It may not seem like mountains would host much wildlife, but in reality, various animals around the world test the limits of high-altitude living in these extreme environments.
It takes a lot of guts to scale the highest mountains on Earth, but an intrepid bunch of animals makes living so far up seem like a cakewalk. These daredevils thrive in the world’s most isolated, inhospitable places, such as the rocky ranges of the Andes and the Himalayas. Parts of these regions also double as
With scarce food in this habitat, the mouse likely only has lichens and the occasional insect to eat. To compensate for low oxygen levels, it may be capable of producing more efficient, a protein in the blood that delivers oxygen to the lungs. Adding fuel to this mouse’s mystery, other members of the same species can be found all the way down to sea level. Why would it wander up so high, then? Researchers hope to find answers in subsequent research trips.
The yak has a larger heart and lungs than cattle at lower elevations; it triumphs over hypoxia because it has a higher concentration of hemoglobin in its blood stream.