LARGE ANIMALS:

GREAT ONE-HORNED RHINOCEROS (Rhinoceros unicornis)

This is the largest of the three species of Asiatic rhinoceri. Approximately 1sss500 are left in the Indian Sub-continent, and this constitutes the world population of the species. There are about four hundred in the national park and surrounding area. Folds in the thick skin of this rhino give the impression of armour plating. The horn is formed of closely matted mass of fibers issuing from the skin. The horn grows throughout life and if lost is reproduced.

Habitat destruction and heavy poaching of this animal for its horn believed by the Chinese to be of great medicinal value have been largely responsible for the decline in population during recent decades. Gestation period is about sixteen months with the young weighing around 130 pounds at birth.

GAUR (Bos gaurus)

This is the largest of the world’s wild oxen. A bull may stand six feet tall at the shoulder and weigh nearly a ton. The Gaur is essentially an animal of densely forested hills. Found in small herds, this animal is very shy and wary. Mainly found in the hills, they descond to the flood plain in the spring to feed on the fresh grasses.

SPOTTED DEER or CHITAL (Axis axis)

Perhaps the most graceful and most beautiful of all deer, easily identifiable by the white spots on its brown coat. The stags have long antlers with three tines. This is the only big mammal in park which is found in large herds. They prefer open forest and the margins between the forest and grassland. They are prolific breeders and the most common deer in the park. The peak of the mating season is in the late spring. Young are born after eight months.

HOG DEER (Axis procinus)

Related to the spotted deer, but smaller and less graceful. The name is derived from its squat appearance and habit of running with the head down instead of bounding like other deer. Sometimes found in groups, they prefer they prefer grassland margins of river beds. They are wary animals with acute sense of sight, smell and hearing. The gestation period is eight months.

SAMBER (Cervus unicolor)

This is the largest of the deer in the sub-continent and a big stag may scale 600 to 700 pounds. It has a shaggy brown coat and the stags possess thick antlers with three tines the full number of points being reached in the fourth year. Forested hillsides are their preferred habitat and their diet consists of grass, leaves and wild fruits. Their powers of sight are moderate, but scent and hearing acute. Rarely found associating in large numbers, stags leave the hinds after the mating season in the fall to lead a solitary life.

BARKING DEER (Mantiacus muntijak)

This reddish coloured deer, seen singly or in pairs, is the smallest of the four kinds of deer in the park. It prefers densely forested hills but is sometimes found in the lowlands. The antlers are small, consisting of a short brow-tine and an unbranched beam. In does, tufts of bristly hair replace the horns, The name is derived from its alarm call, which sounds rather like a hoarse dog’s bark.

SLOTH BEAR (Melursus ursinus)

This shaggy black bear with an elongated muzzle and short hind legs is rather uncouth in appearance Despite its name this bear can be very agile on its feet, one may weigh 300 pounds or more. Like the Himalayan Black Bear, the Sloth Bear has a white ‘V’ on its chest. Fruit, honey and insects, especially termites are he most important food. This bear is quite common in the park, which provides ideal habitat. The young are born after seven months and stay with the mother until they are two or three years old.

WILD BOAR (Sus Scrofa)

With its sparse black coat and bristled mane a large boar may stand three feet at the shoulder and weigh 300 to 400 pounds. The males have razor sharp tusks. The wild boar is omnivorous and its diet includes roots, tubers, insects, snakes and carrion. They feed normally in the early morning or the late evening. Four to six young are born at one time and the mother shelters them in a heaped-up mass of grass or branches, which she builds before she gives birth.

ROYAL BENGAL TIGER (Panthera tigris tigris)

An endangered animal, there are about three thousand tigers of this sub-species remaining in the Indian sub-continent. Secretive and essentially solitary this big cat is less strictly nocturnal than formerly due to the protection it has received in the park. Nevertheless, it is difficult animal to see in the wild. The park contains about forty tigers of breeding age (about hundred of all ages), part of a larger population including about seventy breeders, extending eastward from the park within Nepal and south into India. Deer and to a lesser extent wild pigs form the bulk of the tiger’s diet but this cat is an opportunistic hunter, occasionally killing larger animals such as gaur and baby rhinos, as well as a variety of small prey.

LEOPARD (Panthera pardus)

Although less common than in former times, because of its great adaptability, the leopard has been able to hold its own. In areas of tiger density, however, leopards are scarce. The leopard will kill and eat anything it can overpower with safety such as deer, monkeys, smaller beasts of prey, larger rodents, birds, reptiles. Being more tolerant of the sun they frequently hunt by day.

WILD DOG (Cuon alpinus)

A handsome reddish hunting dog, with a dark muzzle and a black tipped tail that normally hunts in packs, it is rarely seen in Chitwan and then only in a small number. The dense cover of Chitwan does not favour this animal’s predatory strategy.

THE GOLDEN JACKAL (Canis aurcus)

A smaller relative of the wolf, the jackal coloration varies from tawny brown to grey. Generally found in pairs they hunt small mammals and birds but are also scavengers. They are mainly nocturnal and the jackal’s howl may often be heard at night.

ASIATIC ELEPHANT (Elephas maximus)

Fifty years ago wild elephants were common in Chitwan. Now the chances of seeing a wild elephant in the valley are slim. A small herd ranges upto Amuwa inside the park but the total population in Nepal is thought to be only between thirty and fifty, scattered in tiny groups along the country’s southern border.

In spite of its Latin name, the Indian elephant is not the biggest: the African bush elephant is larder, the maximum known weight being over six tons compared with the Asian elephant’s five tons. Adult Asiatic males average nine feet at the shoulder and females eight feet.

GANGETIC DOLPHIN (Platanista gangetica)

This fresh water dolphin, upto eight feet in length is present in the Narayani River on the west side of the park. It surfaces to breathe every minute or so. Life in turbid waters has resulted in the extreme reduction of eyes. The jaws of the animal are well adapted for browsing on bottom living crustaceans. The colour ranges from dark lead to sooty black, the older individuals having a few lighter patches on the sides. Normally one young is born after a gestation period of eight to nine months.

SMALL MAMMALS

These include:

• Langur Monkey (Presbytis entellus)
• Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta)
• Indian Fox (Vulpes bengalensis)
• Large Indian Civet (Veverra zibetha)
• Small Indian Civet (Viverricula indica)
• Common Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus)
• Himalayan Palm Civet (Paguma larvata)
• Spotted Linsang (Poriondon pardicolor)
• Jungle Cat (Felis chaus)
• Leopard Cat (Felis bengalensis)
• Smooth-coated Otter (Lutra perspicillata)
• Common Mongoose (Herpestes edwardsi)
• Crab-eating Mongoose (Hespestes urva)
• Small Indian Mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus)
• Rufoustailed Hare (Lepus nigricollis)
• Hispid Hare (Caprolagus hispidus)
• Indian Porcupine (Hystrix indica)
• Giant Flying Squirrel (Petaurista petaurista)
• Particoloured Flying Squirrel (Hylopetes alboniger)
• Great Eastern Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus luctus)
• Fulvous Fruit Bat (Rousettus leschenaulti)
• Painted Bat (Kerivoula picta)
• Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla)
• Ratel (Mellivora capensis)
• Grey Musk Shrew (Suncus murinus).

REPTILES

GHARIAL (Gavialis gangeticus)

This fresh water species, the most endangered of all the world’s crocodiles is found on the main rivers in Chitwan where suitable habitat still exists. Their long thin snout has evolved for catching fish on which they fed almost exclusively. Although Gharials of over twenty feet have been recorded elsewhere, those of Chitwan rarely exceed sixteen feet.

MARSH MUGGER (Crocodilus palustris)

The Marsh Crocodile is a common sight along the banks of ox-bow lakes and occassionally on the rivers. An opportunistic predator, eating anything it can capture, it also feeds on carrion. A large Mugger may grow to twelve feet.

SNAKES

Largest is the Indian Python, here recorded to a length of seventeen feet. Usually found in marshy areas, this constrictor has been known to kill and devour small deer. Poisonous snakes include the King Cobra, rivaling the python in length; the Common Cobra; the Banded Krait, the Common Krait; and the Green Pit Viper.