...in Sri Lanka is the Sambar deer. Rusa unicolour is a big deer native to much of Asia and is a favoured food of Tigers and Asiatic Lion. It probably also gets taken from time to time by leopard although its at the upper end of their viable prey range. Of course if there is one thing we know about leopards its that they can kill and eat pretty much anything given the opportunity. Sambar are much more than just cat food of course. They are a big majestic animal in their own right and they are notably bigger than the more common Sri Lankan Axis deer.
Their comparative size and ability to defend themselves against predators makes their skittishness compared to Axis rather curious and intriguing. This was the best look I got at one (and it rather reminded me of our native Red Deer in such circumstances). It was almost like they didn't want to be within range of humans. Clever animals.
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We have Sambar Deer on St. Vincents Island, a national wildlife refuge in the Gulf.
Interesting stuff. I'm starting to get the impression that almost all the world's deer can be found living happily in the wild in the USAsomewhere or other!
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