The Sambar

The Sambar (Cervus unicolor)

Sambar is the largest of all deer species found in the Indian Sub-continent. It also has the finest pair of antlers sometimes reaching a length of around 40 inches. A full grown adult stag can reach a weight of 300 kg.

It is mainly a forest dweller and prefers hills and denser parts of the forest. In India Sambar is found from the lower ranges of Himalayas to the forests of south India, from the forests of Rajasthan to the forests of north east India.

The color of the coat is mainly brown with greyish tinge. The coat is mainly shaggy and coarse and in summers the hair fall down. The older stags are very dark in color almost looking black.

Sambar prefers to live in the denser parts of the forest and likes to feed on leaves, wild fruits and grass. They are extremely shy of humans and usually feed during the later part of the evenings and in night. The sense of hearing is very acute in Sambar and they are helped in this by their large funnel shaped ears.

On seeing a predator a Sambar gives a honking bark which is repeated as long the predator is seen. In spite of its size Sambar are very nimble in moving through thick undergrowth without making much noise. They are also very good swimmers and can be seen in the waters especially in the lakes of Ranthambhore.

The shedding of antlers takes place mainly in March end till mid April. Sambars prefer to come to same tree again and again for rubbing off the velvet from the antlers. The antler size varies in between the Sambar found in Madhya Pradesh and the ones found in the forests of North east India.

Sambars have the largest and very well developed facial glands to attract the females by secreting scent and leaving the marks on the tree trunks. The fight between two stags is mainly for protecting the territory and rarely for the females.

The mating takes place mainly in November and December and the young ones are born on the onset of rains when the forest is dense and the grass is high. Males prefer to live alone and separate from hinds as soon as the mating is over. Sambars always move around in small herds with hinds and young stags normally seen together.