White sambar deer spotted at Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary

A rare white sambar deer was spotted in a camera trap at Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary limits, in Chamarajanagar district.

The female sambar deer was spotted by environmentalist Sanjay Gubbi and team with the help of cameras installed by them to study leopards.

This is the first time a leucistic sambar deer has been spotted in this forest area. A similar deer was spotted at Bandipur Tiger Reserve in 2014, the team said.

This condition is identified as leucistic, due to lack of body pigment melanin, in all of the body or parts of it. In the condition of albinism, the eyes become pink or red. But in leucistic animals, the eye colour is normal, the team explained.

As the number of sambar deer are on the decline, there is a need to conduct a detailed study on such animals, they said.

Speaking to DH, Sanjay Gubbi said, “The wildlife sanctuary has discovered many new species. A honey badger was recorded for the first time in the state here. Now, a white sambar deer has been spotted. A white Dhole was found in the same region last year. The Forest department personnel have also spotted a white peacock here," he said.