Hello! You must be awestruck looking at our amazing antlers. We are Swamp deers. We are also called Barasingha which means 12 antlers in the Hindi language. We have 12-15 beautiful antlers sweeping upwards.
There are more things about us apart from our antlers.
- Males of our species fight for dominance. This fight is done by clashing their antlers and these antlers are sharpened by scraping them on the ground. These fights are very interesting to watch.
- We are called Swamp deer because we are often found near swampy areas.
- Did you know? Young ones of our species have spots on their bodies that help them in camouflaging.
- We are very good jumpers and swimmers.
- Our population has decreased a lot and many conservation efforts helped us maintain our population.
- We are known for the famous character “barasingh” from the “The Second Jungle Book”.
- We are the state animal for Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh of India.
SOME QUICK NOTES:
Our Scientific Name: Muntiacus muntjak. Our Identification: Deer with very big and more than 12 antlers.
Our Habitat: Swampy areas, moist deciduous forests, evergreen forests and other grassy areas.
Our Range:
Our Food Habits: Herbivorous, feed on all types of grasses, plants, fruits, leaves, seeds, shrubs, and twines.
Our Breeding Period: October to February.
Number of calves born: 1
Our Gestation period: 240-250 days
Our Lifespan: about 20 years in wild; 23 years in captivity.
IUCN red list status: subspecies R.d.duvaucelli: Vulnerable; R.d.branderi: Endangered.
CITES: Appendix I
Indian Wildlife Protection Act: Schedule I
SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Cervidae
Subfamily: Cervinae
Genus: Muntiacus
Species: M. muntjak
COMPLETE DETAILS ABOUT US FOR ANIMAL ENTHUSIASTS:
We are also known as Barasingha meaning “12 antlers”. Let me tell you more about me and my species.
We are scientifically called as Muntiacus muntjak.
HOW WE LOOK:
We are big muntjak species with a body length of about 180cm, a shoulder height of 119cm- 124cm and weigh 172kg-181kg. We have a brown colored coat which is light on the sides and underparts.
We have white colored hair around chin, throat, ears, legs, rump, and underside of the tail. We have characteristic antlers. As our name, Barasingha suggests males of our species have 10-15 antlers.
These antlers are smooth and look sweeping upwards. The females and the young ones are lighter in color than males. Females are smaller and weigh less compared to males and the young ones have spots on them which disappear as they grow.
WE ARE FOUND IN:
As our name Swamp deer suggests, we mostly prefer living in swampy areas. We also live in habitats like moist deciduous forests, evergreen forests and other grassy areas. Our range lies in Central and Northern India, and Nepal. We are subdivided into two subspecies
1. R. d. branderi lives in Madhya Pradesh of India and
2. R. d. duvaucelii lives in Uttar Pradesh of India and Nepal.
WHAT WE EAT:
We are herbivorous mammals and graze on a variety of grasses, plants, fruits, leaves, seeds, shrugs, and twines.
OUR REPRODUCTION:
We are social animals. Males and females form separate herds with 10-20 individuals in them. We are polygamous animals (having multiple mates in a lifetime).
Males of our species invade female herds to mate and fight with other males to take control over the female herd and also show dominance. Males sharpen their antlers and fight with other males by running into each other and clashing their antlers. The breeding season is from October to February.
The female gives birth to one calf at a time and the gestation period is 240-250 days. The young are taken care of by the mother. The young one becomes independent at 6-8 months of age.
It reaches sexual maturity at around 2 years of age. The average lifespan in the wild is 20 years and in captivity, it is 23 years.
MORE ABOUT US:
While fighting other males for dominance, the males of our species scrape their antlers on the ground and run at each other and clash their antlers. Due to this act, the antlers of males are often broken or disfigured.
We roll on the ground to spread our scent to attract females and display their presence for dominance.
We bark and give different sounds to alarm the herd of predators.
Our primary predators include Leopards and Tigers.
OUR CONSERVATION:
Our population is in decline because of the extreme destruction of habitat, predation, and hunting. Our subspecies R. d. duvaucelli is listed as “Vulnerable” species in the red list of IUCN and R. d. branderi is listed as “Endangered” in the red list of IUCN.
We are also listed in CITES Appendix I and protected under Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 Schedule I.
