Indian Gerbil

The Indian gerbil, also called the antelope rat, is the only species in its genus. The upper side, including the whole head, is light brown, sometimes with a rusty wash, the underparts are white, and the tail is fully furred, dark blackish brown with grey sides and a prominent black tuft at the tip. The eyes are large and prominent and the gait is a bounding one (Wikipedia, general species account).

It lives in western and southern Asia, from Syria east to Bangladesh, and in Nepal. It is known to eat grains, seeds, plants, roots and insects, and even reptiles and small birds and mammals it can catch. How the sexes live together is not known. The source opened is short and general to the species. Nationally Least Concern (Nepal National Red List 2011).