The clouded leopard, also called mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through Northeast India and Bhutan to mainland Southeast Asia into South China. It was first described in 1821 on the basis of a skin of an individual from China. The clouded leopard has large dusky-grey blotches and irregular spots and stripes reminiscent of clouds. Its head-and-body length ranges from 68.6 to 108 cm with a 61 to 91 cm long tail. It uses its tail for balancing when moving in trees and is able to climb down vertical tree trunks head first. It rests in trees during the day and hunts by night on the forest floor.
The water buffalo, also called domestic water buffalo, Asian water buffalo and Asiatic water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also kept in Italy, the Balkans, Australia, North America, South America and some African countries. Two extant types of water buffalo are recognized, based on morphological and behavioural criteria: the river buffalo of the Indian subcontinent and further west to the Balkans, Egypt and Italy; and the swamp buffalo from Assam in the west through Southeast Asia to the Yangtze Valley of China in the east.
Bovines comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including cattle, bison, African buffalo, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The members of this group are classified into loose tribes rather than formal subgroups, as the evolutionary relationships within the groups are still uncertain. General characteristics include cloven hooves and usually at least one of the sexes of a species having true horns. The largest extant bovine is the gaur.
Bubalus is a genus of Asiatic bovines that was proposed by Charles Hamilton Smith in 1827. Bubalus and Syncerus form the subtribe Bubalina, the true buffaloes.
The gaur is a large bovine native to Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 mature individuals in 2016, with the majority of those existing in India.
The tamaraw or Mindoro dwarf buffalo is a small buffalo belonging to the family Bovidae. It is endemic to the island of Mindoro in the Philippines, and is the only endemic Philippine bovine. It is believed, however, to have once also thrived on the larger island of Luzon. The tamaraw was originally found all over Mindoro, from sea level up to the mountains, but because of human habitation, hunting, and logging, it is now restricted to only a few remote grassy plains and is now a critically endangered species.
The Asian golden cat is a medium-sized wild cat native to the northeastern Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and China. It has been listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List since 2008, and is threatened by poaching and habitat destruction, since Southeast Asian forests are undergoing the world's fastest regional deforestation.
The fishing cat is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. It has a deep yellowish-grey fur with black lines and spots. Adults have a head-to-body length of 57 to 78 cm, with a 20 to 30 cm long tail. Males are larger than females, weighing 8 to 17 kg, while females average 5 to 9 kg. It lives mostly in the vicinity of wetlands, along rivers, streams, oxbow lakes, in swamps and mangroves where it preys mostly on fish. Other prey items include birds, insects, small rodents, molluscs, reptiles including snakes, amphibians and carrion of cattle. The fishing cat is thought to be primarily nocturnal. It is a good swimmer and can swim long distances, even underwater.
The Indian rhinoceros, also known as the greater one-horned rhinoceros, great Indian rhinoceros, or Indian rhino for short, is a rhinoceros species native to the Indian subcontinent. It is the second largest extant species of rhinoceros, with adult males weighing 2.07–2.2 tonnes and adult females 1.6 tonnes. The skin is thick and is grey-brown in colour with pinkish skin folds. They have a single horn on their snout that grows to a maximum of 57.2 cm (22.5 in). Their upper legs and shoulders are covered in wart-like bumps, and aside from the eyelashes, ear fringes and tail brush, Indian rhinoceroses are nearly hairless.
The four-horned antelope, also called chousingha, is a small bovid antelope native to central, South and Western India, along with a smaller population in Nepal. The sole member of the genus Tetracerus, the chousingha was first described in 1816 by French zoologist Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville. Three regional subspecies are currently recognised. The four-horned antelope has a yellowish-tan, sometimes reddish or goldenrod coat. It is slender with thin legs and a short tail. It stands nearly 55–64 cm (22–25 in) at the shoulder and weighs about 17–22 kg (37–49 lb). Its four horns are unique among antelopes and distinguish it from most other bovids. The longer pair of straight, spike-like horns is atop its head between the ears, while the other, shorter pair is on the forehead; its posterior horns are always longer than the anterior horns, which may even present as merely fur-covered "studs". While the posterior horns measure 8–12 cm (3.1–4.7 in), the anterior ones are usually 2–5 cm (0.79–1.97 in) long.
The Asiatic lion is a lion population of the subspecies Panthera leo leo. Until the 19th century, it occurred in Saudi Arabia, eastern Turkey, Iran, Mesopotamia, and from east of the Indus River in Pakistan to the Bengal region and the Narmada River in Central India. Since the turn of the 20th century, its range has been restricted to Gir National Park and the surrounding areas in the Indian state of Gujarat. The first scientific description of the Asiatic lion was published in 1826 by the Austrian zoologist Johann N. Meyer, who named it Felis leo persicus.
Chitwan National Park is the first national park of Nepal. It was established in 1973 as the Royal Chitwan National Park and was granted the status of a World Heritage Site in 1984. It covers an area of 952.63 km2 (367.81 sq mi) in the subtropical Inner Terai lowlands of south-central Nepal in Nawalpur, Chitwan, Makwanpur and Parsa Districts. It ranges in elevation from about 100 m (330 ft) in the river valleys to 815 m (2,674 ft) in the Sivalik Hills.
The Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve is a protected area in the Terai of eastern Nepal covering 176 km2 (68 sq mi) of wetlands in the Sunsari, Saptari and Udayapur Districts. It comprises extensive reed beds and freshwater marshes in the floodplain of the Kosi River, and ranges in elevation from 75 to 81 m. It was established in 1976 and designated as a Ramsar site in December 1987. It hosts Nepal's last remaining herd of the wild water buffalo.
A bovid hybrid is the hybrid offspring of members of two different species of the bovid family. There are 143 extant species of bovid, and the widespread domestication of several species has led to an interest in hybridisation for the purpose of encouraging traits useful to humans, and to preserve declining populations. Bovid hybrids may occur naturally through undirected interbreeding, traditional pastoral practices, or may be the result of modern interventions, sometimes bringing together species from different parts of the world.
The Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of Northeastern India, southern Bhutan and adjacent Bangladesh.
The small Indian civet is a civet native to South and Southeast Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because of its widespread distribution, widespread habitat use and healthy populations living in agricultural and secondary landscapes of many range states.
The large Indian civet is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The global population is thought to be decreasing due to hunting and trapping driven by the demand for bushmeat.
The Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary is in Uthai Thani and Tak Provinces, Thailand. The park was established in 1974, and is part of the largest intact seasonal tropical forest complex in Mainland Southeast Asia. It, coupled with the Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations in 1991. Together, the two sanctuaries occupy 622,200 hectares. As of 2014 it still contained viable populations of large mammals, including gibbons, bears, elephants and Indochinese tigers, although like all other sites in mainland Southeast Asia, some species have disappeared or have experienced severe declines.
Bubalina is a subtribe of wild cattle that includes the various species of true buffalo. Species include the African buffalo, the anoas, and the wild water buffalo. Buffaloes can be found naturally in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia, and domestic and feral populations have been introduced to Europe, the Americas, and Australia. In addition to the living species, bubalinans have an extensive fossil record where remains have been found in much of Afro-Eurasia.
