Barasingha: Adorable Swamp Deer of India
Introduction:
A swamp Deer or Barasingha is said to be a direct descendant of the brown deer and their homeland continues to be the Indian subcontinent. This species is known for exceptional antlers that reach up to 30cm in points and seeks residence in swampy areas. Barasingha also has great importance in the ecosystem and has deep cultural relevance. In this article, the Hickey Barasingha has been presented in great detail in regards to the deer’s habitat, character, behaviour and much more.
Amazing Facts:
Barasingha are possess numerous intriguing attributes:
- Swampers: Their home is said to be Swampy and also places with a diversity of floating vegetation such as rivers or coastal areas.
- Physical Features: It is estimated that the males of the species have multi-pointed antlers which can reach 39 inches in length.
- Feeding Pattern: Barasingha solely survive on grazing as they feed on various forms of aquatic strategies.
- Social Pattern: At times of breeding season, the social structure of Barasingha tends to fluctuate, which could range from small herd Groups to larger acuminations.
- IUCN Red list: After being in India and Pakistan through a mass range, the Barasingha species are subjected to hunting and loss of habitat which leads them to be vulnerable in IUCN.
Habitat and Food:
These flexible beings live in these relative places suitable for their lifestyles.
Habitat:
- They are mainly distributed across the Indian sub continent which includes India and Nepal.
- They dwell in wetlands, marshes, grassland and riverine forests.
- Barasingha lives in places that have a lot of water and dense vegetation to provide them cover from their enemies and shelters them as well as food.
Food:
- They are herbivores and their diet is mostly composed of grasses, aquatic plants, and occasionally leaves and fruits.
- During the monsoon, they tend to feed on tall moist grass found in submerged regions.
- In the dry season, they might feed on low shrubs and decayed leaves.
- Barasingha contributes significantly to their environment by assisting in seed dispersal and facilitating the evolution of a variety of plants.
Appearance:
Barasingha is indeed a distinctive animal in terms of its looks, one which stands out with its strong physical features. Some of the most outstanding features are highlighted below:
- Size: Adults, reach a remarkable shoulders’ height of about 4 to 4.5 feet which equals to (120 to 135 cm) in metric, and can weigh anything over 375 to 620 pounds (170 to 280 kg).
- Colour: The coat of this animal is Reddish-brown or golden brown with white on their undersides and tail as well as a dense woolly coat in winter months. In addition, this species has a pinkish colour underneath their neck.
- Antlers: This species boasts large and multi-pointed antlers with men usually having 12 or more points on them, while they are shed and regrown once a year.
- Build: Their long-legged, stocky exoskeletons favor the swampy environment.
- Face: Their faces are slender and long, with wide eyes and big ears.
Types and Subspecies of Barasingha:
According to the records available, barasingha has three subspecies that live in different places and have different characteristics:
- Northern Swamp Deer: These Northern and Central Indian deers are comparatively larger and show preference to inhabiting swamps and marshes.
- Southern Swamp Deer: They can be found in central India particularly, the Kanha National Park. They’re slightly on the smaller side and have a darker coat than their relatives.
- Eastern Swamp Deer: They’re only located in the north eastern part of Assam and favours grazing and riverine forests as compared to their southern cousins.
Predators and Threats:
You’d assume that the size and strength of the barasingha would make them difficult to hunt, however, they have many natural and anthropogenic threats that can mess with their survival.
Predators:
- Tigers: Tigers are primarily considered to be stronger hunters amongst all, especially due to their stealth.
- Leopards: They tend to go after barasingha too, but tend to only focus on the young or smaller barasingha.
- Wild Dogs: Packs of dholes (wild dogs) are also an even bigger threat as they are all about teamwork when hunting.
- Crocodiles: Crocs in some areas tend to hunt the deer as they go to drink water.
Threats:
- Habitat Degradation: The development of urban areas, farming, and the drainage of wetlands lead to a loss of suitable habitats.
- Human Animal Conflict: They tend to conflict with humans on the occasion of raiding crops or getting knocked over by vehicles.
- Illegal Hunting: Killing for meat and horns illegally can endanger distinct groups.
- Global Warming: Changing weather conditions and the places they inhabit as a result of global warming can change the availability of food and the areas they migrate to.
Reproduction:
Barasingha are engaged in mating displays which are complex, unique, and important in isolation of the breed.
- Mating Season: The mating season, or rutting, occurs sometime between the months of October and February.
- Supervision Of Mating: Male Courtship involves: Calling, Antler Promotions and fighting to gain female attention.
- Territoriality: Males become very aggressive towards other males during this rut in an effort to retain all rights over the females.
- Gestation And Child Birth: Female barasingha bear one to two fawns after mating and with66 to 300 days of gestation. To safeguard fawns from predators, they are camouflaged in thick bushes and nursed until they are 6-8 months old.
How They Communicate:
Barasingha have multiple means of communication with each other for example during copulatory activities as well as social activities.
Oral Communication:
- Barking and Grunting: These are employed in calling senses, strengthening subordination chains, or simply communicating within the herd.
- Rut Calls: Males produce loud calls in order to attract females and assert their dominance during the rut stage.
Body Language:
- Posturing: Males perform certain body postures such as raised hackles, tail position, and ear movements to show aggression, submission, or readiness to mate.
- Antler Displays: Sparring and the display of antlers by the male is to show their dominance and attract females.
Chemical Signals:
Scent Marking: They possess scent-producing glands on their legs and face which they use to mark their territories and signal their reproductive state.
Religious and Cultural Significance:
- Barasingha are symbolically and culturally important to different people around the world due to different factors:
Indian Culture:
- Spiritual Symbol: Hindu deities are depicted with barasinghas in art, as these gentle creatures are believed to epitomize beauty, grace, and fertility.
- Conservation Symbol: They are used in publicity in support of the protection of animals and wetland conservation.
Modern Symbolism:
- Popular Culture: These creatures have been portrayed in an extensive array of resources such as poems, paintings, and videos, to epitomize the wetland ecosystem that is found in India.
Movies Featuring Barasingha:
Barasinghas have appeared in a number of movies and Waugh’s documentaries based on their conduct and the struggle that they encounter.
- Barasingha and Its Habitat in Kanha (2019): This is a baseline gola. The goal is to keep the barasingha and its complex inhabitants in check, especially in Kanha National Park.
- The Deer: Jewel of Indian Forests (2017): A film that covers deers in India and how they relate to the social world, mostly focuses on barasingha.
- Planet Earth II: Chhaya Modi and Kunjaben, Allani, P and Shah P. Arambh. (2016): The chapter called ‘Grasslands’ contains breath-taking film of such deer and other fauna in their habitat.
- Wild India: Changes to environmental documentaries covering the wildlife of wild India, particularly of the Indian continent including the deer and its hunting techniques.
Pronunciation across Various Languages:
This word is somewhat tricky to pronounce across different languages that knew about these animals:
- English: /bɑːrəˈsɪŋɡə/
- Spanish: /ciervo de los pantanos/
- French: /cerf des marais/
- German: /Sumpfhisch/
- Italian: /cervo delle paludi/
- Mandarin Chinese: /沼鹿 (zhǎo lù)/
- Japanese: /沼地の鹿 (numachi no shika)/
- Russian: /барсинга (barsinga)/
- Arabic: /الأيل المستنقعي (al-ʾayl al-mustanqīʿ)/
- Hindi: /बारहसिंगा (bārahsiṅgā)/
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: What do barasingha eat?
A: Being herbivores, they tend to feed on grasses, aquatic plants, and fruits, on occasion. During the monsoon season, they feed on the green grasses found in the flooded plains and in the dry season they browse foliage-tender bushes and leaves.
Q: Where do barasingha live?
A: They are found in Indian subcontinent including parts of India and Nepal. They are found in wetlands, in swamps, in grasslands and in forests along the banks of rivers. They prefer areas with fairly good supplies of water and wide verdant areas.
Q: How do barasingha communicate?
A: Vocalization (which includes barks and grunts), body language (which includes postures and antler displays), and chemical signals such as scent marking, are all means through which Barasingha express their feelings.
Q: Are barasingha endangered?
A: According to IUCN, their numbers and geographical locations keep dwindling as they are losing habitats, facing competition with humans or poachers and climate change. These populations will need to be protected for them to survive long term conservation efforts.
Q: What is unique about their reproduction?
A: Barasingha have a distinct explanation for their reproduction practice due to the fact that this species possesses a breeding season from November to January followed by two intra-gender competition activities characterized by courting behavior. Post a gestation period of roughly240 to 250 days, females deliver one or two fawns which are concealed among thick shrubbery.