Lesotho

África

167

Documented species

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Lesotho is the only country in the world whose territory lies entirely above one thousand four hundred metres, which has earned it the nickname of the kingdom in the sky. Its landscape is one of high plateaux, canyons and the summits of the Drakensberg, which on their eastern side fall away in basalt walls more than a thousand metres high. That isolation at altitude has created a very distinctive African alpine flora and fauna, with high-altitude grassland, sphagnum peat bogs that act as sponges and regulate the flow of the rivers that supply much of South Africa, and plants such as the spiral aloe, found only in the country. Sehlabathebe, in the southeast, protects a landscape of eroded sandstone, high-altitude pools and a mountain birdlife not found in the surrounding lowlands.

The nature of Lesotho

National animal: No official national animal; the Basotho pony is the emblematic animal of the country's culture

Did you know?

Lesotho's basalt cliffs hold a very large share of the bearded vulture population that survives in southern Africa, a community completely isolated from its relatives in Eurasia and the Horn of Africa by thousands of kilometres of savannah. A few hundred birds remain and their survival depends on feeding stations and on the fight against the poison used against livestock predators.

Biodiversity profile

Africa Austral (unico pais enteramente rodeado por otro, Sudafrica; "Reino en el Cielo")Dato no disponible con precision agregada nacional en fuentes verificadas consultadas

Climate

•Templado de montaña, con clima alpino en las cumbres del Maloti-Drakensberg (unico pais del mundo enteramente por encima de 1.000 msnm)

Main biomes

•Pastizal y matorral afroalpino de alta montaña (Centro Montano Drakensberg, uno de los centros de endemismo mas ricos del mundo templado)
•Pastizal montano de menor altitud
•Pradera afroalpina
•Turbera de altitud
•Muralla de basalto
•Cañón de arenisca
•Río de montaña
•Matorral de altiplano
•Charca de altitud

Marine and coastal ecosystems

•No aplica (pais sin litoral, enteramente montañoso)

Flagship wildlife

•Oribi (antilope de montaña)
•Ibice de las Rocas (Lesoto)
•Aves rapaces de alta montaña (buitre del Cabo, quebrantahuesos)
•Bambu del Drakensberg (endemico de alta montaña)
•Quebrantahuesos
•Buitre de El Cabo
•Íbice rhebok
•Chacal de lomo negro
•Águila cafre
•Ibis calvo sureño
•Poni basotho
•Damán de las rocas
•Cuervo blanquinegro
•Nutria de cuello moteado

Notable endemic species

•El Centro Montano Drakensberg alberga un endemismo excepcional de plantas alpinas, con el vecino Escarpe Limpopo-Mpumalanga-Eswatini registrando 496 taxones endemicos (10,7% de su flora), mas del doble que el Centro Drakensberg propiamente dicho
•Espiral aloe
•Barbo maloti

Notable threatened species

•Especies de pastizal afroalpino vulnerables al sobrepastoreo y quema inadecuada, segun estudios sobre resiliencia de la vegetacion del Centro Drakensberg
•Oribi de montaña (Vulnerable/En Peligro segun poblacion regional)

Notable protected areas

•Parque Nacional Ts'ehlanyane (refugio clave del bambu endemico del Drakensberg)
•Reserva Natural de Bokong
•Parque Nacional de Sehlabathebe
•Parque Transfronterizo Maloti-Drakensberg
•Reserva de Ts'ehlanyane
•Paso de Sani
•Cataratas de Maletsunyane

Main conservation threats

•Sobrepastoreo por ganado en pastizales alpinos de alta fragilidad
•Quemas inadecuadas que degradan la vegetacion afroalpina especializada
•Erosion del suelo en laderas de montaña

Notable natural phenomena

•Lesoto es el unico pais del mundo cuyo territorio se situa enteramente por encima de los 1.000 msnm, con la mayor parte del territorio superando los 1.800 msnm

Conservation

The country's high-altitude peat bogs regulate the water of the Orange basin and are damaged by overgrazing and erosion. The Maloti minnow, an endemic river fish, was believed extinct and was rediscovered in a few high-altitude streams.

Where and when to watch wildlife

Sehlabathebe year-round for bearded vultures and high-altitude birds. Sani Pass for raptors over the cliffs. The high grasslands between November and March for the alpine flowering.

Sources: Frontiers - Limpopo-Mpumalanga-Eswatini Escarpment Endemic Plant Richness | biorxiv - Limits resilience Afroalpine vegetation Drakensberg | Wikipedia - Ts'ehlanyane National Park

Mountain Grassland