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SANGAI DEER/MANIPUR BROW-ANTLERED DEER/DANCING
DEER (MEITEI PRONUNCIATION)
THE SANGAI DEER,
ALSO KNOWN AS THE MANIPUR BROW-ANTLERED DEER OR DANCING DEER, IS A CRITICALLY
ENDANGERED SPECIES THAT HOLDS IMMENSE CULTURAL AND ECOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE IN
THE STATE OF MANIPUR, LOCATED IN NORTHEASTERN INDIA. HERE ARE THE FULL DETAILS
ABOUT THE SANGAI DEER.
DESCRIPTION: THE SANGAI DEER IS A MEDIUM-SIZED UNGULATE
WITH UNIQUE FEATURES. ADULT MALES, KNOWN AS STAGS, WEIGH BETWEEN 75 AND 110
KILOGRAMS (165-243 POUNDS) AND STAND AT A SHOULDER HEIGHT OF ABOUT 100-110
CENTIMETERS (39-43 INCHES). FEMALES, KNOWN AS HINDS, ARE SLIGHTLY SMALLER. THE
MOST DISTINCTIVE FEATURE OF THE SANGAI DEER IS ITS ANTLERS. THE ANTLERS ARE
LONG AND HAVE A CHARACTERISTIC SHAPE, RESEMBLING THE BRANCHING OF A
CANDELABRUM. THE COAT COLOR OF THE SANGAI VARIES FROM DARK BROWN IN SUMMER TO A
LIGHTER BROWN SHADE IN WINTER, WITH A PROMINENT WHITE PATCH ON THE THROAT AND
UNDERSIDE.
DISTRIBUTION:
THE SANGAI DEER IS ENDEMIC TO THE KEIBUL
LAMJAO NATIONAL PARK IN MANIPUR, INDIA. THE PARK IS LOCATED IN LOKTAK LAKE,
WHICH IS THE LARGEST FRESHWATER LAKE IN NORTHEASTERN INDIA. THE SANGAI DEER IS
KNOWN AS THE "DANCING DEER" BECAUSE IT IS PRIMARILY FOUND IN THE
FLOATING BIOMASS CALLED "PHUMDIS" IN THE LAKE, MAKING IT THE ONLY
FLOATING NATIONAL PARK IN THE WORLD.
HABITAT: THE SANGAI DEER INHABITS THE UNIQUE WETLAND
HABITAT OF THE KEIBUL LAMJAO NATIONAL PARK. THE PARK IS CHARACTERIZED BY A
COMPLEX MOSAIC OF MARSHY WETLANDS, FLOATING VEGETATION (PHUMDIS), OPEN WATER
BODIES, GRASSLANDS, AND REEDS. THE SANGAI DEER PRIMARILY UTILIZES THE PHUMDIS
FOR COVER AND FEEDS ON THE GRASSES AND AQUATIC PLANTS FOUND IN THE WETLANDS.
BEHAVIOR: THE SANGAI DEER IS PRIMARILY CREPUSCULAR,
BEING MOST ACTIVE DURING THE EARLY MORNING AND LATE EVENING HOURS. IT IS KNOWN
FOR ITS GRACEFUL AND RHYTHMIC MOVEMENTS, WHICH HAVE EARNED IT THE NAME
"DANCING DEER." THE SANGAI IS AN EXCELLENT SWIMMER AND IS
WELL-ADAPTED TO MOVING THROUGH THE WATER AND THE FLOATING VEGETATION WITH EASE.
IT IS A HERBIVOROUS SPECIES, FEEDING ON A VARIETY OF GRASSES, REEDS, AND OTHER
AQUATIC PLANTS AVAILABLE IN ITS HABITAT.
REPRODUCTION:
THE SANGAI DEER, REPRODUCE DURING THE RUTTING
SEASON FROM NOVEMBER TO JANUARY, WHERE MALES COMPETE FOR MATING OPPORTUNITIES
THROUGH TERRITORIAL FIGHTS AND ANTLER DISPLAYS. AFTER SUCCESSFUL MATING, THE
FEMALES HAVE A GESTATION PERIOD OF APPROXIMATELY 200 TO 220 DAYS, GIVING BIRTH
TO A SINGLE FAWN, USUALLY BETWEEN MAY AND JUNE. THE NEWBORN FAWN WEIGHS AROUND
4 TO 6 KILOGRAMS AND POSSESSES A SPOTTED COAT FOR CAMOUFLAGE. THE MOTHER
DILIGENTLY CARES FOR HER OFFSPRING, KEEPING IT HIDDEN IN DENSE VEGETATION WHILE
SHE VENTURES OUT TO FEED AND RETURNING TO NURSE THE FAWN PERIODICALLY. AS THE
FAWN GROWS, IT GRADUALLY LOSES ITS SPOTS AND REACHES SEXUAL MATURITY AT AROUND
1.5 TO 2 YEARS OF AGE. MONITORING AND UNDERSTANDING THE REPRODUCTION OF SANGAI
DEER IS CRUCIAL FOR THEIR CONSERVATION EFFORTS, AS SUCCESSFUL BREEDING AND
SURVIVAL OF THE OFFSPRING ARE VITAL FOR MAINTAINING AND INCREASING THEIR
POPULATION.
CONSERVATION
STATUS: THE SANGAI DEER IS CLASSIFIED AS CRITICALLY
ENDANGERED ON THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES. THE POPULATION HAS FACED
SEVERE DECLINES PRIMARILY DUE TO HABITAT LOSS, HABITAT FRAGMENTATION, AND
POACHING. THE KEIBUL LAMJAO NATIONAL PARK, ESTABLISHED IN 1977, IS CRITICAL FOR
THE CONSERVATION OF THIS UNIQUE DEER SPECIES. CONSERVATION EFFORTS ARE FOCUSED
ON HABITAT RESTORATION, COMMUNITY-BASED CONSERVATION PROGRAMS, STRICT
ANTI-POACHING MEASURES, AND RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF
CONSERVING THIS ENDANGERED SPECIES.
CULTURAL
SIGNIFICANCE: THE SANGAI DEER
HOLDS IMMENSE CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE FOR THE PEOPLE OF MANIPUR. IT IS THE STATE
ANIMAL AND IS DEEPLY INTEGRATED INTO THE CULTURAL FABRIC OF THE REGION. THE
SANGAI HAS BEEN FEATURED IN VARIOUS TRADITIONAL DANCES, SONGS, FOLKLORE, AND
ARTWORK, SYMBOLIZING THE DEEP CONNECTION BETWEEN THE PEOPLE AND THE DEER. IT IS
CONSIDERED A SYMBOL OF PRIDE, IDENTITY, AND CONSERVATION IN MANIPURI CULTURE.
CONSERVATION
EFFORTS: SEVERAL CONSERVATION
INITIATIVES ARE UNDERWAY TO PROTECT THE SANGAI DEER. THESE INCLUDE HABITAT
RESTORATION PROGRAMS, COMMUNITY-BASED CONSERVATION EFFORTS INVOLVING LOCAL
COMMUNITIES IN THE CONSERVATION PROCESS, SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH TO UNDERSTAND THE
SPECIES BETTER, AND MONITORING ITS POPULATION DYNAMICS. THE MANIPUR FOREST
DEPARTMENT, IN COLLABORATION WITH NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, IS
ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN CONSERVING THIS CRITICALLY ENDANGERED SPECIES.
THE SANGAI DEER, WITH ITS UNIQUE HABITAT AND CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE, IS
AN ICONIC SPECIES THAT HIGHLIGHTS THE NEED FOR CONCERTED CONSERVATION EFFORTS.
PROTECTING THE FLOATING NATIONAL
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