Bangladesh is blessed with 119 species
of mammals (Khan 1982). The abundance
of such a large number of species in a
small territory has been possible because
of a diversified flora, a characteristic of
tropical forests. However, the existing
mammalian population indicates a distinctly
deteriorating trend during the past
several decades. No systematic survey of
mammals has ever been carried out for the
area now under the territories of Bangladesh.
It is, therefore, difficult to quantify the
magnitude of loss. Our knowledge is
limited to some old records made by
Blanford (1888) and Pocock 1939, 1941) and
some recent works (Choudhury 1969,
Mountfort 1969, Husain 1974, Khan 1982).
None of these records is complete and
uptodate and, therefore, further studies are
needed in this direction. A reconnaissance
survey was made during 1978 and 1979 to
assess the status and distribution of some
mammals of Bangladesh. This paper
discussess the status and distribution of 21
species covering 8 families.