How many Western elves do you know who are related to "heavy snow"?

It is snowing heavily today. Here are some typical wild animals in the Western Regions that are related to heavy snow and are somewhat well known to people.

(1) Snow finches live in mountains, grasslands, deserts, bare rocks, and ice and snow lines at an altitude of 2,000-5,000 meters. Snow finches are extremely cold-resistant and can tolerate the hypoxic environment of the plateau. They belong to the order Passeriformes and the family Passeriformes, and are classified in the same category as sparrows. They are 14-18 cm long. Snow finches are not distributed in the cold polar regions, but mainly in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its surrounding areas. There are seven or eight species, including white-winged snow finches, black-throated snow finches, white-rumped snow finches, brown-winged snow finches, etc. These species are also distributed in Xinjiang.

Black-throated snowfinch and white-winged snowfinch, both species can be found in areas outside the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (Photo by Li Xiangren and Ma Ming)

(2) Snowcock: There are only 5 species in the world, 3 of which are distributed in China, including Xinjiang, namely the pale-bellied snowcock, dark-bellied snowcock, and Altai snowcock. Snowcock is the highest-distributed Galliformes bird in the world, and is also mainly distributed in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and surrounding areas. It is generally distributed at 3,000 to 6,000 meters and can reach directly above the snow line. Snowcock feeds on flowers, stems, roots, leaves, buds, etc. of plants and is almost a vegetarian. Snowcock is large and clumsy, weighing about 3 kilograms, and is not good at flying. It is a resident bird and has no migratory habits (vertical migration is not counted).

The dark-bellied snowcock, also known as the Himalayan snowcock, is actually distributed in the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang (Photo by Ma Ming)

(3) Snow hares, once belonging to the rodent class, are now separate mammals, Lagomorpha, Leporidae, and Lepus. The fur color of snow hares changes with the seasons, and they are the only wild rabbits whose fur can turn white in winter. They are mainly distributed in the Altai Mountains in Xinjiang and the Greater Khingan Range in the northeast. Fossil excavations show that snow hares were widely distributed in Eurasia during the Ice Age, and later migrated to the north as the glaciers retreated. Unlike other snow-covered species, they have nothing to do with the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which shows how ancient they are.

Snow hare, a mammal that can change color (screenshot)

(4) Snow leopards are also a snow mountain species distributed around the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. They live in mountains with an altitude of 3,000-6,000 meters and are a flagship species. China is the core country for the distribution of snow leopards, and less than 40% of the population is found in the surrounding 11 countries. We have been studying snow leopards for 20 years. We were the first to photograph snow leopards using infrared cameras. We have published monographs such as "Snow Leopards in Xinjiang" and "Snow Leopards in the Tianshan Mountains". We have become the most important research team in China. At present, the global snow leopard population is 4,000-7,000. It was "downgraded" by the IUCN a few years ago, which shows that our 20 years of research and protection have begun to bear fruit.

For more pictures and videos, please see the China Science Popularization "20 Years of Xinjiang Snow Leopard":

https://www..cn/article/articleinfo?business_type=100&classify=2&ar_id=463077

Snow leopards are alpine flagship species and also an indicator of a better ecological environment. They are only found in 12 countries in Central Asia (Photo by Ma Ming)

For more pictures and videos, please see the China Science Popularization "20 Years of Xinjiang Snow Leopard":

https://www..cn/article/articleinfo?business_type=100&classify=2&ar_id=463077