Chital

Information about Chital

Chital

Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Order:Artiodactyla
Family:Cervidae
Subfamily:Cervinae
Genus:Axis
Species:A. axis
Binomial name
Axis axis
(Erxleben, 1777)
The chital (or cheetal) deer, also known as the spotted deer or axis deer is a deer which commonly inhabits wooded regions of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, and most of India. It is the most common deer species in Indian forests. Its coat is reddish fawn, marked with white spots, and its underparts are white. Its antlers, which it sheds annually, are usually three-pronged and curve in a lyre shape and may extend to 75 cm. It has a protracted breeding season due in part to the tropical climate, and births can occur throughout the year. For this reason, males do not have their antler cycles in synchrony and there are some fertile females at all times of the year. Males sporting hard antlers are dominant over those in velvet or those without antlers, irrespective of their size and other factors.

Enlarge picture
Herd of Chital in the wild
Chital most commonly occur in herds of ten to fifty individuals comprised of one or two stags and a number of females and young. They are often fairly tolerant of approach by humans and vehicles, especially where they are accustomed to human disturbance. They do not occur at higher elevation forests where they are usually replaced by other species such as the Sambar deer.

Enlarge picture
Chital grazing.
Chital eat primarily grasses and vegetation, but also eat their shed antlers as a source of nutrients.

A chital stands about 90 cm tall at the shoulder and masses about 85 kg. Lifespan is around 20-30 years.

An interesting relationship has been observed between herds of chital and troops of the Northern Plains Grey Langur (Presbytis entellus), a widespread leaf-eating monkey taxon of South Asia. Chital apparently benefit from the langurs' good eyesight and ability to post a lookout in a treetop, helping to raise the alarm when a predator approaches. For the langurs' part, the chital's superior sense of smell would seem to assist in early predator warning, and it is common to see langurs foraging on the ground in the presence of chital. The chital also benefit from fruits dropped by the langurs from trees such as Terminalia bellerica. Alarm calls of either species can be indicative of the presence of a predator such as a tiger.

Miscellaneous

The Chital is called Jinke in Kannada, Pulli Maan in Tamil, Duppi in Telugu, Phutuki Horin in Assamese and Hiran in Hindi (ultimately derived from Harini, the Sanskrit root word for 'deer'). It has been introduced to Queensland, Australia, and Texas and Florida in the United States.

See Also

Sri lankan axis deer

References

External links

conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation status of a species: not simply the number remaining, but the
..... Click the link for more information.
Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, nor Near Threatened, nor (prior to 2001) Conservation Dependent.
..... Click the link for more information.
Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
..... Click the link for more information.
Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled until (UTC) due to vandalism.
If you are prevented from editing this page, and you wish to make a change, please discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or
..... Click the link for more information.
Chordata
Bateson, 1885

Typical Classes

See below

Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates.
..... Click the link for more information.
Mammalia
Linnaeus, 1758

Subclasses & Infraclasses
  • Subclass †Allotheria*
  • Subclass Prototheria
  • Subclass Theria

..... Click the link for more information.
Artiodactyla*
Owen, 1848

Families

Antilocapridae
Bovidae
Camelidae
Cervidae
Giraffidae
Hippopotamidae
Moschidae
Suidae
Tayassuidae
Tragulidae
Leptochoeridae †
Dichobunidae †
Cebochoeridae †
..... Click the link for more information.
Cervidae
Goldfuss, 1820

Subfamilies

Capreolinae/Odocoileinae
Cervinae
Hydropotinae
Muntiacinae

A deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae.
..... Click the link for more information.
Axis

Species

Axis axis
Axis calamianensis
Axis kuhlii
Axis porcinus
Axis is a genus of deer.

See Chital Deer
..... Click the link for more information.
binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. The system is also called binominal nomenclature (particularly in zoological circles), binary nomenclature (particularly in botanical circles), or the binomial classification system.
..... Click the link for more information.
Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben (June 22, 1744 - August 19, 1777) was a German naturalist.

Erxleben was Professor of physics and veterinary medicine at the Georg-August-University in Göttingen.
..... Click the link for more information.
8th century - 9th century - 10th century
850s  860s  870s  - 880s -  890s  900s  910s
885 886 887 - 888 - 889 890 891

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
..... Click the link for more information.
Cervidae
Goldfuss, 1820

Subfamilies

Capreolinae/Odocoileinae
Cervinae
Hydropotinae
Muntiacinae

A deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae.
..... Click the link for more information.
Anthem
"Sri Lanka Matha"
Music   (help info ) , Singing   (help info )
..... Click the link for more information.
Motto
जननी जन्मभूमिष्च स्वर्गादपि गरीयसी   (Sanskrit)
..... Click the link for more information.
Anthem
Amar Shonar Bangla
My Golden Bengal


Capital
(and largest city) Dhaka

..... Click the link for more information.
This page is currently protected from editing until disputes have been resolved.
Protection is not an endorsement of the current [ version] ([ protection log]).
..... Click the link for more information.
lyre is a stringed musical instrument well known for its use in Classical Antiquity and later. The recitations of the Ancient Greeks were accompanied by lyre playing. The lyre of Classical Antiquity was ordinarily played by being strummed with a plectrum, like a guitar or a zither,
..... Click the link for more information.
STAG is a reality TV show, hosted by Tommy Habeeb. Each episode profiles an engaged couple a week or two before their wedding. The cameras then follow the groom on his bachelor party, recording all the crazy antics.
..... Click the link for more information.
Cervinae

Genus: Cervus

Species: C. unicolor

Binomial name
Cervus unicolor
(Kerr, 1792)

Sambar
..... Click the link for more information.
Grass is a common word that generally describes a monocotyledonous green plant in the family Gramineae (Poaceae). True grasses include most plants grown as grains, for pasture, and for lawns (turf).
..... Click the link for more information.
Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants, and is, by far, the most abundant biotic element of the biosphere.
..... Click the link for more information.
alarm signal is an antipredator adaptation referring to various signals emitted by social animals in response to danger. Many primates and birds have elaborate alarm calls for warning conspecifics of approaching predators.
..... Click the link for more information.
P. t. tigris

Trinomial name
Panthera tigris tigris
(Linnaeus, 1758)



The Bengal Tiger or Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris
..... Click the link for more information.
Queensland

Flag Coat of Arms
Slogan or Nickname: Sunshine State, Smart State
Motto(s): "Audax at Fidelis" (Bold but Faithful)

Other Australian states and territories
Capital Brisbane
Government Constitutional monarchy
..... Click the link for more information.
Anthem
Advance Australia Fair [1]


Capital Canberra

Largest city Sydney
..... Click the link for more information.
State of Texas

Flag of Texas Seal
Nickname(s): Lone Star State
Motto(s): Friendship.
Before Statehood Known as
The Republic of Texas

Official language(s) No official language

..... Click the link for more information.
Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism.
If you are prevented from editing this page, and you wish to make a change, please discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or .
..... Click the link for more information.
Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
..... Click the link for more information.
A. axis ceylonensis

Trinomial name
Axis axis ceylonensis

The Srilankan axis deer (Axis axis ceylonensis) or Ceylon Spotted Deer is a Sub-species of axis deer (Axis axis) that inhabits only Srilanka.
..... Click the link for more information.

This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.