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ZooNooz Article - September 2005
Focus on: Chital
Story by ANDREW PARNELL
Photograph Cathy Hattersley
Illustration Ngaire Sales
Chital, or Spotted Deer, are native to the grasslands and open forests of India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. These majestic deer stand up to one metre tall at the shoulder and their slender bodies are between one metre and 1.75 metres long. Males are larger than females.
Every year males grow a new pair of imposing antlers with three small branches or tines growing almost at right angles to the main branch, the beam. The antlers take about five months to develop fully.
Chital have coarse, short hair that is mostly reddish- or yellowish-brown with a dark stripe along the back. Their bodies and tails are white underneath. They are the most vividly spotted of all deer - even adults' coats are covered with rows of striking small white spots. Their graceful stature is enhanced by prominent tails and large eyes.
Chital are most active during the cooler parts of the day, or at night during the hotter months. They graze on grass, with an occasional browse of leaves from the forest trees.
Chital follow troops of langurs, as these monkeys knock nutrient-rich fruits and leaves to the ground while searching for their own food. These two species have a symbiotic relationship, responding to each other's warnings of predators. Chital bark when alarmed.
Their natural predators include leopards, wild dogs, tigers, pythons and crocodiles. By feeding in the grasslands and open forest, rather than the adjoining dense forest, chital minimise the cover available for their predators. To escape danger, they can quickly reach high speeds from a standing start.
A Chital and fawn (NS) |
Every year males grow a new pair of imposing antlers with three small branches or tines growing almost at right angles to the main branch, the beam. The antlers take about five months to develop fully and they drop off at the end of the mating season. As with all tropical deer, antler growth is not seasonal; individuals will grow them at any time of the year.
A male's antlers become bigger each year until they reach their maximum size of almost a metre after three or four years. Males rarely fight - displaying their antlers is usually enough to intimidate potential rivals.
Any fighting that does occur is between males with similar-sized antlers. Some males will even attack objects such as trees and fences during their mating season.
Although they stay within ranges consisting of a core area surrounded by an outer foraging area which can reach 195 hectares for males,
Chital are not considered territorial. Ranges are not defended and the size varies with the seasons.
The deer live in small herds of between five and ten, though individuals regularly move between herds. The only long-term relationship for Chital is that between mother and fawn. Not surprisingly with such loose bonds between individuals, herd composition varies significantly and can comprise deer of all ages and sexes.
While Chital are common, they have become rare in some of their native regions as a result of hunting and clearing by humans. They have been introduced to other areas throughout the world, primarily to be hunted or farmed.
A common form is the matriarchal herd made up of adult females and their fawns from one or two breeding seasons. Nursery herds, females with fawns under eight weeks, are also common. An adult female will lead female-only and mixed-sex herds. There are two common types of male-only herds: loose groupings of sexually active males following the females, and bachelor herds of less-active males.
Males display aggression, usually threatening behaviour rather than physical conflict, to sort out the hierarchy within their herds, with older and larger males being dominant. Females are generally only aggressive towards other Chital in over-crowded feeding sites. The herds can join with others to form groups of up to 800 individuals.
Female Chital are generally ready to mate once a year, though sometimes they can come into season again, especially if the first fawn dies. While they do not have a specific breeding season, the most common period is from March to June. With an eight-month pregnancy, this means most fawns are born in the cooler winter months. Males travel between herds searching for females which are ready to mate. They will try to keep competitors away when they are courting by displaying and sparring with their antlers.
Chitals are the most vividly
spotted of all deer (CH) |
This is when they are at their most noisy, bellowing and moaning. While males generally dominate social interactions, females will sometimes reject one male and mate with another. After birth the fawn will spend its time hiding in dense vegetation with its mother nearby until it is strong enough to keep up with the herd. Young are not independent until at least a year old and some young females will remain with their mother for two years. In the wild they live for 9 to 11 years.
While Chital are common, they have become rare in some of their native regions as a result of hunting and clearing by humans. They have been introduced to other areas throughout the world, primarily to be hunted or farmed. Unfortunately in some of these places they are now considered a threat to native ecosystems.
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