Geographic Range
Barasingha, or swamp deer (
Rucervus duvaucelii
), were once distributed throughout the Indian peninsula, but today are only found
in areas of central and northern India and southern Nepal. There are two recognized
subspecies:
R. d. branderi
, found in Madhya Pradesh, and
R. d. duvaucelii
, found in Uttar Pradesh and southern Nepal.
Habitat
The name “swamp deer” refers to the habitat preferred by the species.
Rucervus duvaucelii duvaucelii
is found in swampland and a variety of forest types ranging from dry to moist deciduous
to evergreen.
Rucervus duvaucelii branderi
is found in grassy floodplains. In either forested or open habitats, both subspecies
are commonly found near bodies of water.
- Habitat Regions
- tropical
- terrestrial
- Terrestrial Biomes
- savanna or grassland
- forest
- Other Habitat Features
- riparian
Physical Description
Adult
Rucervus duvaucelii
stand between 119 to 124 centimeters at the shoulder, and weigh approximately 172
to 181 kilograms. Their coats are chestnut brown on the back, fading to a lighter
brown on the sides and belly, with a creamy white on the inside of the legs, rump,
and underside of the tail. Their chins, throats, and the insides of their ears are
also whitish in color. In winter months, beginning around November, the coat turns
a dark, dull grayish brown. Adult males will have darker coats than females and juveniles,
ranging from dark brown to almost black. The coats of fawns are brown and spotted
when born, but the spots will fade as the fawn matures.
The name “barasingha” literally means “twelve-tined”. A fully adult male can have
10 to 15 tines, though some males have been found to have up to 20. Antlers of barasingha
are smooth, the main beam sweeping upward for over half the length before branching
repeatedly.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- homoiothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- male larger
- sexes colored or patterned differently
- ornamentation
Reproduction
Barasingha are polygynous, a dominant stag collecting a harem of up to thirty hinds
(females). He will fight with other males for possession of the harem and the right
to breed. At the beginning of the rut in mid-October, herds start to break apart and
males create wallows. Male barasingha wallow by urinating and defecating in muddy
pools and then roll, coating themselves in scent. Males also begin to bugle and bark;
these sounds are sometimes compared to the braying of mules. Their calls will continue
throughout the rut and well into February.
Fights between competing males occur as they form harems. Males will scrape the ground
with their hooves and then run at each other, clashing antlers. The tines will often
be snapped off during these fights, leaving the antlers broken or disfigured. At the
end of the rut, stags will leave their females and band together with other stags,
while hinds form herds with similarly-aged females.
- Mating System
- polygynous
Breeding, or rutting, season begins in October and continues through February. The
gestation period lasts 240 to 250 days, with most fawns born between September and
October. A female barasingha reaches sexual maturity at 2 years of age. Barasinghas
have one fawn per year, rarely twins.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- seasonal breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- viviparous
A female barasingha will wean her young between 6 to 8 months of age. Males are not
involved in providing for or protecting the young.
- Parental Investment
- precocial
-
pre-fertilization
- provisioning
-
protecting
- female
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-weaning/fledging
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- female
-
provisioning
Lifespan/Longevity
The oldest captive
Rucervus duvaucelii
reached 23 years of age; in the wild, individuals typically reach 20 years old.
Behavior
Barasinghas are active throughout the day, but do the majority of their grazing in
the morning and evening, resting through the hotter afternoon. They are social animals,
normally found in herds of similar gender and age, each herd averaging between 10
and 20 members. Mixed age and gender herds can occur; when they do, one hind characteristically
leads. Other females form a single file line behind her, followed by stags in the
rear. Leadership appears to have no relation to dominance.
In herds of either type, males demonstrate less loyalty than females, often leaving
one herd to join or form another.
- Key Behaviors
- terricolous
- diurnal
- crepuscular
- motile
- nomadic
- social
- dominance hierarchies
Home Range
A typical barasingha home range is about 4 square miles, though stags are more likely
to roam.
Communication and Perception
Barasingha males use wallows to spread their scent during the rut in an attempt to
attract available females and announce their presence to other males. Bugles and barks
are also employed for these purposes.
Alarm calls are used when predators are nearby.
Food Habits
Barasinghas primarily eat grasses. During the hot season, they will drink at least
twice a day, the first time soon after daylight and again in the late afternoon.
- Plant Foods
- leaves
- flowers
Predation
Barasinghas react to the alarm calls of their own kind as well as those of other animals
by holding their necks erect and cocking their ears, facing themselves towards the
threat. This alerts others in the herd, who adopt the same posture as well as raise
their tails and stomp their hooves. Barks and screams are sent back and forth throughout
the herd, rising in pitch if a predator is sighted. The alarm reaction persists until
the barasinghas are certain danger is no longer near.
The primary natural predators of barasinghas are tigers and leopards.
Ecosystem Roles
Barasinghas are an important prey animal for tigers and leopards. They graze heavily
on grasses and impact plant communities.
- Ecosystem Impact
- disperses seeds
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Barasinghas that leave protected lands are hunted for food by humans.
- Positive Impacts
- food
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Barasinghas are shot and killed because they are thought to feed on crops, although
there is no evidence to support this assumption.
Conservation Status
Barasinghas are listed as an endangered species by the IUCN. The subspecies
R. d. duvaucelii
is considered a vulnerable species, while
R. d. branderi
is endangered. Degradation of habitat, along with predation and hunting has brought
barasinghas to low population levels.
Other Comments
Texts disagree on the number of subspecies of the barasingha. Some sources name a third subspecies, R. d. ranjitsinhi , found in Assam, India, though this taxonomy is not universally accepted.
Barasinghas were previously known by the scientific name
Cervus duvaucelii
, this was recently changed to
Rucervus duvaucelii
.
Additional Links
Contributors
Tanya Dewey (editor), Animal Diversity Web.
Amber Ferraino (author), University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Chris Yahnke (editor, instructor), University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
- oriental
-
found in the oriental region of the world. In other words, India and southeast Asia.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- tropical
-
the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- tropical savanna and grassland
-
A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.
- savanna
-
A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.
- temperate grassland
-
A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.
- forest
-
forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.
- marsh
-
marshes are wetland areas often dominated by grasses and reeds.
- swamp
-
a wetland area that may be permanently or intermittently covered in water, often dominated by woody vegetation.
- bog
-
a wetland area rich in accumulated plant material and with acidic soils surrounding a body of open water. Bogs have a flora dominated by sedges, heaths, and sphagnum.
- riparian
-
Referring to something living or located adjacent to a waterbody (usually, but not always, a river or stream).
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- sexual ornamentation
-
one of the sexes (usually males) has special physical structures used in courting the other sex or fighting the same sex. For example: antlers, elongated tails, special spurs.
- polygynous
-
having more than one female as a mate at one time
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- viviparous
-
reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.
- young precocial
-
young are relatively well-developed when born
- diurnal
-
- active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
- crepuscular
-
active at dawn and dusk
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- nomadic
-
generally wanders from place to place, usually within a well-defined range.
- social
-
associates with others of its species; forms social groups.
- dominance hierarchies
-
ranking system or pecking order among members of a long-term social group, where dominance status affects access to resources or mates
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- food
-
A substance that provides both nutrients and energy to a living thing.
- herbivore
-
An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.
- folivore
-
an animal that mainly eats leaves.
References
Huffman, B. 2006. " Rucervus duvaucelii , Barasingha, swamp deer" (On-line). Accessed November 20, 2006 at http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Artiodactyla/Rucervus_duvaucelii.html .
Massicot, P. 2005. "Animal Info – Barasingha" (On-line). Accessed November 20, 2006 at http://www.animalinfo.org/species/artiperi/cervduva.htm .
Nowak, R. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World, Sixth Edition, Volume II . Baltimore & London: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Schaller, G. 1967. The Deer and the Tiger . Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Walker, M. 2005. "Barasingha deer, Cervus ducuaceli " (On-line). Accessed November 20, 2006 at http://www.worlddeer.org/barasingha.html .
Whitehead, G. 1972. Deer of the World . London: Constable & Company, Ltd.