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In 2017, researchers divided the world into 846 areas known as eco regions, which can be grouped together into 14 biomes. For nature enthusiasts, this data set is interesting in its own right. But when compared with other data sets such as elevation, temperature and precipitation, various types of species richness, and the location of natural UNESCO World Heritage sites, we can better understand what makes each of these biomes unique and what they look like. The defining characteristic of the
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deserts and zerich shrublands biome is the low levels of rainfall exhibiting less precipitation than any other terrestrial biome with the exception of these areas which we'll cover later on. The world's deserts and zerich shrublands sit mainly around the tropics of cancer and Capricorn but stretch north into Asia and North America bringing the average temperature of this biome further down than one might think. It is the second largest of the world's biomes and is also broken down into the
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second largest number of eco regions at 102. The lack of rainfall leads to an extremely small number of amphibians, a level of scarcity matched only in the polar areas. Birds and mammals are also scarce here compared to other biomes, although the desert is still home to many incredible species. Reptiles, however, are the desert's pride and joy, featuring a similar average species density to the flooded grasslands and savas biome. Perhaps the most famous desert in the
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world, the Sahara is also the world's largest, stretching 3.6 million square miles across North Africa, according to National Geographic. Although South America's Atakama Desert is considered by most sources to be the world's driest non-polar desert, when comparing each individual eco region to the Chelsea data set, which includes data from 1979 to 2013, the East Sahara Desert eco region exhibits the lowest average precipitation of all 846 eco regions. On the other side of the African
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continent, the desert here may be smaller, but contains one of the most unique UNESCO World Heritage sites and a particularly revered eco region. The Kalahari Zerk savannah is the largest of southern Africa's desert eco regions stretching across Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa. Although this eco region is included in the desert bio, as its name might suggest, it features noticeably more vegetation than other desert eco regions such as the Namib Desert found to the west.
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This eco region runs along Namibia's coastline. And in addition to the wild horses we explored in another video, it is home to the Namib Sand Sea, a world heritage site touted by UNESCO as the only coastal desert in the world that includes extensive June fields influenced by fog. [Music] In terms of individual countries, Australia covers the largest portion of the desert biome with over 12% of this barren land found within the country's borders. The Australian desert is made up of 10
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eco regions. The largest of which, the Great Sandy Tanami Desert, contains one of the country's most well-known UNESCO sites, Uluru Katachuta National Park. If we sort all 102 desert eco regions by average species richness for reptiles, the Australian eco regions occupy nine of the 10 spots with only nalaba plain zerich shrublands letting the team down. Outside of Australia, there are several countries that make up large portions of the desert biome, including China and
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Kazakhstan, both of which cover around 7% each. As a continent, Asia exhibits the absolute extremes of the desert biome when it comes to temperature. The tracks of land in the northeast exhibit the lowest temperatures of all the desert eco regions, including the eastern Gobi Desert step and the Kazak semi- desert. On the other end of the scale, the Arabian Peninsula is home to three of the five hottest eco regions, not just in the desert biome, but overall in North America, the vast majority of
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the desert biome is found between two countries, stretching from Mexico's Pueba province, just south of Mexico City, to the very south of Montana in the northern contiguous United States. Perhaps most incredibly, this area is home to several amphibians, including the Great Basin Spadefoot toad and the Sonoran Desert Toad, named after one of the most well-known desert eco regions, which is found on the border of the US and Mexico, and is home to a UNESCO World Heritage site known as El Pinakate
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and Grand Desierto De Alar Biosphere Reserve. To the north, Grand Canyon National Park is the state's answer to a desert world heritage site and according to UNESCO's Criterion is an exceptional example of biological environments at different elevations. On the other side of the equator, South America's most famous desert, the Atakama, sits on the Tropic of Capricorn and borders the Satura Desert to the north. One of the Atakama's most incredible features is its bird life, playing host
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not only to flocks of flamingos, but hummingbirds as well. Roughly 3,000 km northwest, sits one of the most unique eco regions on Earth, being the only desert to sit on the equator. The Galapagus Islands were inscribed as a world heritage site in 1978 and for most nature enthusiasts needs no introduction and is referred to by UNESCO as a living museum and showcase of evolution. The desert biome overall exhibits the fourth highest average elevation, although there is a large gap to the top
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three with one in particular taking the top spot by quite some margin. The montaine grasslands and shrublands biome exhibits the highest average elevation being found in the world's most mountainous regions including the Tibetan plateau and the Andes mountain range. It sits on the lower end of the precipitation table, technically coming in third lowest, although several other biomes have similar average rainfall, including temperate grasslands and the boreal forest. Due to their elevation,
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the Montaigne grassland eco regions also exhibit some of the lowest temperatures. Despite being home to some incredible animals, the levels of species richness in these mountainous regions are very similar to that of the desert, but with even less reptiles. The largest expanse of montaine grasslands and shrublands by far is found on the northern side of the Himalayas, a region known as the Tibetan plateau. If we rank all eco regions by average elevation, nine of the top 10 are found
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in this area. Despite being such an inhospitable environment, some of the world's most incredible mammals abide quite happily in this region, including the snow leopard and the Tibetan gazelle, found exclusively on the Tibetan plateau at elevations up to 5,700 m. Tibetan foxes are also found here, hunting the area's small mammals, along with the kiang, a particularly eye-catching ecquid, also known as the Tibetan wild. The second largest expanse of this biome
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is located in South America, where it is found at the highest elevations along the Andes mountain range from Venezuela in the north to Argentina and Chile in the south. The lone eco region in the top 10 we explored earlier on is found here and is known as central andian wet puna. It is home to two UNESCO sites with Wascaran National Park being the best example of this eco region. Mount Wascaran exhibits an elevation of over 6,500 m and the grasslands that surround it are dotted with a unique
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mixture of tropical flora. To the north, Ecuador's Sangai National Park is no less impressive and is home to a critically endangered species of hummingbird known as the bluethroated hillstar. To the south, the Puna eco regions extend into Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina, and are home to their very own species of flamingo, the Puna flamingo, along with herds of vunas that graze in the area's mountainous grasslands. Although the two areas we've covered so far are no doubt breathtaking, the most
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unique expanse of Montaigne grassland in my opinion is found in East Africa and is represented best by a UNESCO World Heritage site inscribed in 1978 known as Simeon Mountains National Park. There are three species in particular that stand out in this region. The Wallia Ibeck, a rare species of wild goat found only in a single small region covering the park. The Ethiopian wolf, which numbers just under 200 mature individuals dotted around the Ethiopian highlands. And the Galada baboon, one of
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the most eye-catching primates, which is also found only in northern Ethiopia and can be seen in large groups in Simeon Mountains National Park. In addition to the montaine grasslands, there are three other types of grassland biome. The first of which is the third smallest. Despite being home to some of the world's most recognizable UNESCO World Heritage sites, the flooded grasslands and savas biome is among the hottest of the world's biomes, exhibiting the fifth highest
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average temperature and also has the second lowest average elevation, leading to the flooding that characterizes this biome. These areas are worldrenowned for their species richness. And in fact, when we take a look at the data, this biome ranks between fifth and seventh for all four terrestrial vertebrate groups, with birds being particularly prevalent in these areas. Tragically, this biome has the second smallest number of UNESCO sites, but what it lacks in number, it more than
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makes up for in reputation. Starting on the African continent, the Zambesian flooded grasslands eco region is dotted across east and southern Africa and in the far southwest is home to one of Africa's most unique locations. The Okabango Delta was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2014 and is known as one of the few inland delta systems without an outlet to the sea. To the south, this area borders the desert we explored earlier on and is the destination of many animals who make the
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long migration across the Kalahari to enjoy the Okabango's bountiful waters. Heading north, the flooded grasslands and savas biome is also dotted across northern Africa and includes the Nile Delta flooded savannah eco region, an area of lush vegetation that follows the Nile River in an otherwise barren Saharan landscape. Outside of Africa, the most well-known flooded grassland is arguably the Pantanal, an eco region that sits on the border of Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia,
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and is home to the Pantanel Conservation Area, another worldrenowned UNESCO site. The rainy season here runs from October to April and creates vast wetlands as the rivers overspill into the lowlands. Interestingly, according to UNESCO's criterion, it is during this rainy season that many of the large mammals migrate away from this area, preferring the drier regions at higher elevations before returning to the Pantanel in the dry season, which represents one of the
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only areas in the region to remain humid in the drier parts of the year. To the north, the United States is also blessed with a single eco region contained in this biome, an area known as the Everglades flooded grasslands, which plays host to Everglades National Park. In addition to the flooded grasslands of the area, the Everglades features pristine mangrove forests, a biome we'll explore later on. One of the keystone species of the Everglades is the American alligator, a
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species that was listed as endangered in 1967, but today is found in large numbers, especially in the Everglades, where many sources site a number of roughly 200,000 individuals. In many cases, especially on the African and South American continents, the flooded grassland areas border another grassland biome known as tropical and subtropical grasslands, savas, and shrublands. These areas are found at higher elevations and like the flooded grasslands are mostly found in the
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tropics with only a small percentage falling outside of the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer. Tropical grasslands may not receive as much rainfall as the rest of the tropical biomes, leading to less extensive vegetation, but the temperature experienced here is among the hottest in the world, with only two biomes exhibiting a higher average annual temperature. The species richness of the tropical grassland biome is among the highest, boasting an especially high number of
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bird species, being surpassed only by tropical moist forest. There is no area of tropical grassland on the planet that is more famous than the African savannah. An area that represents by far the largest expanse of this biome. On the African continent, the savannah sits between the desert eco regions we explored earlier on and is broken up only by a stretch of tropical moist forest that runs along the equator, most notably in the Congo. While the central part of this region is
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the most renowned, West Africa's tropical grasslands are blessed with a handful of lesserknown UNESCO sites and by far the largest tropical grasslands eco region which stretches across the entire continent. It is East Africa, however, that contains the world heritage sites that most people will be familiar with, particularly east of the Congo in a country that needs little introduction, Tanzania. This country contains three natural world heritage sites. Serenetti National
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Park, which is subject to one of the world's most spectacular migrations as herds of wilderbeast and zebra make the annual migratory loop between the Serengeti in the south and Kenya's Masai Mara in the north. All while crossing the treacherous Gmeti and Mara rivers. In Goro Engoro conservation area which is a mixed UNESCO site added to the world heritage list to protecting Gordo and Gordo crater the world's largest caldera and the incredible biodiversity that abides within and finally Cis game
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reserve to the south which measures 50,000 km and is famous for its large number of black rhinoceros African elephants and many other animals. The southern part of Africa's savannah includes an endless list of protected areas, including South Africa's Krueger National Park and Nipan National Park. Neither of which is a world heritage site, but both of which are worth including to pad out the African savannah section and for how fun the word Nipan is to pronounce. Heading out
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of Africa, it would be somewhat tempting to skip the small strip of tropical grassland found on the Asian continent on our journey to Australia if it were not for the presence of one of the most incredible UNESCO sites inscribed in 1984. Chitwan National Park is particularly well known for its populations of Asian rhinoceros, also known as the greater one-horned rhino, and its Bengal tigers with more than 100 individuals found within the park boundary. According to a study published in 2023,
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where there are large predators like tigers, there are also prey species and chipwan is blessed with several deer species along with gower or Indian bison. Heading south, Australia also contains a large strip of tropical grasslands which runs along the northeastern coastline and contains five UNESCO sites, two of which provide an interesting comparison. Pernalulu National Park is located on the southern edge of this region. It is famous for its sandstone rock formations
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and being much closer to the desert biome is noticeably drier than Kacadoo National Park found to the north. Kacadoo is a mixed world heritage site celebrated both for its Ramsar listed wetlands home to saltwater crocodiles and a wide range of bird species and its cave paintings, rock carvings and archaeological sites. On the other side of the Pacific, the South American continent is home to two other areas with significant stretches of tropical grassland. The most
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well-known of which is arguably Brazil's Sahado, which is both an eco region and a world heritage site referred to by UNESCO as one of the oldest and most diverse ecosystems in the world. In addition, to the north sits Venezuela's answer to the Sahado, an area known as Los Yanos, which translates in English to the plains. This region is subject to some of the highest levels of rainfall of all of the eco regions in this biome. Along with the fifth highest average reptile
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species density, home to among other species, the green anaconda, the tropical grasslands of South America are bordered by both tropical forest biomes, tropical dry and tropical moist forest, both of which are incredibly distinct and both of which we'll explore in succession. The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests are characterized by lower levels of rainfall than the moist broadleaf forests, although precipitation is still considered high compared to other biomes.
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Additionally, these dry areas also exhibit a slightly higher temperature than their moist counterparts, being surpassed only by the mangrove biome. Levels of species richness are roughly the same as the tropical grasslands, but with noticeably higher reptiles, again being surpassed only by one biome, this time the tropical moist forests. South America's largest expanse of the dry broadleaf forest is an eco region known as Kachinga, an indigenous word meaning white forest or white vegetation.
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Of the 56 eco regions in the tropical dry forest, Kachinga exhibits some of the lowest levels of average rainfall. With this in mind, amphibian species richness is surprisingly high along with one of the highest average levels of reptiles for the dry forest biome. Despite being less of an outlier, both the mammals and birds of the Kachinga are no less interesting, with several birds in particular being named after this eco region. Moving north, Central America is a
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tapestry of forest biomes with a strip of tropical dry forest running along the western side of the ithmas. In this part of the world, there are two UNESCO sites in particular that represent this biome. Although Costa Rica is known mostly for its species rich tropical moist forests, Arya de Conservation Guancaste is touted by UNESCO as including the best dry forest habitats from Central America to northern Mexico. Something that fans of our next world heritage site might
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disagree with. In Mexico, the Balsa's dry forest eco region is home to the Tuaakan Quatan Valley, an area rich with various species of cacti, producing a particularly unique landscape. In addition to the Americas, Asia also exhibits some fantastic examples of this biome. The dry forests of India make up 30% of the country's land mass and include one of the country's most unique elements being the only nation in the world to host a population of lions outside of the African continent.
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The Kathy Gia dry deciduous forests is an eco region found on the eastern side of the country a small portion of which hosts the asiatic lions that roam the forests of Gia National Park. [Music] According to a May 2025 article in the Times of India, this population has increased by over a third since the last census in 2020 and now numbers 891 lions. Moving along, Southeast Asia is also home to a large patch of dry forest represented best by Thailand's Dong Hayyang Cawy Forest Complex, which
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contains four of Thailand's national parks. [Music] According to the park's website, Cowyai National Park is home to over 70 species of mammals, including between 140 to 200 acic elephants, over 280 bird species, including various species of hornbill and the banded kingfisher, and many species of reptiles and amphibians, including Vogel's green pit viper. Before we depart to the near endless biodiversity of the world's tropical moist forests, it would be a shame not
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to touch on one of Madagascar's most incredible UNESCO sites, Sinct de Beam strict nature reserve, both for the incredible landscape and for the presence of Dean Safaka, one of the most unique primates, a critically endangered species of lemur found only in this eco region. Madagascar is also home to Marji National Park, positioned on the northeastern side of the country, embedded deep within our next biome, one that promises to be quite a journey around the world's most biodiverse areas.
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The tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome is found mainly in three areas. the Neotropics which contains the Amazon, the Afropics which contains the forests of the Congo and the Indo-Mallayan realm which includes Borneo, Somatra and many other famously biodiverse locations. This biome exhibits extremely high levels of rainfall comparable only to that of the mangrove biome which we'll cover next. Temperature is also high here, although not especially with the tropical
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grasslands, dry forests, and mangroves all ranking above the moist forests in terms of average temperature. It is species richness, however, where the tropical moist broadleaf forests biome really shines, exhibiting by far the highest levels of average species richness in all four terrestrial vertebrate groups, with no other biome coming close in any category. Of these areas of moist forest, there is one in particular that exhibits far greater levels of species richness than
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any other and is found on the South American continent. The Amazon stretches 6.7 million square kilometers across the northern half of South America according to the WWF and it's packed full of animals. In terms of individual eco regions, the Aikitos Vasia displays the highest average levels of species richness for both birds and amphibians, while the Gurupa Vasia on the other side of the Amazon boasts the highest average levels of reptile species. In case you're interested, the word
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vasia translates to flood plains in Portuguese. The mammals of the area also do not disappoint with the Ganaan lowland moist forests to the north exhibiting the highest average levels of species richness. Positioned slap bang in the center of the Amazon is a world heritage site known as the central Amazon conservation complex. And although this video focuses mainly on the terrestrial biomes, UNESCO specifically notes this site's importance as being home to the largest
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array of electric fish in the world and also mentions threatened species such as the Amazonian manity, the black cayman, and two species of river dolphin. On the outskirts of the Amazon sits the tallest waterfall in the world, Angel Falls, which Guinness World Records puts at a total drop of 979 m with the largest single section dropping an incredible 807 m. This natural wonder is found in Venezuela's Cana National Park, which of course is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
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The American stretch of tropical forest extends through Colombia and into Panama, an area known as the Darian, and runs up the east coast of Central America, terminating not far from the US border. For most of us, Central America's stretch of tropical forest is more accessible than the depth of the Amazon, and countries such as Costa Rica and Mexico are well known for their pristine stretches of rainforest. Guatemala's Tekical National Park is a mixed world heritage site embedded in
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one of the most dense stretches of jungle in Central America. This ancient site was inhabited by the Mayan civilization from the 6th century BC all the way to the 10th century AD. The landscape is also part of UNESCO's criterion stating that this site is part of the larger Maya forest which is present in Guatemala, Mexico and Bise. There is perhaps one location that is even more mysterious than the Amazon. The Congo is Africa's great stretch of tropical forest. And although the
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species richness here is not quite on the same level as the Amazon, there are multiple species of great ape, something the Amazon lacks along with a greater number of world heritage sites. Okapi Wildlife Reserve sits in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo and was founded to protect, you guessed it, the closest living relative to the giraffe, the okapi. In addition to these funnyl-looking creatures, this reserve contains 376 documented species of birds and 101
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mammals, including 17 species of primate, which UNESCO states is the highest number for an African forest. To the south, there are several national parks that we've explored before on this channel, including Verunga and Bindi impenetrable forest. But it is to the center of the Congo we are headed to a particularly unique protected area known as Salonga National Park. This heritage site sits in the heart of the Congolese rainforest and is home to the Congo peacock, forest elephants, and
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the bonobo, also known as the pygmy chimpanzee. Having covered the Congo and the Amazon, there is one more major expanse of tropical forest left for us to explore. Starting with an island to the east, New Guinea is split between the countries of Papo New Guinea and Indonesia and contains some of the eco regions with the highest average levels of precipitation on the planet. It is a bird watchers's paradise quite literally with multiple birds of paradise calling the island their home
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alongside interesting mammals such as tree kangaroos. To the west, several large islands are known the world over for their biodiversity, not least of which is Borneo, an island shared between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunai. Borneo is home to two world heritage sites, both found on the northeastern side of the island. It is estimated that Kinabalu Park contains between 5 to 6,000 vascular plant species, including 1,000 species of orchid. Indonesia's Sumatra is another island
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known for hosting some of the world's rarest species. Unfortunately, the tropical rainforest heritage of Sumatra has been on the list of world heritage endanger since 2011. It comprises three of the island's national parks, 10,000 plant species, and almost 600 species of birds. On the mainland, China contains the third largest percentage of this biome at 8.3%, which sits just behind Indonesia at 8.6% in second place. If you haven't guessed it yet, the country in the top spot we explored
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earlier on, Brazil contains a whopping 25.9% of this biome, which is four times that of India, a country that will segue to for the last spectacular tropical moist forest national park. Kaziranga National Park is found in the Indian state of Asam and is blessed with the world's largest population of onehorned rhinoceros which was the reason for its inscription on the world heritage list in 1985 and at one time also held the greatest number of tigers in the country.
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It sits on the southern bank of the Brahaputra River which leads down into the Bay of Bengal where we meet our next biome and one particularly disturbing tiger population. Collectively, the world's mangroves make up the smallest biome. But what they lack in land mass, they more than make up for in ecological statistics. Interestingly, the mangroves biome on average exhibits higher levels of precipitation than the moist tropical forests being found along some of the world's rainiest coastlines.
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The two notable exceptions to this are the mangroves found on either side of the Arabian Peninsula where the levels of rainfall are the lowest in this biome. Similarly, this combination of locations means the mangroves exhibit the hottest average temperature. And due to their position along the coastline, this biome also has by far the lowest average elevation with the next lowest, the flooded grasslands biome, exhibiting an average elevation over 20 times that of the world's mangro forests.
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Although not an outlier, species richness is also extremely high in these areas, particularly with birds and reptiles. Given its small size, there are only three natural UNESCO World Heritage sites inside of this biome, all of which we'll explore in succession, starting in Asia. Sunderban's National Park sits on the border of India and Bangladesh and is part of the larger Sunderband's eco region, which stretches further east and west than the national park. According to UNESCO, it is the world's
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largest area of mangro forests sitting at the mouths of both the Ganges River and the Brahmautra which we met earlier on as they flow into the Bay of Bengal. It also supports the single largest population of tigers in the world which have become highly adapted to this habitat. Alarmingly, they also mentioned that this particular population of tigers is infamous for eating humans. There is a Wikipedia page dedicated to this subject which even mentions tigers
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swimming onto boats due to their strong swimming capabilities. Moving on to somewhere safer. Oh my goodness. Everglades National Park, as we discovered earlier on, sits at the juncture of the flooded grasslands and mangroves biome where thankfully alligator attacks are rare and fatalities even more so. An interesting crocodilian fact from a previous video. The Fidian Peninsula is the only place in the world home to both the American alligator and the American crocodile.
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This area represents the largest mangrove system in the Western Hemisphere and is teameming with fascinating bird life, including the rosette spoon bill along with various species of heron. Everglades National Park was placed on the list of world heritage endanger in 2010. Something that fortunately is not the case for our last mangrove heritage site. Mexico's Shan Khan sits on the eastern side of the Yucatan Peninsula and is nothing short of breathtaking. The name Shian Khan is Mayan and
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depending on the source of the translation means something to the effect of origin of the sky or where the heavens were born. Unsurprisingly, Shy Khan is also home to several terrifying predators such as jaguars and the puma, also known as the mountain lion or cougar. Being the smallest biome, mangroves are roughly half the size of the next region on our list. In addition to being the second smallest in size, the tropical and subtropical coniferous forests biome exhibits the
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smallest number of eco regions at 15, the majority of which are found in one area in North America. Although the Himalayas, the Philippines, and Sumatra feature relatively small trackcts of tropical coniferous forests, Mexico is home to almost 70% of this unique habitat. The topography here is among the most elevated of the world's biomes with only the montaine grasslands of the world exhibiting a higher average elevation. It is this elevation that makes this biome unique, exhibiting the lowest
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temperature of the world's tropical biomes and contains just one natural UNESCO World Heritage site, but one of the most unique. Monach Butterfly Biosphere Reserve is located 2 hours west of Mexico City and is the site of one of the most impressive migrations in the animal kingdom. Each winter, millions of monach butterflies overwinter in the tropical and subtropical coniferous forests of Mexico, having made the long migration, sometimes upwards of 3,000 m from the
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eastern United States and Canada. The world heritage site was created in 2008 and protects overwintering sites for up to 70% of the total overwintering population from the east coast. This biome shares an almost identical elevation to the conifer forests of the world's temperate regions. And if we look at this table, we see a noticeable drop off to the next group of biomes. The temperate conifer forests biome is one of only three found exclusively in the northern hemisphere and sits almost
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entirely between the tropic of cancer and the arctic circle. This biome exhibits an interesting combination of temperature and precipitation with rainfall being somewhat average. And given its altitude and its position outside of the tropics, the average temperature here is among the lowest of the world's biomes with only montaine grasslands, boreal forests, and tundra exhibiting lower temperatures. These conditions lead to lower levels of species richness, particularly among
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reptiles, although many interesting species still abide here. While birds and amphibians fare slightly better, it is the mammals of this biome, however, that thrive compared to others, sporting the highest average mammal species richness of any temperate biome. North America, in particular, contains some of the world's most well-known temperate conifer forests, all of which are found on the west coast. Yoseite National Park contains three groves of giant sequoia which grow at
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mid elevation in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The forests here are home to species of deer along with both bobcats and mountain lions. Perhaps the most revered national park in this biome is Yellowstone, known both for its geothermal features and its incredible biodiversity, including grizzly bears, bison, wolves, and elk. Further north, the Central Pacific Northwest Coastal Forests eco region, which is home to Olympic National Park, receives the highest average levels of
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precipitation of any eco region in this biome, creating some of the most incredible forests in the United States. The US and Canada contain by far the largest portions of this biome at 30 and 23% respectively with both Russia and China coming in third and fourth with 12 and 13% respectively. China's portion of the temperate conifer forests biome contains a UNESCO world heritage site known as Sichuan giant panda sanctuaries, Wuong, Mount Sugunyang and Jajian mountains.
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This area is a little closer to the tropics, but sits at higher elevations where temperatures are cooler. And as the biome runs along the Himalayas, it mixes in with the tropical conifer forests we explored earlier on. If you thought China's temperate conifer forests were beautiful, I'd like to introduce you to a continent known as Europe. This biome is found in several of Europe's most famous mountain ranges. The conifer forests of the United Kingdom are found in northern Scotland
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and are exhibited best by Ken Gorn's National Park, the largest in the UK, where both red deer and reindeer can be found. In Eastern Europe, the Carpathian Montaine forests wrap around from Poland in the north to Romania in the south and are home to the largest population of brown bears in Europe. Finally, central Europe boasts the Alps conifer and mixed forests, which is home to four UNESCO World Heritage sites, including the Doommites in Italy and two areas in Switzerland, one of the
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countries with the largest percentage of its land mass covered by this biome at 56%. In the northern hemisphere, the temperate conifer forests are found at roughly the same latitudes as the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests. However, the latter is also found in the southern hemisphere, too. Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests exhibit the most precipitation of the world's temperate biomes with slightly more rainfall than the temperate conifer forests. Temperature here is average along with
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one of the lowest average elevations. These average conditions lead to an average abundance of animals. However, this is the most impressive biome outside of the tropics for bird enthusiasts and also contains the most UNESCO World Heritage sites of all of the world's biomes at over 350 including cultural sites, making temperate broadleaf and mixed forests a hot contender for the world's most interesting biome. The largest contiguous patch of this habitat is found in Europe, sitting
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between the boreal forests to the north and the Mediterranean forests to the south. It is the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of Europe that contains some of the continent's most cherished national parks. The unique landscape of Pip Vice Lakes National Park, Croatia's largest, is not only home to the pristine waterfalls it's most well known for, but an abundance of wildlife, including the largest carnivores in Europe. The Eurasian lyns, brown bears, and three
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packs of wolves, according to the park's website. Poland's Bawata forest is another exquisite example of this biome, which we've covered several times on this channel, but any excuse to explore new photos of the park's European bison population is warmly welcomed. Although we have already explored both the Alps and the Caucasus in the temperate conifer forest biome, the Pyrenees, which sits on the border of Spain and France, is included in this biome and is an excellent example of
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what this habitat looks like at higher elevations. Finally, to the east, Turkeykey's Gore National Park, famous for its hot air balloon rides and cultural sites, sits at the intersection of the temperate grassland and temperate forest biome and looks particularly impressive in winter, something our next continent more than excels at. South America's version of temperate forests is found on the opposite side of the southern cone to the temperate grasslands of Argentina and is home to
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two particularly beautiful national parks. Squeezed into Argentina's portion of this biome, Los Aleres National Park is arguably the better example of the two being found entirely within this biome. It is named after the Alers tree, the second longest living tree species in the world at more than 3600 years. To the south, Los Glaciaris National Park is partially found in this biome, but also features large patches of rock and ice, an eco region we'll touch on
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soon, which covers around half of the world heritage site. In North America, this biome is found only on the eastern side of the United States and the southern parts of eastern Canada. It is exhibited best by a handful of parks found at the top and the bottom of the Appalachian Mountains. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is found towards the south of this biome and according to UNESCO contains what is probably the greatest variety of salamanders in the world.
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Furthermore, the National Park Service states that along with 14 species of frogs and toads, there are 31 salamander species in the Smokies. East Asia also owns its fair share of temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, especially in China, which in terms of countries has the largest percentage of this biome at 16.4%. There are five natural or mixed world heritage sites inside China's portion of this biome. And all of them are found in mountainous terrain, including Mount
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Juan Shan, which is known as the loveliest mountain of China. To the east, in even more mountainous terrain, Hube Shanoshia was inscribed to protect the largest primary forests remaining in central China and is home to one of the most unique primates, the golden snub-nosed monkey, as well as the Chinese giant salamander. Finally, in Australasia, the entire island of Tasmania is made up of this biome and contains a world heritage site known as Tasmanian wilderness, which is
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home to Tasmanian devils, wombats, and other marsupials, as well as the Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle, an endangered subspecies of the wedge-tailed eagle, which is found throughout Australia. Like Tasmania, New Zealand's North Island is entirely covered by this biome and is home to several national parks containing impressive volcanoes, including Tongaru National Park and Eggmont National Park to the west. Wanganui is one of the better examples of this biome, featuring beautiful green
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fernladen forests. In terms of latitude, the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests is positioned almost identically to our next biome. Temperate grasslands, savas, and shrublands being found in both hemispheres positioned between the tropics and the poles. The defining ecological characteristics of this biome is its average temperature mixed with low levels of rainfall with the world's temperate grasslands exhibiting the fourth lowest average precipitation. Interestingly, the topography of this
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biome is almost the exact same as the tropical grasslands, being neither particularly high nor particularly low in terms of average elevation. These conditions lead to average levels of species richness across most terrestrial vertebrate groups. The largest expanse of temperate grassland on the planet stretches from Eastern Europe, albeit not quite contiguously, all the way to northeastern China. In this part of the world, this is referred to as step and makes up 40% of
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both Kazakhstan and Mongolia, two large countries that feature some of the most famous stretches of temperate grassland. The temperate grasslands in this part of the world are tragically under represented by national parks and world heritage sites with just a handful of lesserknown protected areas found within the step. despite being one of the most unique and breathtaking landscapes on Earth, home to some of the most interesting animals. Fortunately, this is not the case in
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North America, where this biome is most commonly referred to as the prairies and makes up roughly 30% of the United States, a figure that includes Alaska. Although only one natural world heritage site exists in North America's portion of the temperate grasslands, Dinosaur Provincial Park found north of the border in Canada. Two of the state's most unique national parks are found in North and South Dakota. In addition to the herds of bison, marmmets, and other mammals that call
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Theodore Roosevelt National Park their home, there are seven species of snake listed on the park's website, including the plains hognose snake, also known as the western hognose snake, and the colorful plains garter snake. To the south, Badlands National Park is home to both big horn sheep and the prongghorn, a species found from Canada in the north to Mexico in the south. but here are most often found in the unbroken grassland regions of the park. South America's temperate grasslands are
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located almost entirely in Argentina, covering 60% of this beautiful country, including regions such as the Pampus and the Patagonian Step, which provides quite the contrast to the temperate broadleaf forests found on the Chilean side of the border. The Pampas region contains several species that take its name, including the Pampas Fox and the Pampas cat, and is home to several of the world's most colorful birds, including the saffron finch and the redcrusted cardinal.
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Finally, Australasia also contains sizable stretches of temperate grassland. And although there are unfortunately no world heritage sites, there are several regions in this part of the world that deserve a mention, including a large region in Australia, home to emuse and wild pigs and a collection of reptiles along with New Zealand's Canterbury Artgo Tusk grasslands eco region, which runs down the east coast of the South Island. Having explored all of the temperate and
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tropical grasslands and forests, there is one biome that sits somewhere in between and is found in some of the world's most beautiful locations. The Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub are located closer to the tropics than their temperate counterparts, leading to noticeably warmer temperatures along with lower average levels of precipitation being similar to those of the temperate grasslands biome. Despite being located in coastal regions, the average elevation is not
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especially low and again is most similar with the world's grassland biomes. In terms of fauna, reptiles are noticeably more abundant in these regions, especially when compared to the temperate forest biomes. The largest expanse of Mediterranean forest is unsurprisingly found in the Mediterranean. This biome contains some of the most enviously beautiful islands on Earth, including Ibiza, a UNESCO World Heritage site inscribed in 1999 for both its culture and biodiversity.
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Sardinia and Corsica are also covered by this biome and feature combinations of colors that quite frankly in the UK we're not even aware exist. This biome is not only found along the beautiful Mediterranean coastline, but includes more mountainous heritage sites such as Meteora in Greece. This UNESCO site features a collection of 15th century monasteries perched on the top of sandstone columns that look out over the expanse of green forest beneath. Although the Mediterranean as a general
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area contains the largest stretch of Mediterranean forest, it is Australia that contains the largest portion of this biome as an individual country with almost 25% of the world's Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub found within the country's borders. In Australia, this biome most often borders the desert to the north, and many of the national parks that represent this habitat are noticeably drier than both their Mediterranean counterparts and the temperate forests found to the east.
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The Australian Mediterranean forest contains a single natural UNESCO site named Willandra Lakes region which contains a large portion of National Park which in addition to its sandstone formations is also home to some of Australia's most beloved fauna. For fans of flora, on the other hand, South Africa's stretch of Mediterranean forest contains a world heritage site known as the Cape Floral Region Protected Areas, which contains numerous protected areas in South Africa,
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including Table Mountain National Park. In South Africa, this biome stretches all the way along the country's southernmost coastline and also contains Ado Elephant National Park, which according to the park's website is not only home to the big five, but the big seven, which includes the southern right whale and the great white shark in the park's marine environments. Sitting just above and below the tropics, the Americas also contains two patches of this biome known as Matal in
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South America where it is present only in Chile and Chapparel in North America where it is found mostly in California and exhibited best by Pinnacles National Park which contains a wonderful collection of animals including the critically endangered California condor. With all of the world's temperate and tropical biomes complete, we must head north to finish with two biomes known for their proximity to the Arctic. The boreal forests biome, also known as tiger, is the world's largest biome,
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stretching across the entire northern hemisphere, where the temperate region meets the polar region at the Arctic Circle. Given its latitude, the temperature of the boreal forest is among the lowest on Earth with only the tundra exhibiting a lower average temperature. While precipitation is reasonably low compared to other biomes, it is still high enough to support the beautiful swaths of thick forest that abut the tundra. The topography of the boreal forest is
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also unique, being one of the lowest, a ranking that is mirrored both by its levels of reptile and amphibian species richness. North America's boreal forest sits outside of the contiguous United States, stretching from Alaska in the west and across the entire country of Canada, covering 42% of the Great White North. Some of the Canadian boreal forests most well-known residents include the Canada lynx, the moose, a species also found in Eurasia, which we'll explore next, and
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the colorful spruce grouse. In addition, one of Canada's most heartwarming national parks is found on the edge of the boreal forest biome on the shore of Hudson Bay. Wusk National Park is home to two species of fox and at certain times of year polar bears who wait for Hudson Bay to freeze over before making their way onto the ice. Heading to Eurasia, Russia owns by far the largest percentage of boreal forest with over 60% of this biome found within the country's borders.
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In these forests, the western capacale is Siberia's answer to the spruce grouse, both being found in the pheasant family, but existing on opposite sides of the world. Other Siberian themed birds include the Siberian j and the Siberian nuthatch found to the east. Mammals include the Siberian chipmunk, which I'll ramble on about aimlessly for another sentence in order to fit in some more of these adorable photos, and the sable, a species of martin found across Siberia, particularly in the boreal
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forests. Immediately north of the boreal forests sit the tundra, which is also located, albeit to a lesser extent, around the coastline of Antarctica in the southern hemisphere. For animal lovers, it is one of the most unique biomes on Earth. Temperature is by far the lowest of any of the world's biomes, and the average levels of precipitation are lower only in the world's deserts. It exhibits the lowest levels of species richness across all four major terrestrial vertebrate groups, a gap
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that is most extreme in amphibians and reptiles. The tundra in North America makes up roughly the same amount of land mass as the boreal forest at over 40% of Canada's land mass in addition to covering over 60% of Alaska. Canada's portion of the tundra contains 12 of its national parks. Two of which are inscribed on the world heritage list and one of these is shared with Alaska. Kuwani, Wrangleras, Glacia Bay, and Tachenchini Alsek parks are all located in the same UNESCO World Heritage site,
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which contains the largest non-polar ice field in the world. Not only is this complex of park celebrated for its glaciers, but also for its wildlife, with one of UNESCO's criterion mentioning the self-regulated populations of wolves, caribou, salmon, dahl sheep, mountain goats, and bears. Speaking of bears, on the other side of the Bearing Straight sits Eurasia and a particularly impressive peninsula that contains a strip of tundra and a world heritage site known as Volcanoes of Kamchchatka.
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Russia is also home to the Putana Plateau, perhaps an even better example of this biome that sits in northern Siberia. This site is famous for its carpets of lychans and is the location of a major reindeer migration route. Something that according to UNESCO is unfortunately becoming exceedingly rare. On the western side of Eurasia sits the Laponian area, another heritage site famous for its reindeer. The indigenous Sammy people lead their reindeer through this area, creating the
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largest area in the world with an ancestral way of life based on the seasonal movement of livestock. While there is a small section of the world's tundra found around the shoreline of Antarctica, this continent is perhaps the best example of a region referred to as not applicable in the eco regions data set. It makes up the majority of Antarctica, the majority of Greenland and smaller areas in Iceland, and is present in the mountainous regions of Asia and North
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America as well as the tip of South America. It contains one single eco region referred to as rock and ice. If this region were classed as a biome, it would exhibit much the same characteristics as the tundra, only to a greater extreme. The only major difference is this region's extremely high average elevation, which is not far off that of the Montaigne Grasslands biome at the top of the table. Despite technically not being classed as a biome, it does host several of the
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world's most famous UNESCO World Heritage sites, not least of which is Nepal's Saga National Park, which contains the world's tallest mountain, Mount Everest. Europe's answer to an epic rock and ice landscape is Iceland's Vatnaut National Park, which covers almost 14% of the country and is referred to by UNESCO as dynamic nature of fire and ice, featuring 10 volcanoes, eight of which sit underneath the glacier. Iceland's highest peak, Kufan Natalnuker, is also found here and
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despite being impressive, is one-third the size of North America's highest mountain, Mount McKinley. This famous peak sits inside of Alaska's Denali National Park, which features a large expanse of rock and ice, and by some travesty of justice, is not a UNESCO World Heritage site. In addition to hosting Denali National Park, Alaska is home to the greatest number of brown bears of any US state or Canadian province. A comparison you can learn about in this video, exploring the
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question, which country has the most bears. Thank you so much for watching.
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