Rucervus eldii (M'Clelland, 1842)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2011, Cervidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 350-443 : 425-426

29.

Brow-antlered Deer

Rucervus eldii

French: Cerf d'Eld / German: Leierhirsch / Spanish: Ciervo de Eld

Other common names: Eld's Deer; Sangai (eldii), Thamin (thamin)

Taxonomy. Cervus eldii M’Clelland, 1842 ,

Manipur, Assam ( India).

The genus Rucervus generally encompasses three species: Brow-antlered Deer, Barasingha (R. duvaucelit), and the extinct Schomburgk’s Deer ( R. schomburgki ). They are all specialized grass-eaters with highcrowned, uniquelyfolded cheek teeth. The molars have relatively large columns and prominent styles and pillars. Recent genetic analyses have questioned the monophyly of the genus and Brow-antlered Deer might not be related closely to the other two species. It has been sometimes placed in Cervus or in a distinct genus, Panolia. The scientific and the other common name ofthis species refers to L. P. D. Eld, British officer, whofirst observed and described it when he was Assistant to the Commissioner of Assam in 1838. Three subspecies are recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

R.e.eldisM’Clelland,1842—NEIndia(Manipur).

R.e.siamensisLydekker,1915-Vietnam(couldbeextinct),Laos,Cambodia,andHainanI.

R. e. thamin Thomas, 1918 — Myanmar.

Descriptive notes. Head body 160-170 cm for males (stags) and 140-150 cin for females (hinds); tail 22-25 cm, shoulder height 115-130 cm (stags) and 90-100 cm (hinds); weight 90-125 kg (adult stags) and 60-80 kg (adult hinds). Males are about 60% heavier than females. Medium to large-sized deer; male antlers have a very long brow tine that forms a continuous curve with the main beam. The skull has a deep lacrimal pit. The coat is reddish-brown abeve, whitish underneath. The tail is brown above. Females are paler. Males develop a neck mane during the rutting season. Preorbital, metatarsal, rear interdigital, and subcaudal glands are present. Permanent dentition of 34 teeth. Antlers of adult stags are about 90-100 cm long. with a record of 112 cm. The main beam first grows backwards, thep outwaids, and terminates in a forward curve. Toward the tip the beam tends to develop several small tines. Antler cycles are synchronized; antler casting occurs in May-June and velvet cleaning is in December. The Indian subspecies “Sangai” (¢ldii) has splaying hooves with cornified skin on the back of the digits, an adaptation for waiking on moist ground.

open

Habitat. In India Brow-antlered Deerlive in: floating marshes. In South-east Asia it occurs in open-grass-dominated habitats, such as lowland open-canopy deciduous dipterocarp forests with grass understory and adjoining grassland patches. In Hainan Island it mainly occursin dry grassland with sparse trees and scrubland. In the recent pastit lived also in the pine savanna of Laotian plateaus.

Food and Feeding. It tends to be a grazer of grasses and forbs and also feeds on leaves, flowers, and fruits.

Breeding. Females reach puberty at about 16 months of age. They are seasonally polyestrous with estrous cycles of 16-19 days and mean receptive periods of about 16 hours. Males attain physiological sexual maturity at about twelve months. For a tropical deer, breeding is very concentrated. Mating season occurs in 60-90 days between February and May (peak March-April), and calving season is in October-November. After a pregnancy of 240 days, hinds give birth to a single calf weighing 3.5-6 kg. At 10-15 days calves begin to eat grasses; at one month they follow their mother; at 50 days they begin to consume plants more regularly. Weaning occurs at 5-7 months of age. Primary predators are Tigers (Panthera tigris), Leopards (FP. pardus), and Dholes (Cuon alpinus).

Activity patterns. It is more active in early morning and early evening.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Where studied, males have home ranges of about 9 km? and females of 7 km ®*. Maleslive for most of the year as solitary animals; females form small family groups with their fawns. During the rut in the hotdry season the most common groups are multimale mixed sex groups of aboutsix individuals; these may sometimes coalesce into larger herds of 50-70 or more.

Status and Conservation. Cites Appendix I. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. Owing to hunting and habitat loss, the Brow-antlered Deer’s historical range has been contracted significantly and fragmented. The Indian subspecies eldii is reduced to a single population in the Keibul Lamjao National Park, whereit is slowly increasing from a minimum of 14 animals in 1975 to about 180 in 2004. The “Thamin” (thamin) of the central plain of Myanmar,still occurs in several localized areas and has been reintroduced in Thailand. The most eastern subspecies, siamensis, is scattered in small populations (one or two in Laos, a few in Cambodia, one on Hainan Island). In Vietnam it may be extinct and in mainland China (Yunnan) it is certainly extinct.

Bibliography. Aung et al. (2001), Balakrishnan et al. (2003), Blakeslee et al. (1979), Gee (1961), McShea et al. (2001), Song Yanling & Zeng Zhigao (2003), Timmins & Duckworth (2008b), Wemmer & Grodinsky (1988), Wemmer & Montali (1988), Zeng Zhigao et al. (2005).

Figures

On following pages 25 Western Red Door (Corvus oluphusl, 26 Wapm (Corvus canodenswl

Subspecies and Distribution. R.e.eldisM’Clelland,1842—NEIndia(Manipur). R.e.siamensisLydekker,1915-Vietnam(couldbeextinct),Laos,Cambodia,andHainanI. R. e. thamin Thomas, 1918 — Myanmar .