Mammals of the WorldBrow-antlered Deer
Rucervus eldii
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Cervidae
- Genus
- Rucervus
- IUCN status
- EN
- Distribution
- China|India|Myanmar|Laos|Cambodia|Vietnam?|Thailand?
- Realm
- Indomalaya
Other names: Eld's Deer|Sangai|Thamin
About this species
- Size
- Head and body 150–180cm; shoulder 110–125cm; tail 20–30cm
- Weight
- 125–175kg
- Habitat
- Wetlands and marshland
- Range
- Manipur in India (the sangai subspecies); also Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and China
Eld's deer is a medium-sized deer, similar in size and shape to the related barasingha, standing 110–125 cm at the shoulder and weighing 125–175 kg. The rough, coarse coat is reddish brown in summer and dark brown in winter, with males tending to be darker, and the tail is short with no distinct rump patch. Young are born with white spots that fade as they grow. It sheds its antlers every year (Wikipedia, general species account).
In India the sangai subspecies is confined to the floating bog of Phumdis in Loktak Lake in Manipur, and numbers only a few hundred animals. Keibul Lamjao National Park, covering 40 km² of this marsh, was gazetted in 1977 specifically to protect it. The species is active by day and inhabits wetlands and marshland, and mating runs from October to the end of December. Normally a single calf is born after a long gestation, and calves are weaned at about seven months (Wikipedia, general species account).
Description: Wildlife of India guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)