EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

The Dancing Deer of Asia

Dancing Deer (Cervus eldi eldi [sometimes C. eldii eldii])
Family Cervidae
Assam, India

Explanation:  This handsome ungulate is variously known as the brow-antlered deer, thamin, sangai, Eld's deer, or (my favorite) the dancing deer. 

It is native to southern Asia, ranging from a corner of northeast India to Myanmar, Thailand, and southern China, including the Hainan islands ...

... but is a "critically endangered" species according to the IUCN Red Data Book listing, and one of the rarest and most endangered deer species in the world.

Dancing deer occupy wetlands and feed on marsh vegetation, similar to their cousins the barasingha or swamp deer (Cervus duvauceli, which we will explore in a future EPOW episode).  Dancing deer live in small herds.  

They breed during March and April and give birth in October after 6 months' gestation.  

They are nearly semi-aquatic, living in wetlands and some accounts suggest that they are mostly nocturnal.  

According to a sign at the Guwahati Zoo in Assam, India, the name "dancing deer" comes from the animal's preference for the floating vegetation or phumdis that it prefers in Keibul Lamjao National Park in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur.  

Apparently, stepping across floating bogs necessitates a dance-like gait to maintain balance.  

Dancing deer are heavily threatened by poaching, but severe floods and, presumably, drought can also take their toll.  

The Wildlife Institute of India has reported that the species seems to be holding on in Manipur.  

In 1975 there were only 18 dancing deer there, but that rose to 180 by 2003 following designation of their habitat as part of a protected national park.