Mountain Habitats One fifth of our planet is covered by mountains One tenth of all the people in the world live in mountain regions and millions more rely on them for water wood from the forests and substances found below Earth's surface V This map shows some of the major mountain ranges but mountains can be found all over the world Yellow legged frog page 22 Rocky Ridges Great mountain ranges can be found on most continents The Andes is the longest stretching 4 350 miles 7 000 km down the western coast of South America The Rocky Mountains in North America make up the second longest range The Himalayas in Asia contain the world's highest peaks including Mount Everest In Australia the Great Dividing Range runs down the whole of the eastern coastline and in Europe the Alps stretch east to west across six countries Ocean North America Pacific EXTREME ANIMALS Junin flightless grebe page 26 Andes South America Chamois a type of goat found in the European Alps are among the fastest climbers in the world They can clamber up 1 970 feet 600 m in just 10
Mountain Zones Each mountain range is home to different plants and animals Even within a mountain range the habitat is divided into different regions called zones which have different characteristics In the foothills trees grass and many other plants grow and millions of animals make their homes There may even be steamy tropical forests on the lower mountain slopes Higher up it gets colder and rockier The trees thin out and eventually stop growing altogether This is called the tree line Beyond this only the hardiest plants and animals can survive in the snowy landscape A Mountain ranges such as the Andes are long chains of mountains that can stretch for hundreds of miles In I Asia Europe Alps Ethiopian wolf page 15 Middle last limalayas Africa Pacific Ocean Giant panda page 9 Australia reat Dividing Range Mountain gorilla Page
Mountains under threat The wood water and other substances in mountain areas are valuable to people Forests are cut down and the rock is blasted away in search of natural resources Such activity causes great damage to the mountain environment and the creatures that live there Logging and Mining Mountain forests provide homes shelter and food for many animal species from tiny insects to huge gorillas As large areas of forest are Cut down the animals either die or are forced to move into smaller areas Competition for food becomes fierce and some creatures cannot survive Land is also cleared for mining and the chemicals used in mining processes pollute the soil The mountain habitat is left unusable for many years Sometimes it never recovers This copper mune US in the Oquirrh Mountains in Utah CEO WHAT DO YOU THINK Mountain regions are often rich in minerals but mining disturbs mountain wildlife What ways might there be of limiting the damage to the environment while accessing these precious
ENDANGERED ANIMALS The International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN see page 28 lists animals according to how endangered they are Extinct Died out completely Extinct in the wild Only survive in captivity for example in zoos Critically endangered Extremely high risk of becoming extinct in the near future Endangered High risk of becoming extinct in the wild Vulnerable High risk of becoming endangered in the wild Near threatened Likely to become endangered in the near future Least concern Lowest risk of becoming endangered Warming Air and Melting lce Global warming is also affecting mountain habitats As average temperatures rise around the world animals that have V Many glaciers adapted to living in cold mountain regions cannot cope with are melting as global the changes to their environment Some may move to higher temperatures increase altitudes but not all creatures can move easily or learn to live This huge glacier is in in a new habitat Melting snow and glaciers are also changing Glacier Bay Alaska the nature of mountain habitats This affects the animals and people that live
