Mammals
The district is inhabited by a varied groups of animals. Primates are represented by the rhesus macaque of bandar and the common langur. Big cats like tiger and leopard once abundant in the district are no more seen. he carnivore found in the district are, the Jungle cat, the small Indian civet, the common mongoose, Jackal and the Indian fox. The grey musk shrew or chuchunder and two spices of bats, the common yellow bat and the Tickell’s bat are usually seen. The five stripped palm squirrel or gilheri, the Indian porcupine or Sahi, the Indian gerbille, the common house rat and the common house mouse are the common rodents found. The Indian hare belong to the order lagomorpha is also found in the bushes.
Birds
- Game Birds : A large number of game birds, some of them residential or found throughout the year while others are winter visitors. Various types of ducks and geese such as eastern Graylag Goose, Barheaded Goose, Brahminy Duck, Common Shelduck, Pintail, Common Teal, Mallard, Gadwall, Wigeon Bluewinged Teal, Shoveller, common Pochard, Ferruginous Duck aand Tufted Duck can be seen at the Ghagar an tanks during winter. Some other ducks such as Comb Duck, Cotton Teal, Spotbill Duck, Treeduck are found throughout the year at suitable habitat. Dabchick is also a residential bird. Other Game Birds like partridges and quails are also common. Sandgrouse has been noted as Residential (Indian Sandgrouse) as well as visitor birds. Bangal Green Pigeon is found in vicinity of villages chiefly on Ficus trees and Blue Rock Pigeon occurs in almost all the villages. Western Turtle Dove is a winter visitor whereas some other Doves are generally found in cultivated fields.
- Birds of Economic Importance : Scavengers like Pariah Kite, Brahminy Kite, Whitebacked Vulture, King Vulture, Tawny Eagle, Greater Spotted Eagle, White Eyed Buzzard Eagle, House Crow and Indian Jungle Crow etc., keep the district cleared of dead animals by feeding on them. Scavenger Vulture besides feeding on dead animals, consumes a large quantity of human excreta. Predators like blackwinged Kite, Indian shikra, lagger Falcon, Shahin Falcon, Redheaded Merlin and Kestrel are residential birds of the district. Others like Booted Hawk Eagle, Eastern Steppe Eagle, Pale Harrier etc visit the district in winter. These alongwith Spotted owlet and Eagle owl keep a check on the population of not only redent pests but also various insect pests by eating them. The challenge of insect pests is also met with the few insect eating birds, both resident and migratory.
- Colourfull Birds : The common colourful birds such as Blue Jay, Northen Green Barbet, Coppersmith, Northern Goldenbacked Woodpecker, Indian Golder Oriole, Large Indian Parakeet, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Pied Crested Cickoo, Koel, Common Crow Pheasant, Kingfisher such as Small Blue Kingfisher, White Breasted Kingfisher, Indian Pied Kingfisher, Red vented Bulbul, Indian Purple sunbird, lal munia, Indian Spotted Munia and crested bunting etc., alongwith National Bird of India, the common peafowl, add beauty to the varied wildlife of the district.
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Besides, some other attractive birds and different types of storks, cranes, ibis and egrets and lapwings are also found in the district.
- Snakes : The poisonous snakes like common Indian Karit, Russel’s Viper, Phoosra and other snakes like Blind Snake, Indian Python, John’s sand boa, wolf snake, rat snake and sand snake are found in the district.
- Lizards : The common lizards can be seen in the houses. Kirla or girgit is found in the lawns and hedges and attracts the attention by changing its colours. Sanda is found in sandy areas. Besides, a few other types of lizards are found in bushes and areas of thick vegetation.
- Tortoise : Two species of tortoises are also found in the district.
- Frogs : The common frogs found in the district are Indian Bull Frog, Indian Cricket Frog, Indian Burrowing Frog and common Toad.
- Fish : The different water courses of the district abound with many species of fish. The species important point of view of food and game are the featherback fish parri, katla, mrigal, chunni, bata, siriha, ghally, mallee, and the snake-head fish, dolla and curd