OTHER MAMMALS:

1. RED PANDA (Ailurus Fulgens): Pandas may resemble bears with their round head, heavy body, short legs and a similar gait, but they have been classed as a sub-family of the Raccoons, a North American carnivore.  Found in Sikkim and the Eastern Himalayas, Red Panda live a bore 1,525 m. Good Climbers with well developed senses of sight and smell, they have an exclusively vegetarian diet of fruits, bamboo leaves, shoots and roots.  A weak whistle, sounding like a bird chirping, may be made and is a means of communication.  If under stress or anxiety a strong odor is given out which may be a means of defense or sexual attraction?  Young usually two are born in spring.

2. BINTURONG or BEAR – CAT (Actictis Binturong): Binturong belongs to the civet family, but with their tuffed ears and a long shaggy, blackish grey coat, they resemble a bear more than a civet.  It inhabits dense rain forests of Sikkim, Assam and other Northeastern states.  Like all civets, it has keen eyes, a sharp sense of smell and acute hearing.  It prefers to hunt small animals, birds, insects and fruits during the night.  Unlike other civets that are silent, binturongs are said to howl loudly and utter low growls and hisses when on the prowl.  They have highly developed stink-glands which are used there are no other means to escape.  

3. HIMALAYAN BLACK BEAR (Selenaretos Thicbetanus): Fossil evidence reveals that bears and dogs had common forefathers.  Bears have a large had, small eyes and sound ears, heavy limbs and are covered with a shaggy coat.  Their sense of smell is very well developed and they feed on insects, termites, roots, fruits, honey and sometimes even animal flesh.  The black bear has a smooth black coat with a prominent v-shaped patch or white on the breast.  Found in Kashmir, the Himalayas and Assam, it lives at about 3,600m. Fruits, berries, honey, corn, termites and larvae of beetles make up its varied died but sometimes sheep, and goats and even larger cattle are attacked and eaten.  Mating season is in late autumn.  Two cubs are produced in spring.

4. STRIPED HYENA (Hyena Hyena): Hyenas derive their name from their unearthly laughing chatter.  The may look like a dog, but are not swift hunters.  While its forelimbs are sturdy and long, its massive body ends in week dropping hindquarters.  Which also results in an awkward, ambling quait?  In the sub-continent, the striped hyena extends its range through forested districts, open country and ravines.  Nocturnal in habit it mainly feeds on prey killed by other animals.  Very little is known about their breeding habits.  It is often seen in pairs.  The young, 3-4 in number is born with their eyes and ears closed.  Average limbs span is recorded as 16 years.

5. PANGOLIN: Indian Pangolin or Scaly Anteater (Manis Crassicaudata): The Pangolin is a primitive animal, which has not changed much during its evolution.  Its most distinctive character is the armor of large overlapping scales that cover the entire body.  In defense, the animal curls itself into an armored ball, exhibiting an enormous.  Muscular power which defies any ordinary attempts to unroll it.  The Indian Pangolin is found in the plains of the country and usually lives in burrows.  They survive on ants and termites that are dug out in the night.  The food is rapidly licked of by its glutinous tongue and swallowed, as they do no possess any teeth.  The only sound produced by the animal is a loud hiss, usually when excited.  Young appear to be produced at different times of they year.  Baby Pangolins, are cared for by the mother, so much so that they often enjoy a piggyback on her tail.  A Pangolin lived in captivity for two years.

6. HEDGEHOG (Paraechinus Micropus): Hedgehogs belong to the order of insects-eating mammals that include the tree shrews, moles, and ground shrews.  A characteristics feature, very pronounced in almost all of them, is a long pointed snout, projecting far beyond the lower jaw.  Hedgehog is small and can fit into the palm of one’s hand.  They have an odd-shaped, rounded body covered with spines, stubby legs and claws used for digging and well-formed eyes and ears.  They are able to roll, themselves up in to spiky balls, when fraught with danger.  Pale hedgehogs are found in desert and plains of North India.  They hunt for insects, worm, rats, mice, birds-eggs and lizard during the night.