Mizoram could once boast of a very rich variety of wild fauna. However, this has dwindled considerably in recent years due to age old practice of shifting cultivation and excessive hunting. In the absence of proper survey and enumeration, the exact numbers of wildlife species cannot be assessed at present. Among the wildlife species present in Mizoram are Panthera pardus (Keite), Neofelis nebulosa (Kelral), Bos gaurus (Ramsial/Sele), Arctictis binturong (Zamphu), Capricornis sumatraensis (Saza), Nemorhaedus goral (Sathar), Nycticebus coucang (Sahuai), Hylobates hoolock (Hauhuk), Manis crassicaudata (Saphu), Felis temmincki (Keisen), Ursus arctos (Savawm), Hystrix indica (Sakuh), Helarctos malayamus (Samang), Viverra spp. (Tlumpui/Sazaw), Lutra lutra (Sahram), Muntiacus muntjak (Sakhi), Cervus unicolor (Sazuk), Python molurus (Saphai) Vipera russelli (Rulngan), and Naja naja (Chawngkawr).

These are now confined mainly within deep forests because of hunting pressure and loss of habitat.