5/18/2023 0 Comments Pika pikachu![]() Instead, they often invite monks to say pika-expelling prayers.ĭespite their certainty, the pika’s role in the degradation of the plateau’s pastures is actually rather complex, as my research reveals. Traditional beliefs maintain that pikas arrive riding on the backs of snow finches, but Buddhist thought discourages nomads from killing them. Tibetan nomads think the arrival of pikas from degraded pastures several kilometres away heralds the downfall of their own pasture. But is this really fair?īlack soil patches occur when plants and grass turf have been completely lost from a meadow, and their emergence can be accelerated by the burrowing of plateau pikas. Local communities who rely on the plateau’s pastures to graze their cattle and sheep often blame pika, a small, rabbit-like mammal on which the Pokemon character Pikachu is based. But half of the meadows in the region are at risk of turning into black soil – the eventual fate of degraded alpine meadows. For the 1.4 billion people living downstream, the plateau is an irreplaceable source of fresh water.įor the nomadic people who live here, the plateau is their livelihood. The plateau is also sometimes referred to as the roof of the world – a vast plain raised 4,500 metres above sea level and surrounded on all sides by imposing mountain ranges, one of which includes Mount Everest. ![]() Known as the water tower of Asia, the Tibetan Plateau is where the mighty Yellow, Yangtze and Mekong rivers begin as tiny trickles. ![]()
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