4,500 and 5,20 meters. The woolly bracts enveloping the plant assist in retaining heat and help protect the recessed flowers from the wind.

* page 25

Makalu at sunrise. Makalu,8,463 meters, the peak in the back with a wisp of cloud, is the world’s  fifth highest summit and borders the extraordinary Cama Valley. This valley leads up to the east face of Qomolangma. When viewed from the Gama Valley, Chomo Lonzo, 7,790 meters, which appears to be the highest peak in this photo, is surely one of the most impressive peaks in the Himalayas.

* page 30

Kailash, Kang Rimpoche, at 6,714 meters, rises in the Gangdise Range to the north of the Great Himalayan Range. This mountain, the most revered peak in Tibet and the earthly symbol of Mount Meru, the “Center of the Universe”, is sacred to Buddhists, Hindus, Bönpos, and Jains. Hindus regard Kailash as the premier residence of Shiva and Parvati, while Tibetan Buddhists feel that the peak is a base for Demchog, a guardian and wrathful form of the historical Buddha. In addition, Tönpa Shenrab descended from heaven here to found the Bönpo faith, while the first Tirthankara of the Jain faith, Vrishabhadeva, is said to have attained nirvana on Kailash. During the summer many pilgrims make a 53-kilometer circumambulation of the peak, hiking over the Dolma La, a saddle at 5,500 meters on the north side.

* page 38

The Indus River at 4,900 meters. Several major rivers of Asia, including the Indus, of Lion River, originate on the Tibetan Uplift. The source of the Indus lies just north of Mount Kailash. Initially the river flows placidly westward, but then, gaining speed and volume, turns south around Nanga Parbat to emerge eventually onto the plains of Pakistan and debouch into the Arabian Sea.

* page 40

Wetlands at 4,300 meters in the upper Yarlung Tsangpo Valley. The Yarlung Tsangpo (the Brahmaputra in India) originates from the Kubigangri Glacier some 130 kilometers southeast of Kailash. As the stream flows east, tributaries contribute volume, and in some places the water flow is so slow and convoluted that wetlands form. These marshy area offer nesting sites for cranes, ducks, sandpipers, and other birds.

* page 43

This woman’s outfit consists mostly of heavy sheepskin with decorative parts woven from sheep’s wool. Drokba women look after domestic activities in the tents, are responsible for milking, and may assist in herding.

* page 52

The black-lipped pika, Ochotona curzoniae, is perhaps the most numerous mammal of the eastern Changtang. These steppe pikas, often living in colonies of several hundred, select comparatively level terrain into which they fashion networks of burrows. Steppe pikas are a major food for upland buteos, sakers, and carnivorous mammals.

* page 68

The black-and-white snub-nosed monkey, Pygathrix (Rhinopithecus) bieti, one of the planet’s most remarkable primates, lives between 3,000 and 4,300 meters — higher than any other nonhuman primate. These monkeys gather in troops, sometimes of fifty or more individuals, as they work through fir and spruce forests of Mankham County and adjoining Yunnan. During the warm parts of the year the animals feed on a mixed diet of lichens, leaves, buds, twigs, and grubs. In winter they depend mostly on hanging Bryoria lichens, a food with considerable carbohydrate content but limited nutrients. Thus, in order to obtain adequate nutrition in winter, the monkeys need extensive home ranges. Young are born in July and August at the height of the summer monsoon rains. Males may weigh up to 7 kilograms.

* page 72

This white-footed weasel lives in the mountain-tundra biome, where it is most often seen above 4,000 meters. This active carnivore feeds on pikas, voles, and other small mammals, and in the summer varies this diet with bird eggs and nestlings.

* page 78

Mani, or prayer stones, feature mantras, other sayings and pictures, carved into slates, sandstones or other rocks. Heaps of these prayer stones help travelers concentrate on the precepts of Buddhism, and as you pass, keeping these clusters on your right bring merit.

* page 94

This profusion of Pedicularis at 3,700 meters indicates that these plants are not grazed. The genus, in the snapdragon family, harbors about 500 species in northern circumpolar regions.

* page 96

The Pethang Ringmo grazing meadow at 5,000 meters at the eastern base of Qomolangma is an important feeding ground for village livestock. One part of the Qomolangma Preserve plan is to examine plant compositions and grazing-management practices with a view to improving sustainable yields in these high-altitude areas.

* page 100

This very young Tibetan antelope, only hours old, has to depend on camouflage and lying absolutely motionless until strong enough to run from danger. In the early summer, female Tibetan antelope, sometimes in the hundreds, gather on calving grounds where most give birth within a short period. Calving sites, of which there are over a dozen in the Tibetan highlands, are usually wide valleys where predators can be easily spotted. Other than sharp hooves, adult female antelope have little direct means of fighting off predators such as wolves, so synchronous calving makes sense, for any given wolf will be able to kill only a limited number of calves before the youngsters are the youngsters are able to run fast enough to outdistance the enemy.

* page 108