Rucervus duvaucelii

Barasinga (scientific name: Rucervus duvaucelii) is also known as Barasinga and Swamp Deer in foreign languages. It has three subspecies.

Swamp deer are herbivores, feeding mainly on grass and aquatic plants, and also eating sugar cane, reeds and crops. The activity time is mainly concentrated in the morning and evening. In the hot summer, they need to drink water at least twice a day, once after sunrise and the other in the evening. They like to live in groups. A group of deer consists of 13 to 19 deer. Some herds consist of only one male deer or one female deer with fawns. However, when the mating season comes, these herds will gather together to form a large group, usually no more than 500. Male deer will constantly make "bell" calls to intimidate other male deer during the mating season. If the intimidation effect is not obvious, then fierce battles will break out between male deer. Only strong male deer can compete for the right to mate in the population.

September to February of the following year is the estrus period of the marsh deer. During this period, male marsh deer will compete with each other for the right to reproduce. The winning male deer will have multiple female marsh deer. Adult marsh deer reproduce once a year, with a gestation period of 8 to 8.33 months. Generally, one baby is born per litter, and at most two babies are born. The fawns are weaned at 6 to 8 months old, and female fawns need 2 to 3 years to reach sexual maturity.

In the early 20th century, the swamp deer was distributed throughout the Indian peninsula, the Gangetic plains and the lowlands on both sides of the southern Himalayas, and the range once extended eastward to the Terai in southern Nepal, through the Sunderbans, and all the way to Assam. However, due to hunting and unplanned and indiscriminate mining, the habitat of the swamp deer was severely damaged, causing the number of deer to drop sharply, resulting in the extinction of populations in areas such as Bangladesh and Pakistan. Since 1986, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) has listed the swamp deer as an endangered species for many consecutive years. In 1996, it was changed to vulnerable, but the population of the swamp deer is still decreasing, and the number of adult swamp deer individuals has continued to decline, with a total of 3,500 to 5,100. In view of the degradation of the habitat and the lack of protection measures, the number of swamp deer will drop by at least 10% in 24 years (three generations). The habitat range of the deer is seriously fragmented, and the total area is less than 2,000 square kilometers.

Listed in the 2015 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, ver 3.1 - Vulnerable (VU).

Listed in Appendix I of the 2017 Washington Convention (CITES).

Listed in Appendix I, Appendix II and Appendix III of the 2019 edition of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Protect wild animals and stop eating game.

Maintaining ecological balance is everyone's responsibility!

The population is mainly distributed in central and northern India and southern Nepal. The Gangetic subspecies of the swamp deer is distributed in the hard land of central India, especially in Madhya Pradesh; the nominate subspecies of the swamp deer is distributed in Uttar Pradesh, Assam and the swamps of the Sundarbans; the Bengal subspecies of the swamp deer is distributed in Assam.
It mainly inhabits the open forest and grassland areas of the Ganges River basin in India, river floodplain reeds, wooded areas, dry deciduous forests and mangroves.

The body length of the swamp deer is 180 cm, the shoulder height is 119 to 124 meters, and the weight is 170 to 289 kg. Only male swamp deer have antlers, which are smooth and extend upward for more than half of the length before branching. The antlers are 75 cm long before the bend and 13 cm around. The largest antler is 104.1 cm long before the bend. The back of the swamp deer is brown chestnut, the sides and abdomen are light brown, the legs, buttocks and underside of the tail are creamy white, and the chin, throat and inside of the ears are also white. In winter, the fur of the swamp deer will gradually thicken, especially on the neck, and the body color will turn gray-brown. Adult male swamp deer are darker than females, showing a dark brown color. Fawns are brown and spotted at birth, but the spots disappear as the fawns mature.