Mammals
INDO-MALAYAN  Tropical & Subtropical Dry (Deciduous) Forest

The mammals of the dry deciduous forests & woodlands of tropical south east Asia and India...

Order Proboscidea

Family Elephantidae

There are three recognised living species of elephant; two in Africa, and one in Asia. Of the latter, there are three subspecies.

Elephants eat tree bark, twigs, fruits, grass and roots, and might gobble up to 150 kilograms of food  day.

Elephas maximus indicus, '(Indian) Asian Elephant', mother with young.

Order Primates

Family Cercopithecidae, 'Old World Monkeys'

Macaca spp. 'Macaques'

Macaca fascicularis, 'Long-tailed Macaque'.

Macaca sinica, 'Toque Macaque'. Endemic to Sri Lanka.

A young 'Toque Macaque'.

Semnopithecus spp. 'Grey Langurs'

These monkeys are long limbed and usually greyish. They are mostly found in the open habitats of India and Sri Lanka. They mostly feed on leaves, but have been recorded eating grass, fruit, seeds, insects and larvae, and taking hand-outs from their relatives, humans.

Semnopithecus priam, 'Tufted Gray Langur'. Found in south-eastern India and Sri Lanka.

Order Rodentia

Family  Sciuridae: Squirrels

Tamiops rodolphii, 'Cambodian Striped Squirrel'.

Callosciurus finlaysonii, 'Variable Squirrel', This local variation Callosciurus finlaysonii annellatus, is mainly rufous, with a distinct white band at the base of its tail.

Order Cetartiodactyla: Even-toed Ungulates and Cetacea

Family Bovidae

Bos gaurus, 'Gaur'. The largest species of wild cattle in the world.

Family Cervidae: Deer

Deer are native across North America, South America, Europe and Asia. They have been introduced to the other continents.

The growths from the head are called 'antlers' (horns in antelopes) and are grown every year (as opposed to over their lifetime, as in antelopes) and generally only occur in males, with some exceptions, including Reindeer/Caribou (as opposed to antelopes where females develop smaller horns).

Axis axis, 'Spotted Deer', 'Chital'. Distributed across India and surrounding countries.

Muntiacus muntjak, 'Common Muntjac Deer', 'Indian Muntjac Deer'. It's alarm call give is the name 'Barking Deer'. Common across south-east Asia; Bali is the eastern end of it's range.

Order Carnivora

Family Herpestidae

Herpestes smithii, 'Ruddy Mongoose'. Usually recorded in forest, but also seen in more open habitats, in Sri Lanka and India.

Family Felidae

Pathera tigrs, 'Tiger'.

Panthera pardus, 'Leopard'. Has a strange saw-like back and forth roar (that I have heard while hiding in my tent in India). One of the few big cats that still has a wide distribution; this species is found across tropical Africa and Asia.

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