From civets to snow leopards: Check out Vivek Menon’s field guide to Indian Mammals

Indian Mammals traces all of India’s 440 known species of mammals, up from 422 that were listed in the first edition published over two decades ago.

The fourth edition of Indian Mammals: A Field Guide (2023) marks 20 years since the first, and represents a quantum leap.

The capped langur, which gets its name from dark patch of fur atop its head, is a forest-dwelling primate native to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Myanmar. (Vivek Menon)

Where the first listed about 422 species, the latest edition lists all 440 known species of mammals found on the Indian subcontinent, from antelope and deer to our five species of big cat, three species of massive wild cattle (these include the gaur, Asian wild buffalo and the wild yak), wild goats, sheep, primates, bats and rodents.

From civets to snow leopards: Check out Vivek Menon’s field guide to Indian Mammals

The Tibetan wolf, which occupies the Trans-Himalayas, are adapted to life above 12,000 feet. (Vivek Menon)

We were determined to keep Indian Mammals to a form that was still carryable, says Vivek Menon. What would be the point of it otherwise?

The Risso’s dolphin, which inhabit cold to temperate waters worldwide, have a taste for cephalopods such as squid and octopus.

The Nilgiri tahr lives in open montane grasslands and is endemic to the Nilgiris, and southern sections of the Western and Eastern Ghats. (Vivek menon)