Animal Name: Himalayan Tahr

Scientific Name: Hemitragus jemlahicus

Range: Narrow strip of southern Himalayas, re-introduced to South Africa and New Zealand.

Habitat: Higher mountain ranges, between altitudes of 2500 to 4400metres.

Diet: Grass, shrubs and leaves.

Social structure: Lives in small herds, active by day.

Life Span: Wild - 15 years, Captivity - 21 years.

Conservation/status: Not under threat, considered a pest in New Zealand by livestock farmers.

Remarks: The Himalayan Tahr was introduced to New Zealand in 1904 for trophy hunting. A pair of tahrs escaped from a South African zoo in 1930s to breed in the Table Mountain area but this population is small.

Animal Name: Greater Mousedeer

Scientific Name: Tragulus napu

Appearance: Reddish brown color with more white under parts, bigger and fatter than Lesser Mousedeer

Range: South-east Asia

Habitat: Secondary forests, especially in lowland forests below 100metres

Diet: Fallen fruits, leaf shoots and fungi.

Social structure: Usually solitary

Life Span: Wild - unknown, Captivity - 14 years.

Conservation/status: Not threatened

Remarks: Mousedeer are not true deer but a separate species of ungulate (hoofed animal), have no antlers but males have longer canines protruding out of upper jaws. They are portrayed as very intelligent and wise animals (Sang Kanchil) in Malay folklore.

Scientific Name: Arctictis binturong

Range: Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Borneo

Habitat: Dense tropical and sub-tropical forests, mostly in trees

Diet: Leaves, shoots, fruits, berries as well as birds, fish, small mammals and carrion.

Social structure: Small family groups consisting of parents and few young

Life Span: Wild - 18 years, Captivity - A little longer.

Conservation/status: Not threatened

Remarks: Easily domesticated and has been kept as pets by people living near the forests. Can hang upside-down from a branch using its hind legs and aided by its prehensile tail.

Scientific Name: Prionailurus viverinnus

Range: From India to Southeast Asia

Habitat: Wetlands, mangrove swamps, river creeks.

Diet: Mainly fish, but very opportunistic, will also hunt frogs, snakes, crustaceans, rodents, water birds, will raid fish and poultry farms, hence becoming pests.

Social structure: Solitary

Life Span: Wild - 10 to 15 years

Conservation/status: Not threatened

Remarks: Can swim, jump into water to catch fish, has waterproof fur to keep body warm, has the densest fur per square inch of all mammals.

Scientific Name: Felis bengalensis

Range: Northern India to China and Siberia, Taiwan and Southeast Asia down to Indonesia and the Philippines.

Habitat: Forest floors and in trees

Diet: Small mammals, small birds and big insects.

Social structure: Solitary

Life Span: Wild - 10 to 15 years

Conservation/status: Hunted for fur, might be becoming endangered, highly endangered in Singapore.

Remarks: Extremely fierce and almost impossible to tame, often crossbred with domestic cats to produce pet cats with the beautiful spotted coats. This cross-breed is known as the Bengal Cat. Read more about the Leopard Cat and Bengal Cat here.

Scientific Name: Aonyx (amblonyx) cinerea

Range: India to southern China, southeast Asia, Indonesia and Borneo.

Habitat: Wetlands, mangrove swamps, river creeks, ponds, lakes, especially where there is some tree cover.

Diet: Mainly fish, also eats crustaceans, shellfish.

Social structure: Can be solitary but more often in small family groups.

Life Span: Up to 20 years.

Conservation/status: Not threatened though they are affected by water pollution.

Remarks: Waterproof fur to keep body warm, streamlined body designed for swimming, will overturn rocks on riverbeds with front paws in search of crustaceans. Can become very vicious when they gang up together against even much larger intruders.

Read more about otters here.

Scientific Name: Muntiacus munljak

Range: India and Nepal, Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo and Java.

Habitat: Hilly areas and among dense vegetation, ranging in altitudes for sea level to 1000metres.

Diet: Leaves, fruit, bark, fungi.

Social structure: Solitary or in pairs.

Life Span: Wild - 10 years, Captivity - 17 years.

Conservation/status: Not threatened

Remarks: Will make a barking-like sound when danger is spotted, antlers grow from above the eyebrows of males instead of on top of the heads like typical deer. Small size and short antlers good for dashing into bushes for safety. Highly regarded by the royalty in Malaysia, are featured on the state emblem of Kelantan.

Animal Name: Lesser Mousedeer 

Scientific Name: Tragulus javanicus

Appearance: Greyish to dull brown color with less white under parts, smaller and slimmer than Greater Mousedeer

Range: South-east Asia

Habitat: Secondary forests, especially in more upland forests

Diet: Fallen fruits, leaf shoots and fungi.

Social structure: Usually solitary

Life Span: Wild - unknown, Captivity - 14 years.

Conservation/status: Not threatened

Remarks: Mousedeer are in fact very delicate animals and extremely timid, they can die of fright easily or break their legs easily when fleeing haphazardly from danger. They are prey to nearly all the predators in the forest.

Scientific Name: Gavialis gangeticus

Range: Mainly in India and parts of Pakistan

Habitat: Fast flowing rivers.

Diet: Mainly fish, sometimes water birds and small mammals and carrion.

Social structure: Solitary or in small groups

Life Span:  

Conservation/status: Once hunted by the thousands for their skins and body parts for traditional medicines, deprived of homes when many fast flowing rivers were dammed, now recovering slowly from conservation and captive breeding, still endangered.

Remarks: The tip of the snout on the males swell during the breeding season. This swollen part is called 'ghara', hence the name Gharial. The ghara is believed to contain aphrodisiac properties. Gharials sometimes swallow jewellery to help grind up food in their stomachs, probably scavenged from human burial remains along the Ganges river. 

Wetland birds include the Cattle Egret, Cormorant, Masked Lapwing, Night Heron, Purple Heron, Rajah Shelduck, Wood Duck, plus the Flying Fox.

Marshland Habitat II

White Pelican, Bar-headed Goose (left), Cormorant, Night Heron, Rajah Shelduck and Wood Duck.

See Marshland Birds at Animal Spotlight.

Animals on the Rhino Walkway

The Rhino Walkway (unofficial name) links the Fishing Cat Trail to the Leopard Trail, which is the walking trail nearest to the East Lodge and Tram Station 2.

Scientific Name: Rhinoceros unicornis

Range: India and Nepal

Habitat: Swampy areas close to rivers with tall elephant grass nearby.

Diet: Grass, twigs, bamboo shoots, water hyacinth and crops.

Social structure: Partly solitary, partly social and territorial

Life Span: 40 - 50 years.

Conservation/status: Endangered and survives in protected parks in India and Nepal.

Remarks: Hunted for its horn which is used in traditional Chinese medicine to cure fever. Rhino horn is made up of highly compressed hair-like fibres above a bony lump on the skull. Rhinos protect their skin from sunburn and insect bites by wallowing in mud, keeping the skin cool and forming a layer of protective crust on the skin when the mud dries. 

Learn more about rhinos here.

Scientific Name: Canis lupus

Range: India

Habitat: Dense forests, near villages with livestock.

Diet: Mainly ungulates (hoofed mammals)

Social structure: Highly social, live in family groups called packs or sometimes alone.

Life Span: Wild - 10 years, Captivity - A little longer

Conservation/status: Highly threatened, due to loss of habitat and man’s prejudice, frequently shot by livestock farmers.

Remarks: Wolf packs are led by an alpha male and female pair, and only they have the right to mate. The other pack members rank themselves according to age. They help to hunt and protect the pups. Wolves howl to communicate with distant pack members and to signal their presence to other wolf packs, avoiding territorial disputes.

Scientific Name: Hyaena hyaena

Range: North Africa, Middle East, India

Habitat: Grassland, shrubs and rocky mountainous areas.

Diet: Mostly carrion, also hunts small mammals, birds, eggs, reptiles, fruit and also rummages garbage dumps.

Social structure: Solitary or in small family groups of 2 or 3.

Life Span: Wild - unknown, Captivity - 25 years.

Conservation/status: Though widely distributed, densities are low and is endangered in North Africa. Numbers are declining due to habitat loss and hunting but fortunately, it breeds well in captivity.

Remarks: Not as aggressive as its spotted cousin, hunted in its range for its body parts which are believed to have medicinal properties. Hyenas possess very strong jaws, enabling them to crack open bones. They also have highly acidic stomachs for them to digest even bones and hooves which they will then regurgitate as pellets.