From Red Pandas to Wild Orchids: 9 Rare Species That Make Indian Mountains Magical

From Red Pandas to Wild Orchids: 9 Rare Species That Make Indian Mountains Magical (Image: Canva)

Nestled among misty mountains and lush valleys, India’s mountain ranges are home to some of the rarest and most endangered wildlife and flora. These nine unique and rare, some furry, some floral, create a sense of just how valuable and vulnerable mountain biodiversity can be.

Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens)
With a fiery fur coat and playful masked face, the red panda and Sikkim's state animal resides within the eastern Himalayas between 2,200 and 5,000 m of elevation, often within coniferous and mixed forests rich with bamboo. This endangered species has fewer than 10,000 worldwide and likely even fewer in India. Their ranges and habitats exist in Sikkim, Darjeeling, and Arunachal Pradesh.

Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia)
The elusive “ghost of the mountains,” this snow leopard cat spans the great heights of Ladakh and Spiti Valley, existing between 3,000 and 5,500 m. The population within India is estimated to be about 300-500, which makes every sighting rare.

Himalayan Tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus)
The graceful and sure-footed Himalayan Tahr exists throughout Uttarakhand and neighbouring regions across rocky slopes. These goat-like creatures play an important role in mountain ecology, and their rarity only adds to their charm.

Musk Deer (Moschus spp)
The shy musk deer is sought after and sadly killed for its valuable musk gland. These deer can be found in dense regions of the Himalayas but suffer massive population declines due to poaching and habitat loss.

Himalayan Monal (Lophophorus impejanus)
The state bird of many hill states in India, the Himalayan monal, adorns itself with iridescent feathers, brightening forest and alpine zones throughout the region. It remains a sought-after sight in the Himalayan heights.

Ipsea malabarica (Malabar Daffodil Orchid)
Known only from the southern Western Ghats, most notably Silent Valley, this ground orchid was not seen in the wild for decades after its first description. Rediscovered in 1982, this endangered variety is now under tissue-culture propagation study.

7. Paphiopedilum druryi
A presently rare orchid of the southern Indian Agastyamalai Hills, which might have been rediscovered recently after remaining unrecorded since 1870. Flowers May–June, and was pushed to the brink of oblivion due to orchid hunters some years ago. It is presently protected under Indian law, CITES, and the IUCN.

8. Phalaenopsis cacharensis
Maybe the rarest of the rare, this Cachar, Assam orchid is only known from a single plant on a stem of Duabanga. Critically endangered, it is threatened by loss of habitat, i.e., slash-and-burn agriculture

9. Biermannia jainiana
Critically Endangered epiphytic orchid of Sessa Orchid Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh, with only 10 mature plants in a restricted habitat. Flowers in moss-clad trunks of Schima and Toona trees in March–April, and is highly susceptible to habitat loss