Overview
A large, strongly built deer, dark brown in color, with older stags sometimes dark gray to nearly black. The underparts, inner legs and chin are a light buff. The tail and rump are fringed with orange hairs that are very noticeable as the animal runs off. The coat is very coarse, though not thick, and there is a small mane on the neck. The ears are long and very broad, with a shading of white on the inside. The tail is short and bushy. Both sexes have large preorbital glands, which apparently they are able to evert at will, causing them to appear to be nearly as large as the eyes. (Chinese refer to Sambar as four-eyed deer.) Females are lighter in color than males. The antlers are massive and rugged, with heavily pearled coronets. Typical antlers have three points to a side-two tines plus the main beam. A strong brow tine grows from the main beam at an acute angle and close to the burr. An inner (rear) top tine grows from the inside of the main beam to form the terminal fork. The main beam is considered the outer (front) top. The terminal fork is more or less forward-facing and has no fixed pattern-sometimes the outer top is longer, sometimes the inner, and sometimes they are even. An occasional head will have additional tines; such tines are always non-typical in Sambar.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammal
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Cervidae
- Genus
- Rusa
- Species
- Rusa unicolor
Habitat
Tropical dry forests, tropical seasonal forests. Distribution- Sambar are native to southeastern Asia, from India and Sri Lanka eastward to Indochina, Hainan, southern China, Sumatra, Borneo and Taiwan. India, southern Nepal, and Bangladesh. Private ranches in California, Texas and Florida. There also is a small free-ranging population in south Florida below the Keys, Patahorn by Victoria Texas Coast, and the Santa Lucia Mountains of California that is descended from escapees from the nearby Hearst Ranch. In Australia, wild Sambar occur mainly in Victoria and adjacent parts of southeastern New South Wales, but are also found on the Cobourg Peninsula in the Northern Territory. May have been introduced in Tasmania during the early 1900s (this is disputed), but in any case they are not found there today. Enclosed sambar are found on some private estates. In New Zealand, wild Sambar are found only on the North Island, where they are in two well-separated herds. The Manawatu herd occurs along the southwestern coast from Levin to Harakeke (just south of Wanganui), and inland along the Turakina and Whangaehu valleys. The Bay of Plenty herd is found mainly from southeast of Rotorua to Whakatane on the coast, but there are other small populations as well. Enclosed Sambar are found on some private estates.
Diet
This animal both grazes and browses based on regional and seasonal availability. Their diet includes grasses, shrubs and the bark of trees, and they drink water regularly.
Behavior
Live in small family groups of eight or fewer (usually 3-5), mainly females and young. Older stags are solitary except when rutting, at which time they establish small territories and are joined by females for various periods of time. There appears to be no fixed breeding season in Australia, thus stags with hard antlers may be encountered at any time of year and calves may be born in any month. Sambar on the North Island of New Zealand rut during April and May, and calves are born eight months later. Contrary to the assumptions of early naturalists, stags do not retain their antlers for two or more years, but shed them annually. Normally diurnal, feeding morning and evening, but becoming nocturnal when hunted hard. Sambar are both grazers and browsers. Fond of wallowing in mud along streambeds, and the same wallows may be used year after year. Hearing, sense of smell and eyesight are very good. Shy, elusive and intelligent, sambar are difficult to approach. Stags are pugnacious, fighting each other outside the rut as well as during it. Can be dangerous to humans. Alarm call is a short, sharp, deep blast that has a melodious quality (termed belling in India).
Hunting
Hunting methods vary greatly across this animal's range, especially when comparing hunts in their native range with areas that they have been introduced in.
Conservation Status
Listed as Vulnerable by IUCN.