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The Muntjac or Barking deer prefers heavy forests and is usually
solitary. Occasionally in pairs or family parties. Small sized deer ranging
in shoulder height from 50 to 75 cm. The antlers of the male are on short,
hair covered, pedicels extending down the sides as bony ridges. Tufts of
bristly hairs replace the horns in does. Colour uniform brown. Horns are
shed during the hot weather. Muntjac breeds throughout the year with a
peak period during the cold weather. Usually one young is born. The call
from a distance sounds like a dog’s bark. The upper canines are enlarged
and are more often used as a means of defence than the antlers. Greatly
reduced in numbers during the last few decades.
The Chital or Spotted Deer (Axis axis) is an exclusively Indian
animal. The stags shed their horns annually but this is not limited to any
particular season of the year. The bright rufous-fawn coat spotted with
white and the graceful antlers of the stag make them one among, if not the
most beautiful deer. Herds were once common throughout the State and
the deer used to be seen till recently even on Salsette Island. Uncontrolled
poaching has now restricted them to the larger forests of the State, and
there too the numbers are fast dwindling so that unless afforded protection,
the species may be exterminated.
The Sambar (Cervus unicolor) is a typical forest species now
restricted in scanty numbers to the well forested areas of the State. The
largest of Indian deer, an adult slag may weight over 350 Kg. Stags with
the best horns are believed to occur in the forests about the Narmada and
Tapi rivers. The horns are shed in March-April and re-grown by
November. Ruts in cold weather and young are born in May-June.
Poaching has taken toll of this species.
The Chinkara or Indian Gazelle (Gazella gazella bennetti) prefers
broken country with nullahs and ravines, and with scrub or thin jungle. A
small, dainty gazelle light chestnut above and white below. The male
attains a height of about 65 cm. at the shoulder. The horns average 25 to
30 cm. in male, much smaller in the female which may be hornless also.
Little information is available on the present position of Chinkara in the
State. They were once not uncommon in the Vidarbha and in areas of the
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