October 2012 - Journal of Threatened Taxa

Mammals of Kalimpong HillsAs most of the mammals of NVNP and surroundingforests are shy, nocturnal and live in the dense canopyand thick undergrowth (visibility not more than5–10 m and often less than 2m on either side), directsighting of the mammalian species during daytime wasvery limited. So, the people living inside and fringeof the forests and departmental staff attached to thecamps and engaged in regular monitoring in the studyarea (n=100) were also interviewed (semi-structuredquestionnaire survey) with colour photographs of themammalian species for identification.RESULTSThe mammalian species registered in the studyarea are described below.Order: Eulipotyphla Waddell, Okada & Hasegawa,1999: Insect-eaters or Insectivores (Shrews, Molesand Hedgehogs)Family: Soricidae Fischer von Waldheim, 1817:ShrewsSubfamily: Soricinae Fischer von Waldheim, 1817:Red-toothed ShrewGenus: Episoriculus Ellerman & Morrison-Scott,1966: Brown-toothed Shrew1. Episoriculus caudatus caudatus Horsfield,1851: Hodgson’s Brown-toothed Shrew (Wroughton1917b; Agrawal et al. 1992).This shrew is common in the montane coniferousand alpine forests as well as rhododendron forests andalpine meadows along the riverside at altitudes from1,800–3,200 m. N.A. Baptista collected two females atSangser. The fur in specimens from Darjeeling Districtwas reported to be shorter and less dense than those inspecimens from Sikkim. Since it is a nocturnal animal,its sighting is rare in the study area. It was not sightedduring the recent surveys.Genus: Soriculus Blyth, 1854: Southern LongtailedShrew2. Soriculus nigrescens nigrescens Gray, 1842:Himalayan Black Ground or Burrowing Longclawedor Mouse-tailed Forest Shrew (Sharma 1990;Agrawal et al. 1992; Mukhopadhyay 1996, Singhal &Mukhopadhyay 1998; Biswas et al. 1999; Chaudhuri& Sarkar 2003).This nocturnal shrew of the temperate forestsinhabits the damp areas in shrub lands in the outskirtsJ.K. Mallickof evergreen broad-leaved and coniferous forests atelevations from 1,219–1,800 m of the upper forestzone and naked rocky areas. Once upon a time it wasa common species in the study area. This shrew wassighted at Jaributi and specimens were also trappedwith baits in deep forest, near old fallen trees in thesame area during the recent surveys.Subfamily: Crocidurinae Milne-Edwards, 1872:White-toothed ShrewGenus: Suncus Ehrenberg, 1833: House Shrews,Musk Shrews3. Suncus murinus soccatus Hodgson, 1845: GreyMusk Shrew or House Shrew (Wroughton 1917b;Sharma 1990; Agrawal et al. 1992; Downloaded on 20October 2009).This nocturnal shrew is commonly found in theforests as well as near the human settlements. Someof the species live in leaf litter or grass. Some havebeen recorded up to 2,825m. N.A. Baptista collected15 males and 26 females from Kalimpong, two malesfrom Nimbong, five males and five females fromPedong and one male from Sangser. H. Khajuria alsocollected two males and two females from Tarkhola in1958. Though recorded earlier in NVNP, it was notsighted during the recent surveys.Family: Talpidae Fischer von Waldheim, 1817:MolesSubfamily: Talpinae Fischer von Waldheim, 1817:Old World Moles and relativesGenus: Euroscaptor Miller, 1940: Eurasian Moles4. Euroscaptor micrura micrura Hodgson, 1841:Eastern Short-tailed Mole (Sharma1990).This species is usually found in tropical andsubtropical montane forest between 1,000–2,000 mand lives in leaf litter and rocky, gravelly areas. It isrecorded as common in NVNP, but was not sightedduring the recent survey, though some tunnels wereobserved in the forest edges and bamboo brakes.Order: Scandentia Wagner, 1855: Tree-shrewsFamily: Tupaiidae Gray, 1825: Tree-shrewsSubfamily: Tupaiinae Gray, 1825: True treeshrewsGenus: Tupaia Raffles, 1821: True tree-shrews5. Tupaia belangeri lepcha Thomas, 1922:Common Northern or Assam Tree-shrew (Wroughton,1917b; Sharma 1990; Agrawal et al. 1992; Chaudhuri& Sarkar 2003; downloaded on 203110Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | October 2012 | 4(12): 3103–3136