Panthera uncia (Schreber)

Local Names

Ikar, zig, sachak, barhal he, thurwagh

Size

Somewhat smaller than a panther with relatively longer tail. Head and body, 3 ft. 3 in. -3 ft. 8 in. (100-110 cm.); tail, 3ft. (90 cm.).

Distinctive Characters

The snow leopard is distinctive in the shortness of its muzzle, its high forehead, and vertical chin. The ground colour of its coat is soft grey paling to pure white on the underside. The grey is sometimes tinged with buff. The spots are unbroken and distinct on the head, nape, and lower parts of the limbs. On the body they break up into larger, paler rosettes. These rosettes are less pronounced in the 

luxuriant winter coat. Except for a few black blotches the fur of the undersides is pure white. Newly born cubs are darker than the adults.

Habits

Little is known about the habit of this animal. The inaccessibility of its haunts makes observation difficult. Its home is the higher altitudes of the Himalayas, in that region of stupendous rock and cliff above the tree-line, some 12,000-13,000 ft. (3660-3965 m.) above sea-level. Lying up by day, Snow Leopards hunt at night, preying on wild sheep and goats, on musk deer, hares, marmots, and other rodents, perhaps also on the larger

 LEOPARD PANTHER

Habits

Panthers are able to live and thrive almost anywhere. They are not restricted to forests or heavy cover like tigers, and thrive as well in open country as among rocksand scrub. Being more tolerant of the sun they frequently hunt by day, particularly if they have failed to secure food at night. The Panther will kill and eat anything it can overpower with safety, cattle, deer, and monkeys, the smaller beasts of prey, and larger rodents, like porcupines. The bill of fare is extended to include birds, reptiles, and crabs. A big sambar or barasinga stag, or a bull nilgai are perhaps more than a match for the Panther, and these he usually leaves alone. The Panther’s chief enemy is the tiger. Wild dogs and hyenas frequently come of best in encounters with Panthers. The Panther’s habits bring it into far more frequent contact with man than the tiger, and as such it has become a greater potential scourge on human life and property.

 [ Races in India : fusca (Meyer), ?pernigra (Grey), ?saxicolor Pocock, sindica Pocock, millardi Pocock, millardi Pocock.

Local Names

Tendwa, chita, sona chita, chita bagh.

Size

The average total length is 7 ft. (215 cm.), female about 1 ft. (30 cm.) less. An exceptionally large male may reach 8 ft. (245 cm.). Weight 150 lb. (68 kg.),female about 110 (50 kg.). these are maximum weights. Ordinary weights are 115 lb. (52 kg) and 85 lb. (39 kg.). there is much variation in size in various parts of India.

Distinguishing Characters

A typical Panther from the Indian peninsula is a sleek short-haired animal with a dulvous or bright fulvous coat marked with small close-set black rosettes. There is however considerable colour variation. Animals from the desert zone are paler.

[Races in India : goral (Hardwicke), hodgsoni Pocock]

Local Names

goral, Pij, pijur, rai, rom;

Size

Height at shoulder, 26 to 28 inches (65 to 70 cm.); weight, from 58 to 63 lb. (25 to 30 kg); horns, about 5 inches (13cm).

Distinctive Characters

A stocky goat-like animal. Hair coarse, forming a small crest on the neck.

Two races of goral are found in Indian limits: the Grey Goral of Kashmir and the western Himalayas, and the Brown Goral of Sikkim.

GORAL

The general colour of Grey Goral is a yellowish grey suffused with black. Individuals differ, but no Grey Goral has the pale area of the hairs tinged with rufous or brown. The chin, upper lip, underside of the jaws, and throat patch are white.The dark spinal stripe, if present, does not pass beyond the withers. There is no stripe down the middle of the tail, and none up the back of the thighs.

Habit

In the Himalayas, Goral favour an elevation of 3000 to 9000 ft. (900 to 2750 m.); though they may ascend to and have been observed at 13,000 to 14,000 ft. (3950 to 4250 m.). This is one of the best known of Himalayan animals, frequently seen near hill-stations.

Distinctive Characters

With its large head, donkey-like ears, thick neck, and short limbs the Serow is an ungainly creature. Its habit of standing with its forelegs astraddle, the hoops widely splayed and its head thrust downward, adds to its awkward appearance. Both sexes are similar in build. Horns are common to both sexes. They are black, conical, and closely wrinkled for three quarters of their length.

[Races in India: tharl (Hodgson), humei Pocock, rodoni Pocock, jamrachi Pocock]

Local Names

sarao, ramu, halj, salabhir;

Size

Old males, 39 to 42 inches (100 to 110 cm.) at the shoulder; weight, over 200 lb. (90 kg.); horns, 9 to 10 inches (23 to 25 cm.) in length, 5 to 6 inches (13 to 15 cm.) in girth.

Habits

In the Himalayas Serow favour an elevation between 6000 to 10,000 ft. (1850 to3050 m.).

Local Names

tehr, jehr,kras, jagla;

Size

Height of male shoulder, 36 to 40 inches (90 to 100 cm.); weight about 200 lb. (90 kg). Horns 12 to 15 inches (30 cm. To 40 cm.); record, 16.5 inches (41.9 cm.) with a girth of 10 inches (25.4 cm.). Females, smaller in build with horns seldom exceeding 10 inches.

Distinctive Characters

A wild goat with a finely formed head, narrow erect ears, a heavy body, and long, robust limbs. The hair of head and face is short. The body is covered with tangled masses of coarse, flowing hair. On the neck and shoulders it grows in a mane which sweeps down to the knees. The colouring is very variable. Generally it is a deep radish brown, and there is a dark mid-dorsal streak, not always distinct. Old male are darker, particularly about the back and quarters. Ewes and young males are lighter brown; kids much paler.

Habits

Of all the wild goats, tahr perhaps select the most inaccessible thpes between 2500 and 4400 m., their favourite habitat is a precipitous terrain of towering cliffs, rocks, dense scrub, and forest.

IBEX

ibex, said to be distinguishable by the form of the horns and differences in general colouring, cannot be satisfactorily separated by these characters which vary considerably in the same areas.

Habits

The favourite grounds of Ibex lie in the higher elevations above the tree-line. In the spring they are found low below the snow-line, attracted by the new grass sprounting in patches on the steep slopes of the nullahs. They graze early in the morning, and again in the evening. Above their grazing grounds Ibex have the shelter and security of precipitous cliffs and ridges.

[Races in India: sibirica (Pallas)]

Local Names

Ladaki skin or sakin (male), dabmo or danmo (female);kail;

Size

Height of male at shoulder, 40 in. (100 cm.); female, smaller. Good horns of males measure 40 to 45 inches (100 to 115 cm.) around the curve. The greatest recorded length is 58 inches (147.3 cm.) (Tian Shan), 55 inches (139.7 cm.) (Gilgit). A male in good condition weighs about 200 lb. (90 kg.).

Distinctive Characters

A sturdy, thick-set goat, the male with a great beard and a coat of coarse brittle hairs. In winter, a dense under-fur of wool helps it to withstand the intense cold of its native mountains. The colour is variable. In general, the winter coat is yellowish white, more or less tinged with brown and grey. In summer, the general hue is dark brown with irregular white patches. The female is yellowish brown and insignificant to look at. The great scimitar-shaped horns of the buck are flat, and bossed with bold ridges in front. The various races of Asiatic 

[Races in India: isabellinus Horsfield]

Local Names

Barfka rinch, lal bhalu, safed bhalu, siala reech.

SIZE

As with all bears, very variable. Males average 5 ft. 8 in. (170 cm.) in length, females a foot less. A very big male may be 7 to 8 ft. (210 to 245 cm.) long.

Distinctive Characters

Its heavier build and brown coat will suffice to distinguish it from the Himalayan Black Bear. The brown varies individually and seasonally from dark to light, white tips to the fur may give the coat a silvery tinge. Usually the coat becomes tawny or red-brown when old and worn; a darker, richer brown when grown new in the summer, and long, luxuriant, and heavily furnished with under wool before the onset winter.

Habits

The bare open peaks high above the tree-line are the usual haunt of these bears. Emerging from their winter sleep in the spring, they follow the melting snows up to their perpetual level. At this season and in the early summer they graze like cattle on the newly-grown grass, and spend much of their time turning over stones to look for insects, or hunting voles and marmots, which they dig out of their burrows. It is the time when food is not plentiful and even carrion may be eaten. When summer has set in individuals take to killing sheep and goats and ponies, which are then brought to the high pastures to graze. Developing this habit a Brown Bear may become a real terror to livestock; but it never becomes a man-killer, fearing and avoiding man. Later in summer or early autumn the bears come down to the lower reaches. It is the fruiting season when berries and wild fruit are to be had in the forests, apricots, peaches, apples, mulberries, and walnuts in the orchards, and buck-wheat in the maize fields. Most of this fruit is taken from the ground.

HIMALAYAN BLACK BEAR

Habits 

Steep forested hills are the favoured habitat of this bear. In the Himalayas during summer they may be found near the limits of the tree-line 10,000-12,000 ft. (3050-3660 m.) above sea level, but in winter most of them come down to the lower valleys, 5000 ft. (1525 m.) and even lower – they have been encountered in the Terai jungles.

[Races in India: thibetanus (G. Cuvier), laniger Pocock, gedrosianus Blanford]

Local Names

rinch, bhalu.

Size

Males vary from 4 ft. 8 in. to 5 ft. 5 in. (140 to 165 cm.); a large male measured 6 ft. 5 in. (195 cm.) from nose to rump; females about 5.5 ft. (170 cm.). A male in the autumn may scale 400 lb. (180 kg.) when fat with high feeding ; average weight, 200-250 lb. (90-115 kg.).

Distinctive Characters

Its shorter smoother coat and black claws distinguish it at once from the Sloth Bear. Its build is less clumsy and more compact. General colour, typically black; muzzle, tan or brown; chin, white or buff : very characteristic is the V-shaped breast-mark which may be white, yellow, or buff.

Moschus moschiferus Linnaeus

[Race in India : moschiferus Linnaeus]

Local Names

kastura, mushk

Size

A little creature not more than 20 in. (50 cm.) high at the shoulder, slightly higher at the croup.

Distinctive Characters

The Dusk Deerholds a place between the deer and the antelopes. It is regarded as an undeveloped form of deer which has not progressed with the rest of its family. It is hornless and has no face glands. These are generally present in all deer, and it has a gall bladder which no deer possess. In some ways it has taken a special line of development of its own. This is seen its possession of a caudal gland and a musk gland. The tail of a Musk Deer is peculiar. It is completely buried in the long hairs of the anal region and is for the most naked except for a large tuft at the tip and a tuft at the base which covers its upper surface and sides. The lateral surface of the tail bears in its flaccid skin a narrow slit which is the opening of the caudal gland. The musk gland is situated beneath 

The Musk Deer wears a coat of thick and bristly hairs, almost pithy in structure. The general colour is a shade of rich dark brown speckled with grey.

                        MUSK DEER
 the skin of the abdomen of the males. When fresh its secretion has an unpleasant, pungent, urinary odour; when dry it acquires the scent of musk. Valued as a commercial product, it induces the persecution of the species. From the great development of the caudal and musk glands it is inferred that in this deer the females seek out the males in the breeding season. Finally, Musk Deer have specially mobile feet, the long pointed central hooves and unusually large lateral hooves being well adapted to give it a foothold on snowy slopes and slippery rocks. The absence of horns is compensated for by the great development of the canine teeth, particularly in the males.

Habits

Musk Deer live singly or in pairs and are generally met with in birch forest above the zone of the pines ; at times they come down to lower levels, but always keep in thick cover. They scrape out a shallow form in which they lie concealed and come out to feed in the mornings and evenings.

The food consists of grass, linchens, leaves, and flowers. The breeding season is believedto be in January and the young are born in June.

TODDY CAT

The limbs are always black or dark brown. Facial markings variable, the most usual pattern is a white patch or spot below the eye, sometimes one above it, and one on each side of the nose.  

Habits

This civet is more commin and abundant in well-wooled regions. It lives much on trees, lying curled up by day amoung the branches or in a hole in the trunk. Near towns and villages large mango trees or palm trees are a favourite shelter. 

Local Names

lakati, khatas, menuri

Size

Head and body, about 2 ft. (60 cm.); tail, of equal length; weigt, 6-10 lb. (2.7-4.5 kg.). 

Distinctive Characters

A black or blackish-brown civet with long coarse hair. Underwool, when present, whitish, buff, or a rich yellow; usually hidden in the heavier winter coat. When this is shed the new coat, before it is fully grown, generally shows a pattern of longitudinal stripes on the back and spots on the flanks, shouulders, and thighs.

Local Names

chita billi, ban bilar, 

Size

Head and body, just under 2 ft. (60 cm.). Tail exceeds half length of head and body. Weight about 6-8 lb. (3-4 kg).

Distinctive Characters

The leopard-cat  is about the size of a domestic cat but rather longer in the leg. Its colour and markings give it the aspect of a miniature panther. The prevailing colour of the body is yellowish above, white below, ornamented throughout with black or brownish spots. Both colour and pattern are very variable in the species.

                      LEOPARD-CAT

Habits

The beautiful forest Cat preys upon small birds and animals. It is nocturnal in habit and seldom seen. Hollows in trees are a favourite shelter. It is common about villages in Coorg, where it is said to be very destructive to poultry.