Sambar Deer

The sambar is a large deer native to the Indian subcontinent, Southern China, and Southeast Asia. It is included as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 2008. This is due to severe hunting, local rebellion, and industrial development of the habitat. The name Sambar is sometimes used to refer to the Philippine deer, called Philippine sambar, and the Japanese deer, called Sunda sambar. Sambar deer is light brown or black in colour with a light grey or yellowish tint. The lower part of the body is paler. The old sambar can turn very dark brown, almost black. The females can have very short hair with cream to light brown hair underneath. The colour of the coat is usually uniform throughout the body but can vary from almost dark grey to yellowish-brown. Males have unique, thick, strong antlers with three-pointed or pointed teeth. Their tails are very long for deer, usually black on top and dirty white or white underneath. Sambar deer legs are long and strong, the upper part is dark brown and the inner part of the legs is lighter or dirty white. Its greyish brown ears are very long. Further, we will understand sambar history and sambar origin. 

Description of Sambar

The appearance and size of the sambar animal vary widely within its range, which has caused considerable classification confusion in the past. More than 40 different scientific synonyms are used for this species. They stand 40 to 63 inches tall at the shoulder and can weigh up to 546 kilograms. Head and body length ranges from 1.62 to 2.7 meters, and tail length is 22 to 35 centimeters long. Individuals belonging to the western subspecies tend to be larger than those of the eastern subspecies, and females are smaller than males. Among all the existing deer, only elk and elk can grow larger. Large, strong antlers are usually thick, the brow teeth are simple, and the rafter tips are forked, resulting in only three teeth. The antlers of adult individuals are typically 43 inches long. Like most deer, only males have antlers. The shaggy fur can range from yellowish-brown to dark grey. Although its colour is usually the same, some subspecies have brown markings on the hips and lower body. The sambar also has a small, dense mane, which tends to be more prominent in males. The tail of a deer is relatively long, usually black at the top and white at the bottom. Adult sambar animal males and pregnant or breastfeeding women have an unusual blood-red hairless patch located approximately in the middle of the lower throat. This sometimes oozes white liquid, which is a gland. 

Distribution of Sambar

Sambar animal is distributed in most parts of South Asia, as far north as Nepal and India on the south-facing slopes of the Himalayas, in the Southeast Asian continent, including Myanmar, Thailand, Indochina, the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Southern China, including Hainan. In the foothills of the Himalayas, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Eastern Taiwan, the altitude is as high as 3,500 meters. The sambar deer habitat also includes tropical arid forests, tropical seasonal forests, subtropical mixed forests with coniferous forests and mountain grasslands, deciduous broad-leaved trees and evergreen broad-leaved trees, and even tropical rain forests, rarely far away from water sources. The sambar prefers the dense cover of deciduous shrubs and grasses, although due to its wide Asian distribution, its exact nature varies from environment to environment. The size of the range may be equally variable, but in India, it is recorded as 1,500 hectares for males and 300 hectares for females. So, sambar deer India is the most number of species of samba animal present. 

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Behaviour of Sambar

The sambar is a nocturnal animal. This means that it mostly comes out at night time. Males live alone most of the year, while females live in small groups of up to 16 animals. In fact, in some areas, the average herd has only three or four individuals, usually including an adult female, her nearest calf, and perhaps a subordinate immature female. This is an unusual pattern for deer that usually live in larger groups. They often gather near the water and are good swimmers. Like most deer, sambar deer are usually silent, although all adult deer scream or make short, sharp sounds when frightened. However, they are most often communicated through scent marks and footprints. The sambar feeds on a variety of vegetation, including grasses, leaves, herbivores, fruits, and aquatic plants, depending on the local habitat. They also eat all kinds of shrubs and trees. In protected areas such as national parks and reserves in India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, people saw sambar gather in groups. In Taiwan, sambar and sika deer are raised on farms to obtain their horns. These horns fall off from April to May every year and are highly regarded as knife handles and pistol grips. The deer rolls and digs the antlers into the wet soil then rub them on the trunk. The sambar can perform extraordinary bipedal walks for a species of deer. The deer stand and mark the branches above them with antlers. A deer also marked itself by spraying urine on its face with a highly flexible penis. Although they have no antlers, female sambar deer easily protect their cubs from most predators, which is relatively unusual among deer. When facing a hunting dog or wild domestic dog, the sambar will bow its head with its upright mane and lash the dog. Sambar likes to attack predators in shallow water. All kinds of sambar can form a defensive formation, touch their buttocks, and bark the dogs out loudly. When it feels any danger, the sambar kicks its feet and makes a bell called a tingling bell. They are the favourite prey of Asian tigers and lions. In India, sambar accounts for nearly 60% of Bengal tiger prey. According to legend, tigers even imitate sambar calls to deceive them when hunting. They can also be captured by crocodiles, mainly co-pilot crocodiles and saltwater crocodiles. Leopards and jackals mainly feed on young or sick deer, but they also attack healthy adult deer. 

Breeding of Sambar

Although the sambars mate and reproduce throughout the year, the peak period of sambar calving is summer seasonal. The estrus period lasts about 18 days. The male establishes a territory from which to attract nearby females but does not establish a harem. The male steps on the ground, forming a bald patch, and often rolls in the dirt, perhaps to highlight his hair colour, which is usually darker than the female. Although people hear their roar loudly and harshly, deer in heat usually do not make a sound. The dominant large deer defend the non-exclusive territory surrounded by several smaller males, they form alliances with these males through battle. When training with rival males, sambar deer lock their antlers and thrust like other deer, but uniquely, they sometimes stand on their hind legs and collide with each other in a manner similar to roe deer species. Females also fight with their hind legs and hit each other's heads with their front legs. Among men, dating is more based on contact than verbal advertising. Females move widely between breeding grounds to find males to go to court. When riding a horse, the male does not embrace the female. The male's front legs hang loosely, and the invasion takes the form of a mating jump. The pregnancy may last about 8 months, although some studies indicate that it may be longer. Normally, only one calf is born at a time, although up to 2% of babies are reported to be twins. Initially weighing 5 to 8 kilograms, calves usually have no spots, although the spots of some subspecies disappear shortly after birth. Young people start to eat solid foods in 5 to 14 days and start ruminating after a month. The life span of sambar deer in captivity is up to 28 years, although they rarely survive more than 12 years in the wild. 

The Introduction of Sambar Deer to Australia 

In Australia, sambar hunting is a popular sport. Excessive sambar deer will affect native plants and threaten the extinction of some species. Sambar was introduced to Victoria in the 1860s at Mount Sugarloaf, what is now Kinglake National Park, and Harewood Estate near Tualatin.  Subsequent launches were at Ercildoune Estate near Ballarat, Cape Wilson, and French Island in Western Harbor. Another release occurred on the Coburg Peninsula in the Northern Territory. They are now distributed in the northern and eastern coasts of Australia, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, the Northern Territory, and the Australian Capital Territory. In Victoria, under the Fauna and Flora Guarantee Act of 1988, sambar deer are listed as a threat to biodiversity because they reduce the number of native plant species. Animals feed on some rare and endangered plants. In Victoria, more than 60 plants have been determined to be directly or indirectly threatened by sambar. Adult male sambar deer will severely damage plants, remove most of the branches from some shrubs, and sometimes cut trees by tapping antlers on shrubs and young trees. They also eat the seedlings, fruits, or seeds of many plants. They leave scratches to promote their territory. The spread of sambar in New South Wales and Victoria has continued. Since 1980, animals have been seen on many beaches in southern Victoria, as far as Westport and the suburbs of Melbourne. There is considerable debate about how to manage them. Conservation organizations believe that its environmental impact exceeds its social value. Hunting organizations disagree and want to preserve the sambar population for future generations. Sambar is a protected wild game species in Victoria and New South Wales, and its hunting requires a hunting license. In Victoria, regulations have recently been put in place for owners to control problem deer without the need to obtain a hunting permit or wildlife control permit. This allows the owner or other authorized personnel to remove the problem deer from private property at any time, and there is no limit on the number of bags. They have been declared a noxious species in all other Australian states and territories and can be hunted at any time with no limit on the number of bags. Environmental and conservation organizations hope that they will be declared wild species in all states due to the increase in their populations and the damage to biodiversity and native species. In 2008-2009, hunters removed 35,000 sambars from public lands in Victoria, many of which came from national parks. This is a small fraction of the 40% of individuals in the sambar population that must be eliminated to prevent population growth.

Description of the Deer 

The deer is the second largest family of cloven ungulates after the Bovidae. Although the size of the deer is similar to the antelopes, the antlers of the deer are quite different from those of the antelopes, which are temporary and regenerate regularly, which are different from those of the permanent horns of the Bovidae. Typical characteristics of a deer include long, powerful legs, a small tail, and long ears. Sexual dimorphism is very obvious, in most species, males tend to be larger than females, and, with the exception of reindeer, only males have antlers. The colour of the coat usually varies between red and brown, although it can be as dark as the chocolate brown of a tufted deer, or as grey as a moose. The coat colour of different species of deer ranges from grey to reddish-brown. Several species, such as the white-spotted deer,  the fawn, and the sika deer, have white spots on their brown fur. Reindeer skin has important geographical differences. The deer undergo a molt twice a year, For example, in red deer, summer fine-haired and red hair is gradually replaced by dense grey-brown winter hair in autumn, and is replaced by dense winter grey-brown hair in autumn, replaced by Xia Mao. The second spring. Molting is affected by photoperiod. Deer are also excellent jumpers and swimmers. Deer are ruminants or animals that chew by hand and have a four-chambered stomach. Almost all deer have a facial gland in front of each eye. The gland contains a strong-smelling pheromone that is used to mark its habitat. Males of many species turn on these glands when they are angry or excited. All deer have a liver without a gallbladder. Deer also have a tapestry layer, which gives them good night vision capabilities. 

Antlers 

All male deer have antlers, except for sambar deer, which have long, fang-like canine teeth that extend below their lower jaw. Female reindeer usually do not have antlers, although the antlers of female reindeer are smaller and have fewer branches than males. Occasionally, females of other species may grow antlers, especially in metacarpal deer such as European roe deer, red deer, white-tailed deer, and mule deer, but less frequently in palm deer. A study of female white-tailed deer with antlers pointed out that the antlers are often small and deformed and often fall off during calving. The structure of the antlers shows considerable variation, although the antlers of deer and elk are webbed which means they are webbed at the center, the antlers of the white-tailed deer consist of a series of points that grow upward from the main beam that curves forward. The development of deer antler begins with the pedicel, a bone structure that appears on the top of the skull when an animal is one year old. The peduncle grows sharp horns in the second year and is replaced by branch horns in the third year. This process of losing a set of antlers to develop larger and more branched antlers will continue for the rest of your life. After the blood vessels in the tissue are mineralized and blocked, from tip to tip, antlers appear in the form of soft tissue and gradually harden into bone structures. Antlers may be one of the most exaggerated male secondary sexual characteristics, mainly used to achieve reproductive success through sexual selection and fighting. The teeth on the antlers form grooves that allow the antlers of the other male to lock in place. This allows men to fight without risking facial injuries. Antlers are related to the individual's position in the social hierarchy and behaviour. For example, the heavier the antlers, the higher the status of the individual in the social hierarchy, and the longer it takes to get rid of the antlers, Males with larger antlers tend to be more aggressive and dominant than other males. Antlers can be a true indicator of genetic quality, males with larger antlers tend to be more resistant to pathogens and reproduce better than their body size.