1 cns

Wildlife and Protected Areas

Vol.07 No.1 2004

Ungulat es
I ndia

I.

To'i
Wildlife Institute of India
INDIA
The Environmental Information System (ENVIS) Centre at the Wildlife Institute of India , set up in
September 1997, is part of the ENVIS setup of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government
of India. It deals with general matters concerning `wildlife' and specifically those related to `protected
areas'. Its objectives are to:

Establish a data bank on information related to wildlife and wildlife protected areas, and thereby
buildup a repository and dissemination centre for information on wildlife science;

Promote national and international cooperation , and exchange of wildlife related information;

Provide decision makers at the apex level with information related to conservation and
development

lu1tetin
Wildlife and Protected Areas

Project Leader
P.R. Sinha

Project Coordinator
V.B. Mathur

Project Co- coordinator

S.A. Hussain

Project Associate
A. David

Advisory Committee
P.K. Mathur
B.C. Choudhury
K. Sivakumar
M. S. Rana
R. Thapa
K.K. Shrivastava

WILDLIFE INSTITUTE OF INDIA

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Envis %Sulletin : Wil ENVIS Centre on Wildlife and Protected Areas

 &,vic u(1eti n
Wildlife and Protected Areas

Ungulates of India

Editors

K. Sankar
S.P. Goyal

Editorial Processing

G. Chhibber

Maps

M. Veerappan

The contents of the bulletin may be freely used for non-commercial purposes with due acknowledgement.

Citation: Sankar, K and Goyal, S.P. (Eds.) 2004. Ungulates of India. ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife
and Protected Areas, Vol. 07, No. 1. Wildlife Institute of India, Deheradun, India. Pp. 448.

Citation for individual chapter. Sharma, K., and Rahmani, A.R. 2004. Four horned antelope
or Chowsingha (Tetracpn6 quad *vris Blainvill1e). Pp. 53-60. In: K. Sankar and S.P. Goyal (Eds.)
Ungulates of India. ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife and Protected Areas, Vol. 07, No. 1. Wildlife
Institute of India, Deheradun, India. Pp. 448.

ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife and Protected Areas, Vol. 07. No. 1. Printed in 2007.

Envis %guIletinis also available on the internet at

WIT website: http://www wii.govin/envhome/eindex

Species illustrations are by Centre for Environmentl Education (CEE), Ahmedabad, India.

Photo Credits:
Asian wild buffalo, Barking deer, Indian wild ass, Nilgiri tahr, Rhinoceros (WII Photo Library)
Blue bull, Hog deer, Sambar (K. Sankar)
Indian gazelle (J. Van Gruisen), Four horned antelope (S.P. Goyal), Brow antlered deer (S.A. Hussain),
Wild pig (J.S. Jalal), Indian antelope (Y.V. Jhala), Pygmy hog (G. Narayan), Soptted deer (B. Pandav),
Indian bison (M.K.S. Pasha), Mouse deer (S. Prasad), Swamp deer (Q. Qureshi)
Leaf deer (www.animalinfo.org/species/artiperi/muntputa.htm)

Envis&lletiq . WII ENVIS Centre on Wildlife and Protected Areas

 Spotted deer

SPOTTED DEER OR CHITAL

(Axis axis Erxleben, 1777)
K. Sankar and B. Acharya

Order Artiodactyla
Family Cervidae
Sub-Family Cervinae
Genus Axis
Species A. axis
Common name Spotted deer

Conservation Status
WPA (1972) : Schedule III
IUCN RED DATA BOOK : Unlisted
CITES : Not listed

INTRODUCTION

Chital or spotted deer (Axis axis) is the third largest deer inhabiting the
plains and undulating terrain of India. A well-built stag stands 90 cm at
the shoulder and weighs about 85 kg (Prater 1971). The coat is reddish-
fawn, spotted with white, and with white underparts. The antlers curve in
the shape of a lyre, with up to three points on each antler. This popular
species is a favourite with zoological parks around the world for their
beautiful appearance and graceful gait.

GEOGRAPHICAL AND ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION

Chital is an endemic species of south Asia, occurring in India, Sri Lanka,

Nepal and Bangladesh (Prater 1934, Schaller 1967). The northern
boundary of chital's distribution runs along the foothills of the Himalaya
from western Assam through West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and
Uttaranchal. The eastern boundary follows western Assam, northern
Bengal and Sikkim, The western boundary is formed by eastern
Rajasthan and Gujarat. Chital occur throughout the rest of peninsular
India sporadically in the forested areas. They are found in a variety of
forest types in India viz. dry deciduous, moist deciduous, thorn and
mangrove forests. The introduced chital population in Andaman Islands
is found in evergreen forests. Eisenberg and Seidensticker (1976) were
of the opinion that dry deciduous habitats with scrub serves the favoured
habitat of chital.

POPULATION

Chital have declined drastically throughout their range, and are now
only locally abundant within 123 Protected Areas of India and some
forest tracts (Source: National Wildlife Database, WII). The strongholds
of chital where they have been adequately studied are: Corbett (De
and Spillit 1966), Kanha (Schaller 1967), Bandipur (Johnsingh 1983),
Nagarahole (Karanth and Sunquist 1992), Sariska (Sankar 1994), Gir
(Khan et a!. 1995), Guindy (Raman 1997), Pench (Biswas and Sankar
2002), Ranthambore (Bagchi eta!. 2003) in India, Chitwan (Mishra 1982)
and Karnali-Bardia (Dinerstein 1980), in Nepal, and Wilpattu (Eisenberg
and Lockhart 1972) in Sri Lanka. Introduced chital populations occur
in USSR, Yugoslavia, USA, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Australia,
Hawaii and several private ranches in the Western Cape, South Africa
(Lever 1985).

ECOLOGY

Group size and composition

Chital are essentially social animals, rarely seen as solitary individuals.

The basic social unit among chital is a matriarchal family group, normally
consisting of an adult female, her offspring from the previous year, and a
fawn (Ables 1974). The usual herd is composed of two or more such
family units and is often accompanied by individual deer of mixed sex
and age-classes. Chital is known to exhibit a fission-fusion system or
fluid group formation and dissolution (Schaller 1967, Mishra 1982, Barette
1991). Depending on various circumstances, a chital group may consist
of one to 150 or more individuals (De and Spillit 1966, Eisenberg and
Lockhart 1972, Fuchs 1977, Krishnan 1972, Schaller 1967). The
composition of chital groups has been observed to change frequently
 Spotted deer

during feeding periods, during the rut when males frequently join groups
of females (Schaller 1967), or while fleeing from predators (Dinerstein
1980). These social groupings of chital do not remain permanent (Schaller
1967, Eisenberg and Lockhart 1972).

According to Dinerstein (1980), chital group size in Karnali-Bardia (Nepal)

varied from one to 91 individuals with a mean group size of 10.7. Mishra
(1982) reported a higher percentage of chital in group size of between
five to 10 individuals with a mean group size of 7.5 in Chitawan National
Park, Nepal. Barrette (1991) reported two to 125 individuals in Wilpattu
(Sri Lanka) with a mean group size of 12. In Nagarahole, where only 4%
of chital sightings were of single individuals, the mean group size of chital
was around six, (range 1-81) (Karanth and Sunquist 1992). In the
scrublands of Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, formation of large
groups (> 20 individuals) occurred in June to August when forage
conditions improved just after the monsoon rains. These large
aggregations were attributed to local abundance of forage and predator
avoidance strategy (Sankar 1994). The seasonal group size in Sariska
varied from 2 to 88 individuals with an average group size of 7 to 8
individuals. About two-third of the chital groups observed had less than
6 individuals. The absence of open grassy patches within Sariska might
have prevented formation of larger groups. Khan et al. (1995) observed
chital group sizes ranging from one to more than 50 individuals in Gir.
Mean group size of chital in Pench, in central India, was 3.4 (Biswas
and Sankar 2002), while in Ranthambore, the mean group size was 4.6
(Bagchi et a!. 2004). Ables (1974) reported group size of chital varied
from 2 to 15 individuals in Texas, USA.

Antler condition and breeding season

The period of breeding (rut) of chital is determined by the annual antler

cycle of antler development, the frequency of sexual behaviour, and,
in a way, the time of fawning. Differences in the onset of the main rut
and the peak of the rut of chital exist across locations. In Kanha, a
high percentage of chital bucks were observed in hard antler
throughout the year (Schaller 1967). The lack of definite season for
antler shedding in Kanha is perfectly in accord with the observation
that breeding was not confined to any season but took place through
out the year, with the activity increasing greatly from March to June,
peaking in May. In Karnali-Bardia, 100 percent hard antlers were seen
in the month of July, of which 53 percent of them were seen with

CnviS ."ulletin : WILDLIFE AND PROTECTED AREAS (2004) 173

antlers > 3 feet (Dinerstein 1980), while in Chitwan the peak rut was
observed to be between April and May (Mishra and Wemmer 1987).
In Bandipur the peak rutting season was between April and July
(Sharatchandra and Gadgil 1975, Johnsingh 1983). However, the
juvenile and yearling stags peaked their rut 2'/2 and five months later,
respectively, possibly a strategy to gain mating chances at a time
when the adult males are past their rut, thus avoiding interclass conflict
for mates. Though chital in Sariska remained in hard antlers throughout
the year, in summer close to 95 percent of the stags were observed
in hard antlers, of which about 25 percent of them were with antlers >
3 feet in length (Sankar 1994). In Guindy National Park, 50% of the
stages were in hard antlers for nearly the whole of the year, but a
distinct seasonality existed among age classes of males, with most
adult stags in hard antler during March-July; the peak rut being May-
June (Raman 1998). For chital in Texas, USA, the major breeding
season lasted from late May till August, which included a breeding
peak (Ables 1974). In Hawaii, USA, the rut was in April through August
with sporadic mating observed throughout the year (Graf and Nichols
1966). During the rut, stags bellow and fight to defend small groups
(harems) of females with which they hope mate. Gestation is 210-225
days, after which a single fawn is born. Fawns are weaned off at about
six months, and sexual maturity is reached by the 12th-14th month
(Prater 1971).

Sex ratio

Invariably, the adult sex ratio of chital is biased towards females.

Schaller (1967) reported sex ratio of 0.6 male :1 female in Corbett
National Park, 0.7 : 1 in Keoladeo Sanctuary, Bharatpur, and 0.7:1 in
Kanha. Dinerstein (1980) reported a sex ratio of 0.5 males:1 female,
and 1 : 0.5 as female to fawn ratio in Royal-Karnali Bardia. In Bandipur,
the average male : female ratio was 0.6 : 1, and the female : young ratio
was 1 : 0.4 (Johnsingh 1983). The male : female ratio in Nagarahole
(Karanth and Sunquist 1992) was 0.7 : 1. In Sariska, the average male
: female ratio was 0.4 : 1, and the female: fawn ratio was 1 : 0.2 (Sankar
1994). Also, new-born fawns were seen all through the year with a peak
fawning period from December to February. In Gir, the average male :
female ratio was 0.4 : 1, and the female : young ratio was 1 : 0.2 (Khan
et al. 1995). The ratio of males to females in Hawaii was 0.7 : 1 (Graf
and Nichols 1966).

174 UNGULATES OF INDIA

 Spotted deer

Predation and Mortality

The main causes of death in chital are predation, diseases and accident.
Occasionally, stags kill each other when fighting. Humans avidly hunt
and poach chital throughout their range. Chital are known to be
susceptible to livestock-borne diseases such as rinderpest (Schaller
1967) and foot-and-mouth disease (Sankar 1994). Accidents especially
from speeding vehicles are a cause of chital mortality but occur rarely
within protected areas. Predation is by far the major cause of chital
mortality. Older chital stags are more susceptible to predation than
younger stags (Johnsingh 1983, Patel 1992, Karanth and Sunquist 1995).
This may be due to their being less vigilant during rut, separation from
the group after rut, or weakening from injuries from conflicts. In Kanha,
chital remains were found in about 52% of tiger scats and 59% of leopard
scats analysed (Schaller 1967). In Bandipur remains of chital were found
in about 39 % tiger scats, 51% leopard scats, and 52% dhole scats
(Johnsingh 1983). In adjoining Nagarahole remains of chital were found
in about 31% tiger scats, 44% leopard scats, and 50% dhole scats
(Karanth and Sunquist 1995). In Sariska, around 54% of the scats of
tiger and 21% of leopard scats contained chital remains (Sankar 1994).
Chital remains were found in about 53% of tiger scats in Pench (Biswas
and Sankar 2002) and 61 % of tiger scats in Ranthambore (Bagchi et a!.
2002).

Food habits

Chital are known to feed on more than 160 species of plants (Schaller
1967, Johnsingh and Sankar 1991). Schaller (1967) showed that graze
formed the bulk of the feed of chital, while Mishra (1982) considered
chital primarily a grazer. On the basis of morpho-physiological ruminant
feeding types, Hofmann (1985) classified chital as an intermediate/mixed
feeder. Rodgers (1988) had categorised chital as a generalist feeder,
with a diet consisting of grasses, forbs, and leaves of woody plants. In
Sariska, chital was a grazer as long as green grasses were available
(monsoon and post-monsoon seasons), but switched over to fallen leaves,
flowers and fruits in winter (Sankar 1994).

Home range

In Sariska the mean home range of male chital stag was around 3.5 km2,
and that of a chital doe was around 2.5 km2. The estimated annual home

Cnvis.&llctin : WILDLIFE AND PROTECTED AREAs (2004) 1 75

range of a chital doe was around 16 km2 (Sankar 1994). Annual mean
home range of chital does in Karnali-Bardia was about 1.4 km2, and that
of stags was about 2 km2 (Moe and Wegge 1994).

Water use

Chital usually drink water once a day, and more frequently in summer.
This has made them inhabitants of forest tracts with widely scattered but
assured presence of water.

BEHAVIOUR

Chital spend a major portion of their life in foraging, resting , and wandering
within their ranges , with the extent of these activities determined by
season (Schaller 1967). In a day, peak feeding times are around dawn
and dusk . They usually have two major resting periods - before dawn
and mid-day.

CONSERVATION

Chital form one of the important prey of top carnivores as is evident from
studies in Kanha (Schaller 1967), Bandipur (Johnsingh 1983), Rajaji
National Park (Johnsingh et al. 1993), Sariska (1994), Pench (Biswas
and Sankar 2002) and Ranthambore (Bagchi et al. 2002). Chital is a
species that is most amenable to wildlife management practices, and
just a little effort and care is required to increase the numbers of this
prolific breeder, in addition to maintaining the grassland-woodland
interface (edge) habitat so essential for the survival of the species.
Though the species has thrived well and, is now locally abundant within
protected areas, the remaining population is highly vulnerable to poaching,
habitat destructions and livestock-borne diseases. Livestock such as
buffaloes out-compete chital in forage consumption during the pinch
season as observed in Sariska (Sankar 1994), making the case strong
for prevention of livestock grazing where chital is present. As would be
obvious from the above fact, the conservation and management of chital
populations is of paramount importance in reducing large carnivore
depredation of livestock, and, consequently, mitigate the increasing levels
of human-wildlife conflict.

1 76 UNGULATES OF INDIA
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180 UNGULATES OF INDIA

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