Pakistan Photograph by G.S.Rawat   Southern Asia: Eastern central Pakistan Deserts and Xeric Shrublands   7,500 square miles (19,500 square kilometers) -- about the size of New Jersey Vulnerable

· Harsh But Safe
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Harsh But Safe

Walk through this desert, and you may walk alone. Few people live here, and that’s exactly why the plants and animals of this region are relatively undisturbed. Harsh climates make the Indus Valley Desert difficult to farm or settle. After the Thar Desert, it is likely the second most inhospitable ecoregion in the Indo-Pacific region.

Special Features

The Indus Valley Desert features extremes: freezing temperatures in the winter, blistering temperatures in the summer, and only 2 to 3 inches (6 to 8 cm) of rain per year. Plants that don’t need much water grow scattered across the landscape. More than 30 species of mammals have adapted to live in this land of extremes, as have 190 species of birds. And they enjoy one of the most protected ecoregions in this area of the world. Almost three-fourths of the land is protected.

	Red-necked falcons hunt cooperatively in pairs. While one bird chases down a small bird or other prey, the other will cut-off its escape route.

Wild Side

Four species of large predators hunt their prey in this ecoregion: Wolves, hyenas, caracals, and leopards all find enough to eat. Numerous rodent species are among the other species of mammals that live here. Birds of prey include white-rumped vultures, pallid harriers, red-necked falcons, long-legged buzzards, and imperial eagles.

Cause for Concern

Although more than 70 percent of this ecoregion is protected, hunters threaten the ability of populations of caracals, wolves, and other wildlife to survive -- even in Nature Reserves.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.