Meat eaters are common residents in dry forests around the world. In Central and South America, home to some of the largest tracts of dry forest, carnivorous residents include wild cats such as the ocelot and margay. Indian species include the arboreal nilgiri marten as well as tigers. African dry forest dwellers include lions, the serval and spotted hyena. Other carnivorous mammals at home in the dry forest home are the Malayan sun bear and the pointy-nosed Falanouc of Madagascar.
Rodents are common in dry forest regions throughout the world. Known inhabitants include the smoky flying squirrel and the heavenly hill rat of Indonesia, the Mount Isarog shrew mouse and the white-bellied Luzon tree rat of the Philippines. Some others are the Angolan wood mouse and the Mozambique thicket rat of Africa, the grizzled giant squirrel of India and in Central America the common agouti, related to the guinea pig and the variegated squirrel.
Edentates, commonly referred to as armadillos and famed for their armored shell, are regular squatters in dry forests. Particular residents include the northern naked-tailed, the Chacoan naked-tailed and the greater naked-tailed armadillo. Additionally, long-nosed, southern long-nosed and the screaming hairy armadillos also are at home in these forests. These placental mammals can all be found in Central and South American dry forests.
Even-toed ungulates differ from their odd-toed cousins in that their weight is borne by the third and fourth toes. These hoofed dry forest dwellers include goat-like gorals, takin and gaurs of Asia and the South Indian chinkara. African ungulates include okapi, suni, bongo, grysbok, Bates' dwarf antelope, Aders' duiker--found only on the Zanzibar archipelago--and the African buffalo. In the Americas, species include the peccary, a fuzzy version of swine.
