Barasingha

Barasingha also called the swamp deer is a species of deer found in India and Nepal. It had been gone extinct in Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is a vulnerable species. The barasingha's horns have more tines than any other deer species. The barasingha is called for dolharin in Assamese.There are three subspecies of barqsingha, two found in India and one in Nepal.

Barasingha horns are one of the most beautiful horns. They have 7 to 8 tines, some have 12 horns. Their name is maned. They like to live in swampy areas and grassland. There hooves are made to run in swampy areas. Only males have horns. They shed their horns. Males fight for mating. Babies have white spots which disappear as they grow. This help them to get mix with the babies of spotted deer. It have a speed of 80km/hr.

There are three subspecies of barasingha: the hard ground barasingha, the eastern swamp deer and western swamp deer.

    The hard ground barasingha are adapted to live on hard ground as well as in swamps. They prefers to spend most time in swamps. They have a more dark fur than any other barasingha. The hard ground barasingha is only found in the Kanha national park in Madhya Pradesh.

The eastern swamp deer mostly spend their time in swamps. They are active during the morning time. The herd of this deer live with other big  herbivorous creatures. They spend a little time on hard ground. The eastern swamp deer is found in the Kaziranga and Manas national park in Assam.

The western swamp deer occupies a small area in the India and nepal. These spices is the smallest of all it relatives. It fur is bright in colour. They are found in the Dudhwa national park of Uttar Pradesh and in Sukla Phanta national park of Nepal.

Behavior 

Barasingha lives in herd, where there in one male and many female with babies. The babies are spotted which make them same with those of spotted deer. With time the spots disappear and horns starts to grow. Barasingha herds graze together with the spotted deer. This allows more eyes to see predators. Barasingha run its speed of 80 km/hr, which help it from being hunt by predators. When seen predators they give a crying sound. Barasingha feeds on aquatic vegetation including grasses which grow near swamps. Males decorate their horns with grass to attract mates. Battles are common during mating seasons. 

Threat

The threat to the barasingha is due to hunting. From centuries this species has been hunted for enjoyment. Many people hunts this animal for meat and fur. Another threat is due to the destruction of grassland and swamp for development. Due to climate change, the summer became long in central India which minimise the availability of water as well as decrease food sources ( except grasses). In the far east, seasonal flooding of the Brahmaputra river treated this species. Sometimes during seasonal burning of grassland, some deer get trapped in the fire and die out. Invasion of non native water plants are also a threat.

Conservation

 The conservative of swamp deer is going on. To protect this species Indian government is transporting some them to their early ranges. The hard ground barasingha of Kanha is being translocated to satpura where it lived earlier. The eastern swamp deer is being translocated to manas national park from where they were wiped out by hunters. Ten barasingha were sent earlier but died during flood. To tell people about the barasingha, Kanya had taken a huge step. For the first time, Kanya had taken the blessings as it official mascot named as "Bhoorsingh the barasingha". To know more about it visit green humour. Various knowledgeable poster has been made by Kanha. To safeguard and make more research on it some barasingha are sent to Van Vihar national park in Bhopal. Protection of wetlands are going on, not only for barasingha but also for other aquatic, semi aquatic and Avian wildlife.

Why do they matter?

Barasingha are a prominent grazer near water sources. They eat up the grass near the banks as well as not allow them to spread all over the water source. Fishing birds like kingfisher, egret etc can catch fish easily. Also other small animals are allow to drink safely as the dense growth of the grasses has been removed. Barasingha are only found in Indian subcontinent o it also attracts tourists.