A ready reckoner on mammals in India

Did you know that rhinos are one of the most dangerous animals to come across on foot as they can clock 55 km an hour when they chase?
This and several interesting facts find mention in a new book "India Mammals: A Field Guide" by noted naturalist Vivek Menon.
Covering the rich diversity of mammal species in India, from tigers, elephants, rhinos and whales to primates, rodents and bats, "Indian Mammals", published by Hachette India, is a comprehensive, field-ready and illustrated guide to the mammals of India.
Accompanied by full-colour photographs and distribution maps, and based on scientific research reviewed by experts, it records details of virtually every mammal known to exist in India. There are about 400 mammals in India.

The in-depth text describes key identification features, biometrics, behaviour, social strategies, habitat and distribution.
The Malabar civet is one of the rarest mammals in India. With virtually no recorded sightings or any sort of evidences emerging in the past 20 years, it may be extinct or hanging on in very small numbers in the country.

The pygmy hog exists in small populations of a few hundred individuals in Assam while the Namphada flying squirrel is isolated in and around Namphada National Park in Arunachal Pradesh. Other smaller species include the Andaman white-toothed shrew, Nicobar white-tailed shrew, the Kondana rat and the Elvira rat.

The author says that there is an important behavioural difference between the black rhinos of Kenya and the famed one-horn species of India.
"The African rhinos butt with their horn and ours bite with their powerful incisors," he says.
According to him, rhinos are one of the most dangerous animals in India to come across on foot.
"Beware, especially if a mother that you have been careful to avoid is separated from its calf, which you have not seen in the tall elephant grass of rhino habitat. Rhinos can clock 55 km an hour if they chase you," he warns.