Yak - Nepal

The current flag of Nepal was adopted in 1962 and is the only national flag consisting of two single pennons. The top pennant represents the moon and the lower pennant the sun. An earlier design was similar with the exception of the moon and sun having human facial features: a mouth, eyes, eyebrows, and a nose.

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Bos mutus - Most yaks are the domesticated version, a species referred to as Bos grunniens; the wild yak is labeled as Bos mutus. The number of wild yaks is estimated at less than 15,000 individuals. Being bovines, yaks form herds, usually small in numbers, and made up of a few males and several females with their young. For hundreds of years the domesticated yak has been as important to the steppe people of Central Asia as the llama has been to the Andean people of South America; both animals serve in similar capacities.

Pretty Blue Poppy - Nepal

Meconopsis bella - The pretty blue poppy is one of four species within the family of meconopsis. It is distributed in the Himalaya Mountains between altitudes of 3,500 and 5,000 meters. Its native range is confined along a narrow band stretching from Nepal to Bhutan. The pretty blue poppy has adapted well to the cold environments; the poppy grows no taller than 12 centimeters and is found growing in rocky crevices or along vertical cliffs as a means of finding shelter from the fierce winds. 

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Prithvi Narayan Shah became the first reigning monarch of a unified Nepal. He ascended to the Gorkha Throne in 1743 and began a long campaign of absorbing the neighboring principalities. By 1768, he was able to crown himself as the absolute monarch of Nepal. The Anglo-Nepalese War fought against Britain, 1812 to 1814, was lost and resulted in the decline of the kingdom. In 1846, Nepal became a constitutional monarchy and in 2008, it adopted a republican form of government.