MAMMALS. 235 



MAMMALS. 



Note. — The works consulted for this paper are Jerdon's " Mammals of India" and the 

 " Fanna of British India, Mammalia," Part I, by W. T. Blanford. 



J. Gammie — 6-10-91. 



According to Jerdon and Blanford, there are about 81 species of 

 mammals in Sikhim. They may be roughly classified as follows, 

 viz. : — 3 monkeys, 8 of the true cat tribe, 2 civet-cats, 1 tree-cat, 

 2 mungooses, 2 of the dog tribe, 5 polecats and weasels, 1 ferret- 

 badger, 3 otters, 1 cat-bear, 2 bears, 1 tree-shrew, 1 mole, 6 shrews, 

 2 water-shrews, 12 bats, 4 squirrels, 2 marmots, 8 rats and mice, 

 1 vole, 1 porcupine, 4 deer, 2 forest goats, 1 goat, 1 sheep, and 1 

 ant-eater; but the Lepchas consider there are more species of 

 several of the larger animals than the above two European naturalists 

 admit. 



Blanford in the " Fauna of British India" series mentions 3 

 monkeys from Sikhim : the Bengal monkey [Macacus rhesus), which is 

 found in large companies at low elevations, usually not exceeding 

 3,000 feet, has straight hair and is of a hair-brown colour, tinged 

 greyish witb rufescent hinder quarters; the Himalayan monkey 

 [Macacus ageamensis) which is abundant from 3,000 up to 6,000 feet, 

 is of similar habits and general appearance, but its hair is wavy and 

 of a darker brown, and it wants the rufescent colom' on the hinder 

 quarters; and the ^iva.d\&y?in \a.w^viv [Semnojyithecus schistaceus) which 

 frequents the zone between 7,000 and 12,000 feet, and is said to differ 

 in habits from the hanuaian only in inhabiting a much colder climate. 

 The Lepchas say there are two species at those high altitudes : one of 

 large size and going in pairs only; the other smaller and herding 

 together in companies of 20 to 60 individuals, and often visiting 

 the hot springs to lick the saline matter deposited round their 

 edges. 



The tiger is an occasional visitor only, but the leopard {Felis 

 pardus) and the clouded-leopard {Felia nchulosa) are permanent residents 

 and fairly common, the latter ascending to about 7,000 feet. Tbe snow- 

 leopard [Felu nncia), as its trivial name implies, inhabits high altitudes 

 only. The marbled-cat (Felis marmorata) is an elegantly marked 

 creature, attaining to a size of nearly 2 feet in length from nose to base 

 of tail, which is 15 inches. It chiefly keeps to the warmer slopes, and 

 is a miniature edition of the clouded-leoj^ard, while the leopard-cat 

 [Felis bengalensis), also of the warmer slopes, is the miniature of the 

 common leopard. These two cats never become quite tame, however 

 young they may be captured, and appear to be incapable of getting in 

 the least attached to more than one person, but will stay about the 



