17 Wild Animals in Pakistan [Wildlife in Pakistan]

Learn All About Pakistani Animals

Ready to learn all about Pakistani animals?

I’ve always been fascinated by animals, and by how they can be so different from one country to another. In this guide, we’ll focus on the many animals Pakistan has on the land, in the sky, and underwater.

I’ve split the guide into 5 categories:

• Native animals from Pakistan
• Endangered animals of Pakistan
• What is the national animal of Pakistan?
• How many animals native to Pakistan?
• Who is the biggest animal in Pakistan?

Let’s dive in right away with our first category!

Native Animals from Pakistan

Pakistan, formally known as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is an Asian country located in the southern part of the continent, above the Indian Ocean. It is the fifth-most populous country in the world, has the second-largest Muslim population, and has the world’s sixth-largest standing armed forces. It is bordered by India, Afghanistan, China, and Iran, and although its largest city is Karachi, its capital is Islamabad, which counts more than 1,014,000 inhabitants (but more than 4,104,000 if you include the metropolitan area!).

An interesting part of the country that I wanted to tackle is its wildlife. In light of that, I have listed the best of it, and I hope you will love learning what animals live in Pakistan.

Here’s the Pakistan animals list.

1. Snow leopard

• Name: Snow leopard
• Scientific name: Panthera uncia
• Conservation status: Vulnerable

The snow leopard, also known as the ounce, is assuredly one of the most majestic and beautiful animals you will find in Pakistan. It lives in the heights of the northern highlands and plains of the country and is seriously threatened by habitat loss and poaching.

In Pakistan, the snow leopard has a unique diet, sometimes feeding on rhesus macaques, house mice, Cape hares, masked palm civets, and gray dwarf hamsters.

2. Rhesus macaque

• Name: Rhesus macaque
• Scientific name: Macaca mulatta
• Conservation status: Least concern

The rhesus macaque, also known as the rhesus monkey, is a species of Old World monkey native to a large portion of southern Asia; in fact, it has the largest range out of all primates (except humans, obviously).

This macaque lives in the northern areas of Pakistan, and it is active during the day. Both arboreal and terrestrial, it primarily feeds on fruit, but also seeds, bark, buds, and cereals.

3. Himalayan snowcock

Sergey Yeliseev / CC BY-NC-ND

• Name: Himalayan snowcock
• Scientific name: Tetraogallus himalayensis
• Conservation status: Least concern

The Himalayan snowcock is a species of pheasant native to the Himalayas mountain range, as well as some neighboring areas such as northern Pakistan. It inhabits steep rocky cliffs and alpine pastures and does not hesitate to dive down to escape potential predators.

In the summer, this snowcock can be found at altitudes between 4,000 and 5,000 m / 13,123 and 16,404 ft above sea level and descends as low as 2,400 m / 7,874 ft during severe winters.

4. Himalayan brown bear

• Name: Himalayan brown bear
• Scientific name: Ursus arctos isabellinus
• Conservation status: Critically endangered

The Himalayan brown bear, also known as the Dzu-Teh, the isabelline bear, or the Himalayan red bear, is a rare subspecies of the brown bear native to northern Pakistan, northern Afghanistan, western China, Nepal, and northern India.

The Pakistani population of the Himalayan brown bear is on the decline, mainly because of its slow reproduction, its low numbers, habitat fragmentation and loss, bear-baiting, and poaching.

5. Indian wolf

• Name: Indian wolf
• Scientific name: Canis lupus pallipes
• Conservation status: Data deficient

The Indian wolf is a subspecies of the gray wolf native to the Indian subcontinent and into southwestern Asia and the Middle East, as far as Turkey. It travels in small packs and is known to be cunning. Despite its numbers not being assessed, it is definitely one of the most endangered subspecies of the gray wolf on the planet.

One of the main strongholds of the Indian wolf is northern Pakistan.

6. White-bellied musk deer

Akhilesh Tambe / CC BY-SA

• Name: White-bellied musk deer
• Scientific name: Moschus leucogaster
• Conservation status: Endangered

The white-bellied musk deer, also known as the Himalayan musk deer, is a species of musk deer native to much of the Himalayas, from India and Bhutan to far northeastern Pakistan. Because of its different skull proportions, it has been separated from the Alpine musk deer, of which it was thought to be a subspecies.

Although it is present in several protected areas in Pakistan, it is still listed as endangered, and the enforcement of legislation is uneven depending on the area.

7. Nilgai

• Name: Nilgai
• Scientific name: Boselaphus tragocamelus
• Conservation status: Least concern

The nilgai is the largest species of antelope in Asia. It is native to much of the Indian subcontinent, Nepal, and Pakistan, and weighs as much as 288 kg / 635 lb.

Although listed as least concern and having large numbers, it is becoming more and more sparse in Pakistan and Nepal. The main reasons for that are habitat degradation, deforestation, and illegal hunting, which all started during the 20th century.

8. Alexandrine parakeet

• Name: Alexandrine parakeet
• Scientific name: Psittacula eupatria
• Conservation status: Near threatened

The Alexandrine parakeet, also known as the Alexandrine parrot, is a medium-sized species of parrot native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It was named after Alexander the Great, who transported a lot of these birds from Punjab to several European countries.

The population of this parrot has drastically declined during the past years, most notably in the Punjab and Sindh provinces of Pakistan. Selling one is not forbidden in the country, however, and you can easily spot some birds in Pakistani markets, especially in Rawalpindi and Lahore.

9. Indian leopard

• Name: Indian leopard
• Scientific name: Panthera pardus fusca
• Conservation status: Vulnerable

The Indian leopard is a subspecies of the leopard distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent. It is seriously threatened by habitat loss and poaching, and it is thus considered vulnerable to extinction. In Pakistan, it can be found in the mountainous regions and the Himalayan forests, primarily around Pir Lasura National Park, Ayubia National Park, and Machiara National Park.

Melanistic or black individuals are known as black panthers, and this animal is portrayed by Bagheera in “The Book of the Jungle”!

10. Gharial

• Name: Gharial
• Scientific name: Gavialis gangeticus
• Conservation status: Critically endangered

The gharial, also known as the fish-eating crocodile or the gavial, is a species of crocodilian native to very small and scattered areas in and around the Indian subcontinent. Thanks to its unique characteristic, its very long, pointed snout, it is one of the longest crocodiles in the world.

This reptile used to thrive in the Indus River of Pakistan but is now on the brink of extinction. Its main threats are overhunting, persecution, and egg collecting. Its numbers went from 5,000 to 10,000 in 1946 to fewer than 250 at the turn of the 21st century.

11. Indian cobra

• Name: Indian cobra
• Scientific name: Naja naja
• Conservation status: Least concern

The Indian cobra, also known as the Asian cobra, the binocellate cobra, or the spectacled cobra, is a venomous species of cobra native to Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka, and one of the main ones responsible for snakebites in India (the “Big Four”).

This snake is commonly seen with snake charmers, and it is revered in Indian culture and mythology. It is protected in India and is an important heraldic element of princely states.

12. Mugger crocodile

• Name: Mugger crocodile
• Scientific name: Crocodylus palustris
• Conservation status: Vulnerable

The mugger crocodile, also known as the marsh crocodile or simply the mugger, is a medium-sized species of crocodile native to the Indian subcontinent. It has a broad snout and unusual, yellow to brown-skin.

This crocodile can be found below 420 m / 1,380 ft above sea level in Pakistan, and mainly lives around the Dasht River, where about 99 individuals were counted. In the country, it is threatened by water draining and agricultural expansion.

13. Bearded vulture

• Name: Bearded vulture
• Scientific name: Gypaetus barbatus
• Conservation status: Near threatened

The bearded vulture, also known as the ossifrage or the lammergeier, is a very large species of bird of prey native to a very large but scattered range going from sub-Saharan Africa to southwestern Europe and Mongolia.

It is a very unique vulture in the sense that although it is also a scavenger, it almost exclusively feeds on bone marrow, and ignores the meat of the carcass.

14. Olive ridley sea turtle

• Name: Olive ridley sea turtle
• Scientific name: Lepidochelys olivacea
• Conservation status: Vulnerable

The olive ridley sea turtle, also known as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is the second-smallest species of sea turtle in the world. Despite being listed as vulnerable to extinction, it is still the most common sea turtle, and it inhabits warm and tropical waters of the world.

In Pakistan, the olive ridley sea turtle can be found on the beaches of the Sindh province, alongside other species such as the leatherback sea turtle, the green sea turtle, and the loggerhead sea turtle.

15. Yellow-bellied sea snake

Luis Correa / CC BY

• Name: Yellow-bellied sea snake
• Scientific name: Hydrophis platurus
• Conservation status: Least concern

The yellow-bellied sea snake is a species of venomous snake native to the tropical oceanic waters of the world, except for the Atlantic Ocean. As its name suggests, its underparts are strikingly yellow, while the rest of its body is much darker.

Despite living in the ocean, it needs fresh water to survive and drinks precipitation water on the surface of seawater, but it can survive up to 7 months in case of drought.

16. Dalmatian pelican

• Name: Dalmatian pelican
• Scientific name: Pelecanus crispus
• Conservation status: Near threatened

The Dalmatian pelican is the largest species of pelican in the world, as well as the world’s largest freshwater bird, alongside some swans. It has a particularly graceful flight and can be found all around Central Asia, from southeastern Europe to southeastern China.

This pelican primarily lives in lakes, deltas, estuaries, and rivers. It is a migratory bird that flies to southern areas during the winter, which includes Pakistan.

17. Indus river dolphin

• Name: Indus river dolphin
• Scientific name: Platanista minor
• Conservation status: Endangered

The Indus river dolphin, also locally known as the bhulan, is a species of toothed whale endemic to the Indus River of Pakistan and India. Its 5 populations are small and scattered, separated by irrigation barrages.

This dolphin feeds on a wide variety of fish and crustaceans and has suffered a lot from human interaction, more precisely because of entanglement in fishing nets, hunting for its meat, and oil and irrigation systems.

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So there you have them, these were my 17 Pakistan wild animals. I hope you enjoyed this list and that you learned something new today.

In case you want to learn more about Pakistan wildlife, feel free to keep reading, as I still have lots of things to tell you about:

Endangered Animals of Pakistan

This is definitely the saddest part of the list, but it is very important to raise awareness. Because of this, let’s go through the list of endangered animals in Pakistan.

Here are the animals in danger of extinction in Pakistan.

Extinct animals in Pakistan

• None

Critically endangered

• Gharial
• Baer’s pochard
• Indian vulture
• Oceanic whitetip shark
• Great Indian bustard
• and 25 more…

Endangered

• Tiger
• Indian softshell turtle
• Steppe eagle
• Indian pangolin
• Dhole
• and 61 more…

To see the full list of endangered species in Pakistan, head over to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.

What is the National Animal of Pakistan?

The national animal of Pakistan is the markhor.

Also known as the screw horn or the screw-horned goat, the markhor is a large species of wild goat native to Central Asia, the Himalayas, and the Karakoram. As its other names suggest, it has very large, curly horns.

It has an important history within the country, and gets its name from the Persian language for “snake eater”, due to its folkloric ability to kill and eat snakes. It is said that its curly horns are similar to coiling snakes.

How Many Animals Native to Pakistan?

What is the diversity of native animals of Pakistan?

Let’s look at the total number of species of Chordata (mammals, birds, fishes, and reptiles).

Total number of animal species in Pakistan: 2,024 (5,029 in total in West and Central Asia)

Who is the biggest animal in Pakistan?

Since Pakistan is one of the only Asian countries without Asian elephants, the biggest animal award in the country goes to the Himalayan brown bear, if you exclude the possible large marine mammals off its coast.

The Himalayan brown bear is a subspecies of the brown bear, and it can be found in the northernmost parts of the country.

More About Animals in the World!

Loved these Pakistan animal facts? Want to see what animals live in other countries?

Then check out these posts:

• Wild Animals in India
• Wild Animals in Sri Lanka
• Wild Animals in Bangladesh

Or click here to see ALL the facts up on the blog! Spoiler alert: there’s A LOT of them.

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