The SAMBUR, OR GEROW (Rusa Aristotelis), of India, is found abundantly in all the hill-districts of that country. It is nearly five feet high, of a deep brown colour, with the hair of the neck developed almost into a mane. The tail is of fair length. Its build is massive, as are its antlers, which present three powerful points, and reach over three feet in length. Above the considerable brow-tyne the beam bifurcates high up into two fairly equal snags, and no more in well-grown antlers. The hind is much less massive, and of a yellowish tint. Captain Kinloch says of the species that “Sambur delight in stony hills, where there is plenty of cover, and where they can have easy access to water. They browse more than graze, and are nearly nocturnal in their habits. During the daytime they seek the most shady retreats, and old Stags especially are most difficult to find, frequently betaking themselves to almost inaccessible places, where the uninitiated would never dream of looking for them. The experienced hunter, indeed, has frequently to depend more upon fortune than his own knowledge of woodcraft.” In Java an almost identical species differs mostly in having the hinder of the two branches of the beam of the antler longer than the one in front. Swinhoe’s Deer from Formosa is also almost indistinguishable, at the same time that Sumatran and Bornean specimens agree with it in being particularly dark in colour.
Three smaller species, with antlers branched in exactly the same manner, are found in the islands of Borneo, Timor, Ternate, and the Philippines.
The HOG DEER of India and Ceylon is not bigger than the Roebuck although the legs are shorter and the body heavier. Its antlers consist of a brow-tyne and bifurcate beam, of which the posterior tyne is short, and turned inwards; they rarely exceed a foot and a half in length. It is of a uniform dark brown colour, rarely spotted indistinctly with white. Their name is derived from the pig-like way in which they run, with their heads low, when pursued.
The SPOTTED HOG DEER is a rare species, of a slightly lighter colour, and with pale yellow spots.
The AXIS DEER of India, sometimes called the Cheetal, resembles the Fallow Deer in size and colouration most closely, although its antlers serve to show that its true relations are quite different. These latter are not palmated at all, and are quite rusine in type, presenting the three points characteristic of them, the front tyne of the bifurcate beam being of great length. There is a beauty in the intensity of the spotting of the coat of this species which is unequalled by any other member of the Cervidæ, and it is interesting to know that according to the universal testimony of sportsmen, the effect of sunlight through foliage so much resembles it that it is almost impossible to recognise the animal in the woods. They have a reputation for being indolent, as they feed during the night, and sleep throughout the day, frequenting the heavy grass jungles along the banks of rivers. Their cry is a shrill bark at the approach of danger. The accompanying figure (see Plate 26), drawn from a specimen in captivity, gives an excellent idea of the immense length attained by the antlers, which in this particular case are blunt-tipped, because not quite fully grown. The hinder tyne on the right side, it will be noticed, is almost entirely hidden in the hair of the flank.
PRINCE ALFRED’S DEER,[35] about the size of the Fallow Deer, was first described by Dr. Sclater from a specimen brought from the Philippine Islands by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1870. Its glossy coat is of a rich chocolate colour, covered with pale yellow spots; a broad line along the back, as in all spotted Deer, being uninterrupted; the under parts are of a pale yellow. The antlers are only nine inches in length, but comparatively thick, and simply branched upon the rusine type, with three points. The legs are rather short, at the same time that the body is heavy.
The SWAMP DEER.[36] The name Barasingha, signifying “twelve points,” is applied to two very different species of Indian Deer, the Cashmerian Deer, previously mentioned, and the Swamp Deer.
The Swamp Deer of India and Assam is slightly smaller than the Sambur, not exceeding four feet in height. Its colour is a rich light yellow. As its name signifies it delights in moist situations, where it congregates in herds of great numbers. Its antlers are large, and of the intermediate rucervine type. The brow-tynes reach a foot in length, and are directed forwards with an upward turn at their tips. The beam is long, and branches into an anterior, massive, and branched continuation of itself, as well as a posterior smaller bifurcate tyne.
SCHOMBURGK’S DEER.