In a first, white sambar deer spotted at Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary

This is the first photographic record of a white form of sambar deer or leucistic sambar deer, from this landscape, Gubbi’s team said

Bengaluru In a first, a white sambar deer was captured on camera in the Sangama range of Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary on Wednesday by a Wildlife biologist and Conservationist Dr Sanjay Gubbi and his team, who were there to conduct studies on leopards.

The female sambar was seen accompanying another adult female sambar. (HT Photo)

This is the first photographic record of a white form of sambar deer or leucistic sambar deer, from this landscape, Gubbi’s team said. However, a white form of sambar deer was previously recorded in Bandipur Tiger Reserve in 2014.

The female sambar was seen accompanying another adult female sambar. Hence, it is being speculated that the deer might be a sub-adult individual with its mother, the team said.

Leucism is a condition in which is caused due to lack of pigmentation on an animal’s skin, leading to pale skin.

“Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary is a hidden treasure. The first photographic record of honey badger for Karnataka was recorded here, and the southernmost limit of gray wolves’ range for India was recorded from here. Last year, our camera traps recorded a partial albino dhole and now, a leucistic sambar. It seems to throw surprises after surprises. Such a fantastic landscape should be conserved at any cost,” Gubbi said.

He said, data such as this photograph can give various insights into the biology of these herbivores and also their ecology.