Chital

Chital
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Cervidae
Subfamily:	Cervinae
Genus:	Axis
Species:	A. axis
Binomial name
Axis axis (Erxleben, 1777)
Subspecies
Axis axis axis Axis axis ceylonensis
Chital range

The chital or cheetal (Axis axis),^[2] 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 goes by various names in India, among which include: Chital horin in Bengali, Thith Muwa in Sinhalese, Jinke in Kannada, Pulli Maan in Tamil and Malayalam, Duppi in Telugu, Phutuki Horin in Assamese, Haran/Harin in Marathi, and Hiran in Hindi/Urdu (the latter two derived from Harini, the Sanskrit cognate for 'deer'). It is the most common deer species in Indian forests. The name Chital comes from the Bengali word Chitral (চিত্রল)/Chitra (চিত্রা), which means "spotted".

Description

Drawing of skull

The chital's coat is pinkish fawn, marked with white spots, and its underparts are also 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. It also has a more advanced morphology with antler pedicles being proportionally short and its auditory bullae being 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 have hairs that are like stiff little branches.^[3] They also have well-developed metatarsal glands and pedal glands on their hind legs. Males have larger preorbital glands than females and are opened very often in response to certain stimuli.^[4][5]

Range

The chital ranges over 8–30ºN in India and though Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.^[6] The western limt of its range is eastern Rajasthan and Gujarat. The northern limit is along the bhabar-terai belt of the foothills of the Himalaya and from Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal through to Nepal, northern West Bengal and Sikkim and then to western Assam and the forested valleys of Bhutan which are below 1,100 m asl.^[1] The eastern limit of its ranges is through western Assam ^[7][8] to the Sunderbans of West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh.^[1] Sri Lanka is the southern limit.^[9] Chital occur sporadically in the forested areas throughout the rest of the Indian peninsula.^[10] however it currently occurs only in the Sundarbans in in Bangladesh as it became extinct in the central, north-east and south-east regions.^[1]

Ecology

The spotted deer is found in large numbers in dense deciduous or semi-evergreen forests and open grasslands.^[9] The highest numbers of Chital are found in the forest of India where they feed upon tall grass and shrubs.^[3] 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.^[3][9]

Chital at an evergreen area

Chitals drinking at a waterhole

Chital are primarily grazers and feed on short, sprouting grasses.^[3][9] However they will also browse as well as eat forbs, fruit and branches of trees, especially when they are thrown down by monkeys.^[3][9] Stags, more than hinds, will stand on their hind legs on feed on tree foliage.^[3][9] Chital also eat their shed antlers as a source of nutrients and will use mineral licks.^[3][9] Chital prefer to be near water and will drink mornings and evenings in hot weather. Predators of the chital include tigers, Asiatic lions (in Gir Forest only), leopards, dholes and mugger crocodiles. Red foxes also sometimes prey on chital fawns. Hinds and fawns are more likely to be victims of predation than adult stags^[3] and dholes are more successful in catching stags than tigers and leopards.^[3] The chital can run up to 40 mph (65 km/h) to escape his predators^[11][12].

An interesting relationship has been observed between herds of axis deer and troops of the Northern Plains Gray Langur (Presbytis entellus), a widespread leaf-eating monkey taxon of South Asia. Axis deer apparently benefit from the langurs' good eyesight and ability to post a lookout in a treetop, helping to raise the alarm when a predator approaches.^[9] For the langurs' part, the axis deer's superior sense of smell would seem to assist in early predator warning, and it is common to see langurs foraging on the ground in the presence of axis deer.^[9] The axis deer also benefit from fruits dropped by the langurs from trees such as Terminalia bellerica and Phyllanthus emblica.^[13] Alarm calls of either species can be indicative of the presence of a predator such as a tiger.^{[citation needed]}

Social behavior and reproduction

Two Chital stags (one hard, one velvet)

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.^[3] Smaller stags with velvet occupy the boundaries of the herd. Chital stags pay close attention when a stag of equal size to them enters their group.^[3] They will follow, graze with and display to the newcomer. Sparring is more common between young stags while older, larger stags prefer horning, pawing and marking.^[3] Large stags with hard antlers are more likely to be well spaced out. Stags are known to stand on their hind legs and mark tree branches above.^[3][9]

Chital hind nursing her fawn.

The chital has a protracted breeding season due in part to the tropical climate, and births can occur throughout the year. For this reason, males do not have their antler cycles in synchrony and there are some fertile females at all times of the year. Males sporting hard antlers are dominant over those in velvet or those without antlers, irrespective of their size and other factors. Stags commonly bellow during the rut.^[9] Chital hinds have three week long estrous cycles. Chital courtship is based on tending bonds.^[3][9] A stag will follow and guard a hind in estrous.^[3] During this time the stag will not eat. The pair will do several bouts of chasing and mutual licking before copulation.^[3][9] Hinds birth one fawn, rarely two, at a time.^[3] Young fawns suckle longer than older fawns which suckle for 55 seconds. Hinds and fawns have loose bonds and it is common for them to get separated.^[3] However because chital tend to stay close to each other it is not difficult for a hind to find a fawn.^[3] Fawns sometimes gather in nurseries.

Chital are generally silent when grazing together.^[3] They do however make high-pitched chuckles when walking. When grazing chital do a "courtesy posture" when they pass each other.^[3] The bellow of a chital stag exists in a primitive state of development compared to other deer like the red deer or elk. Its calls is one or several coarse bellows and loud growls, which may be weaker versions of the bellow.^[3] Bellowing coincides with rutting.^[9][14] Stags guarding estrous females will make high-pitched growls at lesser stags that hung about.^[3] Stag will also moan during aggressive displays or when resting.^[15] 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.^[3]

Status

The Chital is listed by the IUCN as Least Concern "because it occurs over a very wide range within which there are many large populations".^[1] Currently there are no range-wide threats to chitals and they live in many protected areas. However popualtion densities are below ecological carrying capacity in many places due to hunting and competition with domestic livestock. Hunting for the deer's meat has caused substantial declines and local extinctions.^[1] 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.^[1] Two primary reasons for its good conservation status are its legal protection as a species and a network of functioning protected areas.^[1]

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

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Duckworth, J.W., Kumar, N.S., Anwarul Islam, Md., Hem Sagar Baral & Timmins, R.J. (2008). Axis axis. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 8 April 2009. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern.
2. ^ Grubb, Peter (16 November 2005). Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14200344. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x} Deer of the world: their evolution, behaviour, and ecology. Valerius Geist. Stackpole Books. 1998. Pg. 58-73.
4. ^ Groves, C. P. and P. Grubb. 1987. "Relationships of living deer". Pages 21–59 in Biology and Management of the Cervidae.
5. ^ MULLER-SCHWARZE, D. 1987. "Evolution of cervid olfactory communication". Pp. 223- 234, in Biology and management of the Cervidae.
6. ^ Grubb, P. 2005. Artiodactyla. In: D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder (eds), Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), pp. 637-722. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA.
7. ^ Gee, E.P. (1964). The wild life of India, Collins, London
8. ^ Choudhury, A.U. (1994). Checklist of the mammals of Assam. Gibbon Books, Guwahati, India. 59pp.
9. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n} The Deer and the Tiger: A Study of Wildlife in India. George Schaller. University Of Chicago Press. 1967. Pg. 37-92. (Midway Reprint)
10. ^ Sankar, K. and Acharya, B. 2004. Chital (Axis axis (Erxleben, 1777)). ENVIS Bulletin (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehra Dun) 7: 171–180.
11. ^ http://www.theanimalfiles.com/mammals/hoofed_mammals/chital.html
12. ^ http://www.zoo-frejus.com/animal.php?lang=fr&animal=70
13. ^ Prasad, S.; R. Chellam; J. Krishaswamy & S. P. Goyal (2004) Frugivory of Phyllanthus emblica at Rajaji National Park, northwest India. Current Science 87(9):1188-1190 pdf
14. ^ Mishra, H. and Wemmer, C. 1987. "The comparative breeding ecology of four cervids in Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal". Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
15. ^ Albes, E. 1977. The Axis deer in Texas. Texas Agricultural Experimental Station, Texas A&M University: Caesar Kleberg Research Program in Wildllife Ecology and Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences.

External links

• wildlywise.com
• BBC Science and Nature Wildfacts