Finally and sadly we've reached the last coin of the Endangered Wildlife series. The kalij pheasant. Native to the Himalayan foothills, the kalij pheasant lives in many countries along this mountain range.
Endangered Species?
I couldn't find any Information as to why the kalij pheasant is part of the Endangered Wildlife series. Therefore I have to assume it was endangered at some point but has since recovered.
The Red Data List has not researched their specific population at this point. According to their information page, the species is declining due to unsustainable levels of hunting and habitat destruction. But they do not believe that it will approach critical numbers anytime soon.
Obverse
The obverse features a kalij pheasant walking through the underbrush. It looks still very clean, despite being a bit cluttered with foliage.
Reverse
The reverse still shows the same beautiful Bhutanese coat of arms. The bottom part reads in Dzongkha script Druk Yul, meaning land of the thunder dragon in the tongue of Bhutan. This is the native name of Bhutan.
A last closeup of the pheasant and the Dzongkha script.
Conclusion
This ends my short series on the Endangered Wildlife series from Bhutan. There are three additional coins made of gold. Two of these are gold versions of the snow leopard as 1 and 5 oz version. The only original gold coin is the 1992 Black neck crane. They are pretty hard to get hold of and carry high premiums.
I hope you liked this little excursion into the Himalayan wilderness. Which one of the four coins is your favorite?
Bhutan ~ Himalayan Wildlife
If you've missed one of the other entries, follow one of the links below.
Elly putting everything back into order