Genus Rusa

 Rusa is a genus of deer from southern Asia. They have traditionally been included in Cervus, and genetic evidence suggests this may be more appropriate than their present placement in a separate genus. Three of the four species have relatively small distributions in the Philippines and Indonesia, but the sambar is more widespread, ranging from India east and north to China and south to the Greater Sundas. All are threatened by habitat loss and hunting in their native ranges, but three of the species have also been introduced elsewhere.

The Javan rusa or Sunda sambar (Rusa timorensis) is a deer native to Indonesia and East Timor. Introduced populations exist in a wide variety of locations in the Southern Hemisphere.

Seven subspecies of the Javan rusa are recognised:

• R. t. timorensis (Timor rusa deer) – Timor.

• R. t. djonga – Muna and Butung Islands.

• R. t. floresiensis (Flores rusa deer) – Flores and other islands.

• R. t. macassaricus (Celebes rusa deer) – Celebes.

• R. t. moluccensis (Moluccan rusa deer) – Molucca Islands.

• R. t. renschi – Bali.

• R. t. russa (Javan rusa deer) – Java.

The Javan Rusa is dark blackish brown and has a grey forehead. Its back is almost black, the underparts and inner thighs are yellowish brown. The abdomen is lighter brown, and the tail tuft is dark blackish brown. The hair is coarse and longer on the chest than on the remaining body. Its ears are wide and a little shorter than the head. The antlers are medium long and rather wide, the upper branch points forward. Fawns are born without spots. Males are bigger than females; head-to-body length varies from 142 to 185 cm (4.66 to 6.07 ft), with a 20 cm (7.9 in) tail. Males weigh 152–160 kg (335–353 lb), female about 74 kg (163 lb).

The Javan rusa natively occurs on the islands of Java, Bali, and Timor in Indonesia. It has been introduced to Irian Jaya, Borneo, the Lesser Sunda Islands, Maluku, Sulawesi, Pohnpei, Mauritius, Reunion, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, the Christmas Islands, the Cocos Islands, Nauru, Australia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, New Britain, and New Ireland. The Javan rusa was introduced by the Dutch to New Guinea in the early 1900s.

Since its introduction to the West Papuan lowlands, the species has become widely dispersed and is common in much of its new range. However its population in its native range has declined markedly by approximately 10,000 individuals in the past two decades and likely faces further decline. As a result it has been listed as vulnerable in its native range and was declared as a protected species under Indonesian law in 2018.

During the 1980s and 1990s, protected areas such as national parks were used to control poaching and the effects of land conversion that destroyed grazing areas. However large numbers of Javan rusa died in Baluran National Park in Indonesia due to the loss of grazing area as a result of the invasive thorny acacia.

Javan rusa are nocturnal, although they do graze during the day. They are rarely seen in the open and are very difficult to approach due to their keen senses and cautious instincts. The rusa deer is often found in small groups or pairs, although males are often seen alone. When alarmed, a rusa stag lets out an extremely loud honk. This is an alarm call and alerts any other deer in the vicinity. As with other deer species, Javan rusa mainly feed on grass, leaves, and fallen fruit. Most of their fluid requirements are met by the food they consume, so they hardly drink water.

Javan Rusa (or Timor) Deer (Rusa timorensis russa) - Seen in various locations on Java, including Ujon Kulong

Flores Island Rusa (or Timor) Deer (Rusa timorensis floresiensis) - Seen in various locations Komodo and Rinja Islands

Bali Rusa (or Timor) Deer (Rusa timorensis renschi) - Seen in Bali Barat National Park

Sambar (Rusa unicolor)

The Sambar (Rusa unicolor) is a large deer native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 2008. Populations have declined substantially due to severe hunting, local insurgency, and industrial exploitation of habitat.

The name "sambar" is also sometimes used to refer to the Philippine deer called the "Philippine sambar", and the Javan rusa called the "Sunda sambar".

The appearance and the size of the sambar vary widely across its range, which has led to considerable taxonomic confusion in the past; over 40 different scientific synonyms have been used for the species. In general, they attain a height of 102 to 160 cm (40 to 63 in) at the shoulder and may weigh as much as 546 kg (1,204 lb), though more typically 100 to 350 kg (220 to 770 lb). Head and body length varies from 1.62 to 2.7 m (5.3 to 8.9 ft), with a 22 to 35 cm (8.7 to 13.8 in) tail. Individuals belonging to western subspecies tend to be larger than those from the east, and females are smaller than males. Among all living cervid species, only the moose and the elk can attain larger sizes.

The large, rugged antlers are typically rusine, the brow tines being simple and the beams forked at the tip, so they have only three tines. The antlers are typically up to 110 cm (43 in) long in fully adult individuals. As with most deer, only the males have antlers.

The shaggy coat can be from yellowish brown to dark grey in colour, and while it is usually uniform in colour, some subspecies have chestnut marks on the rump and underparts. Sambar also have a small but dense mane, which tends to be more prominent in males. The tail is relatively long for deer, and is generally black above with a whitish underside.

Adult males and pregnant or lactating females possess an unusual hairless, blood-red spot located about halfway down the underside of their throats. This sometimes oozes a white liquid, and is apparently glandular in nature.

The sambar is distributed in much of South Asia as far north as the south-facing slopes of the Himalayas in Nepal, Bhutan and India, in mainland Southeast Asia including Burma, Thailand, Indochina, the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia (Sumatra and Borneo), Taiwan, and South China, including Hainan. In the Himalayan foothills, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and eastern Taiwan, it ranges up to 3,500 m (11,500 ft). It inhabits tropical dry forests, tropical seasonal forests, subtropical mixed forests with stands of conifers and montane grasslands, broadleaved deciduous and broadleaved evergreen trees, to tropical rainforests, and seldom moves far from water sources.

The sambar prefers the dense cover of deciduous shrubs and grasses,[7] although the exact nature of this varies enormously with the environment because of its wide Asian range. Home range sizes are probably equally variable, but have been recorded as 1,500 ha (3,700 acres) for males and 300 ha (740 acres) for females in India.

Sambar are nocturnal or crepuscular. The males live alone for much of the year, and the females live in small herds of up to 16 individuals. Indeed, in some areas, the average herd consists of only three or four individuals, typically consisting of an adult female, her most recent young, and perhaps a subordinate, immature female. This is an unusual pattern for deer, which more commonly live in larger groups. They often congregate near water, and are good swimmers. Like most deer, sambar are generally quiet, although all adults can scream or make short, high-pitched sounds when alarmed. However, they more commonly communicate by scent marking and foot stamping.

Sambar feed on a wide variety of vegetation, including grasses, foliage, browse, fruit, and water plants, depending on the local habitat. They also consume a great variety of shrubs and trees.

Sambar have been seen congregating in large herds in protected areas such as national parks and reserves in India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. In Taiwan, sambar along with sika deer, have been raised on farms for their antlers, which they drop annually in April to May and are highly prized for use as knife handles and as grips for handguns.

Stags wallow and dig their antlers in urine-soaked soil, and then rub against tree trunks. Sambar are capable of remarkable bipedalism for a deer species, and stags stand and mark tree branches above them with their antlers.[9] A stag also marks himself by spraying urine on his own face with a highly mobile penis. Despite their lack of antlers, female sambar readily defend their young from most predators, which is relatively unusual among deer. When confronted by pack-hunting dholes or feral domestic dogs, a sambar lowers its head with an erect mane and lashes at the dogs. Sambar prefer to attack predators in shallow water. Several sambar may form a defensive formation, touching rumps and vocalising loudly at the dogs. When sensing danger, a sambar stamps its feet and makes a ringing call known as "pooking" or "belling".

They are the favourite prey of tigers and Asiatic lions. In India, the sambar can comprise up to nearly 60% of the prey selected by the Bengal tiger.[citation needed] Anecdotally, the tiger is said to even mimic the call of the sambar to deceive it while hunting. They also can be taken by crocodiles, mostly the sympatric mugger crocodiles and saltwater crocodiles. Leopards and dholes largely prey on only young or sickly deer, though they can attack healthy adults as well.

The galleries that follow are of several Sambar subspecies encountered over the years:

Bornean Sambar (Rusa unicolor brooki) - Seen in Danum Valley and Tabin

Indian Sambar (Rusa unicolor unicolor) - Seen in various locations India and Sri Lanka

Indochinese Sambar (Rusa unicolor cambojensis) - Seen in various locations in Thailand, mainly Khao Yai National Park