The barasingha ( Rucervus duvaucelii), sometimes barasinghe, also known as the swamp deer, is a Cervidae species distributed in the Indian subcontinent. Populations in Northern India and central India are fragmented, and two isolated populations occur in southwestern Nepal. It has been extirpated in Pakistan and Bangladesh, and its presence is uncertain in Bhutan.[
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The specific name commemorates the French naturalist Alfred Duvaucel.
The swamp deer differs from all other Indian deer species in that the carry more than three tines. Because of this distinctive character it is designated bārah-singgā, meaning "twelve-horned" in Hindi language.
Characteristics
The barasingha is a large deer with a shoulder height of and a head-to-body length of nearly . Its hair is rather woolly and yellowish brown above but paler below, with white spots along the spine. The throat, belly, inside of the thighs and beneath the tail is white. In summer, the coat becomes bright rufous-brown. The neck is maned. Females are paler than males. Young are spotted. Average antlers measure round the curve with a girth of at mid beam.[Blanford, W. T. (1888–1891). The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Mammalia. Taylor and Francis, London.] A record antler measured round the curve.[
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Stags weigh . Females are less heavy, weighing about .[
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Distribution and habitat
Swamp deer were once common in many areas, including parts of the Upper Narmada Valley and to the south, in Bastar state, prior to the 19th century.[ They frequent flat or undulating grasslands, floodplains and marshes, and generally stay on the outskirts of forests. At times, they are also found in open forest.][ In the 1960s, the total population was estimated to be between 1,600-2,150 individuals in India, with about 1,600 in Nepal. Today, the distribution is further reduced and fragmented, due to major losses in the 1930s–1960s following unregulated hunting and conversion of large tracts of habitat into cropland.
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In Nepal, they can be primarily found in the western areas of the country, south of the Himalayas, in Shuklaphanta and Bardiya National Parks. Within India, barasingha can be found in six localities in Uttar Pradesh. They are found in Kanha National Park, in Madhya Pradesh, and have also been observed across the state border in Chhattisgarh (near to Dhamtari),[Choudhury, A. U. (2003). The mammals of Arunachal Pradesh. Regency Publications, New Delhi .] A few barasingha still survive in Assam's Kaziranga and Manas National Parks.[Choudhury, A. U. (1997). Checklist of the mammals of Assam. 2nd ed. Gibbon Books & Assam Science Technology & Environment Council, Guwahati, India. ][Choudhury, A. U. (2004). Kaziranga: Wildlife in Assam. Rupa & Co., New Delhi.][Choudhury, A. U. (1986). Manas Sanctuary threatened by extraneous factors. The Sentinel.]
In 2005, a small population of about 320 individuals was discovered in the Jhilmil Jheel Conservation Reserve in Haridwar district, Uttarakhand, on the east bank of the Ganges. This likely represents the most northerly limit of the species.[Tewari, R. and Rawat, G.S. (2013). Activity pattern and diurnal time budget of swamp deer ( Rucervus duvaucelii duvaucelii) in Jhilmil Jheel Conservation Reserve, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India. NeBIO 4 (3): 36–40.][Nandy, S., Kushwaha, S.P.S. and Gaur, P. 2012. Identification of swamp deer ( Cervus duvauceli duvauceli Cuvier) potential habitat in Jhilmil Jheel Conservation Reserve, Uttarakhand, India using multi-criteria analysis. Environmental Management 49 (4): 902–914.]
Distribution of subspecies
Three subspecies are currently recognized:
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Western swamp deer R. d. duvauceli (Cuvier, 1823) – the nominate subspecies, and most abundant, this water-loving deer has splayed hooves and is adapted to the flooded grassland habitat of the Indo-Gangetic plain;
[Pocock R. (1943). The larger deer of British India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 43: 553–572.] in the early 1990s, populations in India were estimated at 1,500–2,000 individuals, and 1,500–1,900 individuals in the Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve of Nepal;[ the latter population reached 2,170 individuals, including 385 fawns, in spring 2013.][. Kanchanpur, 19 April 2013.]
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Southern swamp deer (or hard ground swamp deer) R. d. branderi (Pocock 1943) – has hard hooves and is adapted to hard ground in open Shorea robusta forest with a grass understorey;
[ survives only in Kanha National Park, to the west of Chhattisgarh and east of Madhya Pradesh. The population numbered about 500 individuals in 1988; 300–350 individuals were estimated at the turn of the century;][ and 750 in 2016. It was reintroduced into Satpura Tiger Reserve.]
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Eastern swamp deer R. d. ranjitsinhi (Grooves 1982) – occurs only in Assam, where the population numbered about 700 individuals in 1978; 400–500 individuals were estimated in Kaziranga National Park at the turn of the century.
[ After a census conducted in 2021, 868 individuals were estimated in the park, with a further 121 in Manas National Park.]
Ecology and behaviour
Swamp deer are mainly Grazing.[ They largely feed on grasses and aquatic plants, foremost on Saccharum, Imperata cylindrica, Narenga porphyrocoma, Phragmites karka, Oryza rufipogon, Hygroryza and Hydrilla. They feed throughout the day with peaks during the mornings and late afternoons to evenings. In winter and monsoon, they drink water twice, and thrice or more in summer. In the hot season, they rest in the shade of trees during the day.][
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In central India, the herds comprise on average about 8–20 individuals, with large herds of up to 60. There are twice as many females than males. During the rut they form large herds of adults. The breeding season lasts from September to April, and births occur after a gestation of 240–250 days in August to November. The peak is in September and October in Kanha National Park.
When alarmed, they give out shrill, baying alarm calls.[ Compared to other deer species, barasingha are more relaxed when it comes to guarding. They have fewer sentries and they spend most of their time grazing, unlike deer species like spotted deer or sambar deer.]
Threats
The swamp deer populations outside protected areas and seasonally migrating populations are threatened by poaching for antlers and meat, which are sold in local markets. Swamp deer lost most of its former range because wetlands were converted and used for agriculture so that suitable habitat was reduced to small and isolated fragments.[ The remaining habitat in protected areas is threatened by the change in river dynamics, reduced water flow during summer, increasing siltation, and is further degraded by local people who cut grass, timber and fuelwood,][ and by illegal farming on government land.]
George Schaller wrote: "Most of these remnants have or soon will have reached the point of no return."
Conservation
Rucervus duvaucelii is listed on CITES Appendix I.[ In India, it is included under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.][
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An attempt to translocate some individuals to Chitwan National Park in Nepal was unsuccessful.
In captivity
In 1992, there were about 50 individuals in five Indian zoos and 300 in various zoos in North America and Europe.[
There is a herd of barasingha at the Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Kent, England.]
Swamp deer were introduced to Texas.[McCarthy, A., Blouch, R., Moore, D., and Wemmer, C. M. (1998). Deer: status survey and conservation action plan IUCN Deer Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.] They exist only in small numbers on ranches.
In culture
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The barasingha is the state animal of the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
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A barasingh (as Kipling writes the name) is mentioned ten times in The Miracle of Purun Bhagat, the second story in The Second Jungle Book. As that part of the story is set in the Himalayas, it is probably meant to be a member of the relict Rucervus duvaucelii duvaucelii population living on both sides of the India – Nepal border.
[Kipling, Rudyard, The Miracle of Purun Bhagat, in The Second Jungle Book (read online) (accessed 3 May 2024)]
See also
Further reading
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M. Acharya, M. Barad, S. Bhalani, P. Bilgi, M. Panchal, V. Shrimali, W. Solanki, D.M. Thumber. Kanha Chronicle. Centre for Environment Education, Ahmedabad in collaboration with the United States National Park Service.
External links
