Order: Rodentia

Family: Muridae

 

Size: up to 40 cm in length (head to tail).

 

Key Features: Their fur is dark or (rarely) pale brown dorsally, occasionally blackish, and light to dark grey ventrally. The uniformly dark tail is shorter than the head-body length.

 

Voice: makes pig like grunts when attacking.

 

Breeding: They construct burrows to nest and bear their litters. The number of bandicoot babies can range from two to 18.

 

Diet: feeds on grains, fruit and invertebrates.

 

Habitat:  mostly seen around human settlements inhabiting houses in villages.

 

Habits: They are nocturnal or most active at twilight. They are aggressive burrower and have been reported to make tunnels in concrete cellars.

 

Conservation Status: Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

 

Distribution in the GoK: reported along the coast of Gulf of Kachchh.

 

References:

Bandicota bengalensis. In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved on July 15, 2014 from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/51582/bandicoot-rat

 

IUCN Red List. http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/2540/0