Chital

The chital or cheetal (Axis axis), also known as chital deer, spotted deer or axis deer is a deer which commonly inhabits wooded regions of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and in small numbers in Pakistan. The Chital is called Chital horin in Bengali, Thith Muwa in Sinhalese, Jinke in Kannada, Pulli Maan in Tamil and Malayalam, Duppi in Telugu, Phutuki Horin in Assamese and Hiran in Hindi/Urdu (ultimately derived from Harini, the Sanskrit root word for 'deer'). It is the most common deer species in Indian forests.

Description

The chital's coat is pinkish fawn, marked with white spots, and its underparts are white. Its antlers, which it sheds annually, are usually three-pronged and curve in a lyre shape and may extend to 75 cm (2.5 ft). Compared to the hog deer, its close relative, the chital has a more cursorial build, its antler pedicles are proportionally short and its auditory bullae is smaller. It also has large nasals. It stands about 90 cm (3 ft) tall at the shoulder and masses about 85 kg (187 lb), although males tend to be larger than females. Its lifespan is around 8–14 years.

Chital have well developed preorbital glands which protrude hairs like stiff little branches.

Range

The chital occurs over 8–30ºN in India (including Sikkim), Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The western distribution boundary is formed by eastern Rajasthan and Gujarat. The northern boundary runs along the bhabar-terai belt of the foothills of the Himalaya from Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal through Nepal, northern West Bengal and Sikkim to western Assam and the forested valleys of Bhutan below 1,100 m asl. but in Bangladesh, it now occurs only in the Sundarbans, having vanished from the central, north-east and south-east regions. The highest numbers of Chital are found in the forest of India where they feed upon tall grass and shrubs. Chital have been also spotted in Phibsoo wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan which is the only remaining natural Sal (Shorea robusta) forests in the country. They do not occur at higher elevation forests where they are usually replaced by other species such as the Sambar deer. They also prefer heavy forest cover for shade and are intolerant of direct sunlight. Alarm calls of either species can be indicative of the presence of a predator such as a tiger.

Social behavior and reproduction

Axis deer most commonly occur in herds of ten to fifty individuals of both sexes. Large dominant stags without velvet stay in the center of the herd and are surrounded by the females and their young. Stags guarding estrous females will make high-pitched growls at lesser stag that hung about. When alarmed, chital will bark. These barks usually occur among females and juveniles and is repeated back and forth. Fawns that are separated from their mothers will squeal. When in danger, they run in groups. They will make bursts of high-speed running and then soon tire and dive into heavy cover to hide.

Status

The Chital is listed as Least Concern because it occurs over a very wide range within which there are many large populations. There are presently no major global-level threats to Chital, although densities are widely below ecological carrying capacity, through hunting and competition with domestic livestock. There were substantial declines and local extinctions, driven by hunting for meat. The Chital is protected under Schedule III of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972) (Sankar and Acharya 2004) and under the Wildlife (Preservation) (Amendment) Act, 1974 of Bangladesh. It occurs in many protected areas. Legal protection as a species and a network of functioning protected areas are the two cornerstones of its current healthy conservation status.

The Chital has been introduced to Queensland, Australia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Point Reyes National Seashore near San Francisco, California, Texas and Florida as well as Hawaii in the United States and to the Veliki Brijun Island in the Brijuni Archipelago of the Istrian Peninsula in Croatia.

See also

Sri Lankan Axis Deer

References

External links

wildlywise.com

BBC Science and Nature Wildfacts

Category:Cervines Category:Fauna of Bangladesh Category:Mammals of Asia Category:Mammals of India Category:Megafauna of Eurasia Category:Mammals of Italy Category:Fauna of Italy Category:Introduced mammals of Hawaii