v11i2.289

Submitted date: 29 May 2022
Accepted date: 29 October 2022
Published date: 22 November 2022
Pp. 107–108.

Northernmost distribution of Indian brown mongoose (Herpestes fuscus)

N. Singh*, R. Govekar & A. Pathak
*Corresponding author. E-mail: nishanicky1210@gmail.com

The Indian brown mongoose, Herpestes fuscus is among the six species of mongoose found in India. The species can be distinguished from other species of mongoose by its dark brown fur, black legs and thick, furry and conical tail. Brown mongoose has a restricted and disjunct distribution, with two populations of the nominate H. f. fuscus in the Western Ghats (Karnataka and Kerala) in Southern India and three other subspecies along the western coast of Sri Lanka. In southern India, brown mongoose has been recorded in wet evergreen forests of the Western Ghats from altitudes ranging between 450 to over 2,000 m a.s.l. Recently it has been recorded from Tadoba-Andheri Tiger Reserve, about 160 km south of Pench, also in Maharashtra.

Section Editor: Lee Harding