DK书籍.Mountain.(24 Hours).26.0M

24 hours Mountain Published in the United States in 2007 by DK Publishing 375 Hudson Street New York, New York 10014 06 07 08 09 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Copyright © 2007 Dorling Kindersley Limited All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN-13: 978-0-7566-2215-2 ISBN-10: 0-7566-2215-8 Color reproduction by Colourscan, Singapore Printed and bound by L. Rex Printing Co. Ltd., China Discover more at www.dk.com Written and edited by Fleur Star Designed by Karen Hood Art Director Rachael Foster Publishing Manager Susan Leonard Category Publisher Mary Ling Picture Researcher Jo Walton Production Controller Lucy Baker DTP Designers Almudena Díaz, Emma Hansen-Knarhoi Jacket Designer Hedi Gutt Consultant Kerstin Swahn US Editor Margaret Parrish Welcome to the Andes, the longest mountain range in the world. Introduction page 4 What’s up at 6 am? page 6 Above the tree line page 8 Paramo birds page 10 Andean armor page 12 What’s up at 10 am? page 14 Let us prey page 16 The big feast page 18 Lots of llamas page 20 A mountain is a harsh environment, yet many animals thrive up on the slopes. Spend 24 hours with some of them and discover how they eat, sleep, and survive on the tough terrain. LONDON, NEW YORK, MUNICH, MELBOURNE, and DELHI Dawn Morning 6:00 am 10:00 am Welcome to the Andes, the longest mountain range in the world. What’s up at 2 pm? page 22 Life in the lake page 24 Water birds page 26 Hot stuff page 28 What’s up at 6 pm? page 30 A viscacha’s view page 32 Little big cats page 34 Prowling pumas page 36 What’s up at 10 pm? page 38 Bearing up page 40 Night owl page 42 Just chin-chillin’ page 44 Glossary page 46 Afternoon Dusk Night 2:00 pm 6:00 pm 10:00 pm 3 Lakes are typically found in a central Andean region called the Altiplano. There are also dry grasslands here, called puna. The lusher grasslands found in the north are called paramo. In 24 Hours Mountain we spend a day and night in the Andes to look at the creatures that live up above the tree line. During the 24 hours, we return to the five animals shown on this page to see what they are doing. This book is set in the Altiplano region of the central Andes and on the paramo grasslands to the north. 24:00 hours Puma Also called mountain lions or cougars, pumas can be found all over the Andes. They live and hunt alone, except for mothers with their cubs. 4 Culpeo The culpeo is also called the Andean red fox, but its red fur only develops as an adult. The cubs are sandy colored, which is good camouflage against predators. The Andes run down the whole of the west coast of South America. Between April and October, the sun and wind dry the surface of the salt lakes in the Altiplano, leaving a 2 ft- (60 cm-) thick crust of salt on top of the water. The changing seasons Dry Introduction Scale Look out for scale guides as you read through the book to help you work out the size of the creatures you meet. They are based on children 3 ft 9 in (115 cm) tall. Spectacled bear The only bears to be found in South America, spectacled bears live in cloud forests and lush grasslands (called paramo). Andean condor The world’s largest birds of prey, these condors also have the biggest wingspan of any bird. But they have no voice boxes, so their call sounds like a cough. Vicuña Vicuñas are related to llamas. They are the “camels” of the Andes, able to cope well in extreme conditions found at great heights. Rainy Even when the salt lakes begin to fill, shallow water at the edge of the lakes evaporates. The region can flood to 6 ft (2 m) deep. 5 A lone guanaco stands in the cold morning air, watching the Sun rise over the Andes. By the time the Sun has emerged over the mountain peaks, the sunrise can seem later than it actually is.1 Guanaco 1 6 6:00 am A puma sniffs the air, picking up the smell of another puma’s urine. The cats scent-mark their territories to stop others from getting too close. Before Andean condors take flight in the morning they stretch out their wings to dry their feathers, which are wet with dawn dew. The nocturnal culpeo breakfasts on a carcass. It usually hunts small animals such as rodents and lizards, but is happy to scavenge a free meal. Spectacled bears are most active at dawn and dusk, heading up the slopes to the grasslands to feed on their favorite food: puya plants. A herd of vicuñas makes its way down from its sleeping area high up in the mountains. The lower slopes provide lusher grass for grazing. What’s up at 6 o’clock? High up in the mountains, where it is too cold for trees to grow, many animals battle the biting winds and strong sunlight to graze the grasslands. The lusher grasses of the paramo provide better fodder than the drier, sparser puna to the south. 8 7:00 am Huemals, which are also called Andean deer, are typical herbivores. They easily climb the rocky slopes to find plants, but they are not built to fight predators. Instead, they run at high speeds to escape. antlers to figh t o ve r m at es . Male hue ma ls us e th ei r Like many deer, huemals “drop antlers” every year. They “come into velvet”— grow new antlers—in time for the mating season. Mountain tapirs divide their day between rivers and paramo, where the solitary, aggressive animals hide in the grasses. When threatened, tapirs may hide from their attackers in a river. They can stay underwater for several minutes, using their snouts as snorkels. 9 Above the tree line White-tailed deer make hours-long foraging trips at dawn and dusk. If a fawn is too young to keep up, its mother hides it among the vegetation. A wagging white tail is a sign that the deer is afraid. and territory by biting . Tapirs fight over m ates The plants of the paramo— many of which don’t grow anywhere else—attract lots of birds, which feed on their nectar and the insects that pollinate them. 10 Andean flickers are woodpeckers— birds that are most famous for hammering their bills into tree trunks. But there are no trees on the paramo, only shrubs and smaller plants, so the flicker picks insects off the rocks to eat. Hummingbirds like to feed from the 40 ft- (12 m-) tall Puya ramondii herb. Andean hillstars, like other hummingbirds, survive the cold nights by going into torpor—they lower their body temperatures to one-third of their daytime level to save energy. 8:00 am Bearded helmetcrest hummingbirds prefer walking to flying in their search for food, since they eat insects rather than nectar. The bird gets its name from the crest that makes its head appear twice its real size! Part of the parrot family, rufous- fronted parakeets are an endangered species. They live only on the lower slopes of the paramo—areas that are threatened by overgrazing and farming. 11 Paramo birds Seedsnipes don’t build nests, but dig shallow scrapes on the ground where they lay their eggs, which they sit on for about four weeks until they hatch. The chicks are able to walk and eat right away. Caracaras are small birds of prey. They patrol the paramo in groups, looking for carcasses to scavenge and also eating insects and snails. 12 9:00 am To the south of the paramo, an Andean hairy armadillo wanders over the barren puna. Sniffing out an insect, it unearths the food with a scrape of its long, sharp claws. Twenty bony plates cover the armadillo’s body. Hair grows between the plates, keeping the animal warm. Insects such as beetles are nourishing snacks, but they are not very filling. Armadillos will dig under and even into rotting carcasses to get at juicy maggots. On the menu Armadillos are omnivores: they’ll eat anything from plants to rodents. The word “armadillo” means little plated one. 13 Andean armor The best place to hide from predators is underground, but when there’s no burrow to dive into the armadillo covers its legs and relies on its armor plating. The armadillo is only active in the daytime during winter. Summer heat forces it to turn its day around, searching for food at night and spending the day in cool burrows. Strong claws make fast work of digging a 10 ft- (3 m-) deep burrow. The holes are only used once. Armadillos live alone, only sharing burrows with their young. The word “armadillo” means little plated one. Just as there are high peaks in mountainous territory, there are also deep valleys. Colca Canyon is thought to be the world’s deepest gorge (narrow valley). The steep slopes are a favored roosting site for Andean condors.1 Juvenile Andean condor 2 Adult male Andean condor 1 14 10:00 am 2 1 Solitary pumas spend the daytime asleep. Only mothers with young cubs are still out hunting to keep their offspring well fed. An Andean condor finds a dead vicuña: this will be its first meal for days. Its strong, hooked bill easily tears through the decaying flesh. Fully fed, the nocturnal culpeo settles down to rest among the rocks. An adult culpeo has few predators, so it is safe for it to sleep out in the open. Spectacled bears live in cloud forests below the grasslands. During the day, they rest in the trees, bending branches to make “nests” to sit in. Vicuñas are grazers: their days are taken up with eating, drinking, and chewing the cud. Young vicuñas even eat while lying down. What’s up at 10 o’clock? 16 11:00 am The condor’s large wingspan allows it to glide for hundreds of miles (kilometers). There’s competition in the air between the birds of prey that live around the Andes. Scavenging turkey vultures sniffing out a carcass are sometimes followed by condors, which chase them off the food. Turkey vultures are the only birds with a good sense of smell, which is useful for tracking down dead animals through tall grasses and shrubs. All birds rely on their feathers for flight. They cannot fly if feathers are bent or damaged. w ea k c law s becaus e th ey do no t ne ed to kill for food.Tu rke y v ultu res h ave Let us prey 17 You need to be quick to spot a peregrine falcon: they are among the world’s fastest birds. They can reach 145 mph (230 km/h) diving for prey, which they kill with their sharp bills. The condor rides air currents to gain height. It rises over half a mile (1 km) in just two minutes. The chicks have hatched, and just seven weeks later they will learn to fly—a dangerous task at the top of a mountain. The chicks have survived flying lessons, but still rely on both parents to bring them food: other birds. 4 months later Condors have excellent eyesight, able to see dead animals and even birds’ eggs on the ground while soaring high above them. They fly 200 miles (320 km) a day looking for food. With an outstretched neck that makes him stand up straight, a male condor raises his wings in a courtship display, trying to attract a mate. The bird hisses and clucks for female attention. A flying start Peregrine falcons lay their eggs in a shallow nest, called a scrape, right on the edge of the mountainside. 11:30 am 30 days later Condors are scavengers: they feed on animals that are already dead, but they might also attack young or dying animals. Despite feeding in flocks, it can take them days to finish a large carcass. Sharp, hooked bill for gripping prey and ripping into flesh. 18 Midday Bald head for poking inside carcass without getting feathers dirty. The big feast 19 First come, first served The birds gather around the day’s meal in a strict pecking order. Males eat first; they are bigger than the females and perform displays to frighten off other scavengers that might be around. They rarely fight, because that could damage their feathers. The flock co ver s t he c ar ca ss . Having gorged itself on guanaco, this young condor waits for a thermal (air current) to carry it into flight. It has eaten too much to take off itself. Herds of grazing guanacos—wild llamas—are a familar sight across the Andean slopes, especially browsing plants on the puna grasslands. There are four species of llama: guanacos and vicuñas are wild animals, but llamas and alpacas are farmed. Guanacos have few teeth. They chew their food by grinding it against their hard gums. 20 1:00 pm On the dry grasslands, guanacos keep themselves clean not with water, but by rolling in a dust bath. periods, getting all their water from food. Guanacos can go without drin king for longMost herds are family groups of one male leading lots of females and their young, which are called crias. Young males without mates form herds of their own; older males wander the mountains alone. Lots of llamas 21 periods, getting all their water from food. The cria is born front feet first, breaking its fall to the ground. It will start to walk just one hour later. Like all llama species, vicuñas have the ability to run fast— which could mean the difference between life and death on the grasslands, where there is nowhere to hide from predators. Alpacas are domesticated vicuñas. They have the softest, curliest wool of all the llama species, especially on the crias. Llamas are among the most common animals in the Andes. They are domesticated guanacos, farmed for their wool. Crias start life with a bump, since their mothers give birth standing up. After a year with Mom, male crias are kicked out of the herd by the leader, who does not want any competition for the females. Guanacos can go without drin king for long Between the peaks, lakes dot the Altiplano region of the Andes. Some are filled with rain or melted snow; others form from geysers that erupt from below the surface. Many provide drinking water for animals.1 Guanaco 1 22 2:00 pm A female puma watches over her three cubs while at rest. The small, young cubs could be targeted as prey by foxes or even other pumas. The Andean condor gets messy when it feeds, and needs to preen its feathers afterward. It even rubs its head on the ground to get the blood off. Young culpeos are targets for birds of prey, so the safest place for them to sleep during the day is in an underground burrow with their mother. Feeling hungry, the spectacled bear surveys the forest for a snack. There are plenty of bromeliad plants within arm’s reach of its nest. Two young vicuñas start a play-fight, imitating the adults in the herd. Adult males wrestle each other to take sole control of the herd’s females. What’s up at 2 o’clock? 3:00 pm Th is is th e w orld ’s largest frog. There are 41 islands in Lake Titicaca, which is nearly twice the size of Delaware. The freshwater Lake Titicaca is the world’s highest navigable lake (big enough for boats to sail on). Located in the Altiplano, it is home to frogs and fish that don’t exist anywhere else in the world. 24 The giant Titicaca frog lives in the shallows of the lake, and keeps from roasting in the sun by never leaving the water. Its dark skin also gives protection against the Sun’s rays. The Titicaca frog’s saggy skin helps it to breathe. Frogs absorb oxygen through their skin, and the bigger the skin, the more oxygen it can absorb. Some Titicaca frogs have green skin; others can be dark and spotted. 25 Life in the lake Killifish Teams of neotropic cormorants work together to get food. They wade through the lake, flapping their wings to chase the fish into shallow water. The puna ibis uses its long, curved bill to probe for food in the shallow waters and the mud around the edge of the lake. Groups of ibis feed together, seeking fish, frogs, and small aquatic animals to eat. Argentine silverside fish w hich attract lots of birds. The lake teem s w ith fish, 4:00 pm Flamingos turn pink from the carotenoids in the algae or shrimp they eat. It’s the same pigment that turns carrots orange. At the start of the rainy season, flocks of flamingos settle on the salt lakes in the Altiplano. The lakes are far smaller than Lake Titicaca, yet thousands of birds feed here. 26 At night, f laming os roo st near hot geysers so they do not freeze. There’s no competition between the three species as they eat different food. Three’s a crowd Three species of flamingos live on the lakes: Andean, Chilean, and Puna. As soon as the birds arrive, they start the search for a mate. 27 Water birds Flamingo pairs build their nests, ready for laying a single egg. The lakeside is covered in volcano-shaped mounds of mud. October The fluffy gray chick has just hatched. The 2 ft- (60 cm-) high nest keeps the bird safe from any flood waters. December The chick has grown out of its “baby” feathers and is ready to fly, but still relies on its mother for food. April Bringing up baby At night, f laming os roo st near hot geysers so they do not freeze. Flamingos turn their heads upside-down to eat. They use their bills as sieves, sifting food from the water. 28 5:00 pm Bubbling mud might not look as dramatic as a geyser, but it has an equally strong presence: the mud is full of sulfur, a mineral that makes the air stink like rotten eggs. The hot steam cools in the air, condenses into water, and runs into lakes. There’s more to the Altiplano than lakes and puna grassland. The Andes are a chain of volcanoes, many of which are still bubbling away underground. This activity comes to the surface through geysers and pools of boiling mud. An outgoing geyser The pressure of volcanic activity pushes steam through holes in the ground, making the water in the geyser boil. 4:00 pm run down the s lopes to for m lak es. Melted snow an d w ate r fr om ge yser s 29 Hot stuff The steam quickly cools and becomes water. Only bacteria and algae can live in the boiling pool, coloring it red and green. 4:01 pm As the pressure builds up below ground, the geyser suddenly and briefly erupts, sending a jet of hot water and steam into the air. 6:10 am Hot days, freezing nights, strong winds, and very little rainfall turns parts of the Altiplano into salt deserts. The salts are minerals found in the ground, brought to the surface in lakes. run down the s lopes to for m lak es. Melted snow an d w ate r fr om ge yser s Small iguanid lizards scamper over the lake’s salty crust, catching flies to eat. Sunset falls later in the day the farther south you move through the Andes, away from the equator. With light fading as soon as the Sun sinks behind the peaks, there is little time for a guanaco to find a safe place to sleep.1 Guanaco 1 30 6:00 pm From a high point on the peaks, the puma scans the mountains