Sambar deer are light brown or dark with a grayish or
yellowish tinge. The underparts are paler. Old sambars turn very dark brown,
almost the color black. Their coat of dark short hair is coarse, and their
undersides have creamy white to lighter brown hair. The color of the coat is
usually consistent around the body, but it can vary from almost dark gray to
yellowish-brown. Males have unique stout, rugged antlers with three points, or
tines. Their tail is quite long for deer, generally black on top and a dirty
white or whitish underneath. They have long, strong legs, the upper color being
dark brown, with the inner parts of the legs a paler or dirty white. Their
brownish gray ears are long.
Distribution
Sambar deer are native in India, Pakistan, Ceylon, Sri
Lanka, Burma, the Philippines, southern China, Taiwan, Borneo, Malaysia,
Sumatra, and Java. They also have been successfully introduced in New Zealand,
Australia, California, Florida and Texas. They inhabit both the gentle slopes
and the steeper parts of forested hillsides.
Sambars are mostly nocturnal and they rest during the day
under the cover of heavy forest. They often gather near water, and they are
good swimmers, being able to easily swim with their body fully submerged with
only their head above water. Their senses are highly developed, which is of
assistance in detecting predators. When they perceive danger, they make a
repetitive honking call.
Diet and Nutrition
At certain times of the year they like eating different
types of fruit but mainly they are harbivorus.
Mating Habits
Sambars are polygynous, one male mating with multiple
females. Males are very aggressive at the time of the breeding season. There is no specific breeding season, though
it most commonly takes place between from September and January. Usually just
one fawn is born, after a gestation period of about 9 months. Calves at birth
are very active. Their hair is brown with lighter spots, which soon disappear.
They begin to eat solid food from 5 to 14 days, and ruminate once they are 27
to 35 days old. They stay with their mothers for approximately 2 years.
Population threats
Hunting and habitat encroachment are the main threats.
Sambars have developed more of a nocturnal activity pattern as a response to
hunting by humans, who hunt them for trade and for food. Natural predators are
leopards, tigers, dholes, wolves and crocodiles. They are sometimes captured
for zoos.
Population number
India exceeds 50,000
individuals and in Australia Sambars number more than 5,000 individuals.
Overall, currently Sambar deer are classifed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red
List and their numbers today are decreasing.
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