Mission HimalayaCABS’ Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) partnered with Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Discovery Networks to explore, document, and publicize the rich biodiversity of the Mountains of Southwest China and the Himalaya hotspots.
RAP organized and deployed a team of internationally renowned conservation scientists and field biologists to six different sites of the eastern Himalayas. The team spent four months in the region, gathering biological data critical for the development of conservation strategies and discovering a number of new species in the process. For example, the team discovered:
- A wingless grasshopper (Kingdonella sp.) that can withstand extremely low temperatures and communicates by gnashing its teeth.
- A new beetle species that specializes in burying small bird and rodent carcasses into subterranean crypts to feed their offspring.
- A new subspecies of small mammal known as the Qinghai vole (Microtus fuscus).
- Up to three new frog species, eight new insects, and ten new species of ants.
After two years of active collaboration, RAP concluded the project in April 2006. The three partners in the project announced the results of assessments in southwest China and Nepal at a joint press conference at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. To help publicize the results and to raise awareness of the rich biodiversity of the area, Animal Kingdom officially opened the new Expedition Everest roller coaster, which will display key RAP findings and rapid assessment field methods. In addition, Discovery Networks featured the Nepal Rapid Assessment in the two-hour TV special, Corwin's Quest: Realm of the Yeti.
Mission Himalaya also contributes valuable data to CI-China's Tibetan Sacred Lands project.
