HORNS & ANTLERS of Chital Deer, Sambar Deer & Sangai Deer

HORNS OF ANTELOPE

Indian Gazelle / Chinkara (Gazella bennettii)

• Physicality: Horns are solid bony structures that reach about 15 inches in fully grown individuals.

• Shape: They have an S-shaped curve but appear almost straight when viewed from the front.

• Texture: The horns of males have between 15 to 25 rings, while those of females are relatively smooth.

• Tips: The tips of the horns are out-turned.

Black Buck (Antilope cervicapra) Horns

• Shape: Horns are long, cylindrical, ringed, spiral, and lyre-shaped.

• Size: They attain a length of 14 to 30 inches in fully grown males.

• Core: The bony core of the horns is solid and not honeycombed like others.

• Sexual Dimorphism: Horned females are rarely seen.

Nilgai / Blue Bull (Boselaphus tragocamelus) Horns

• Size: As the largest Asian antelope, they possess relatively short horns reaching up to 18 cm in males.

• Shape: They are almost triangular at the base but become circular towards the tip.

• Form: The horns are stout, cone-shaped, and usually keeled.

ANTLERS OF DEER

Chital / Spotted Deer (Axis axis) Antlers

• Structure: Presence of three tines or prongs.

• Brow Tine: The long brow tine is set perpendicular to the beam.

• Crown: The crown consists of two branched tines at the top.

• Variation: Aged chitals may have one or more false tines on the brow antler.

Horn of a Chital Deer

Thamin / Sangai /Manipuri brow-antlered deer (Rucervus eldii eldii) Antlers

• Antlers of Sangai are unique, complex and highly branched structure, attaining almost 39 inches in fully grown adults.

• Profile of the antlers seem to be circular or arc shaped.

• These arise from close set erect pedicels and start growing from the second year.

• The antlers sweep in a continuous curve from the brow tine to the point of the beam.

• The brow tine is very long hence form the main beam.

• Terminal tines may vary from 2 to 10 in number.

• The forward protruding beams seem to grow from the eye brow region.

Antlers of Sambar Deer & Sangai Deer

Sambar Deer (Rusa unicolor)

• These herbivores have stout, large and rugged antlers.

• The brow tine is simple and is set at acute angle to the beam.

• At the summit or crown, the beam forks into two equal tines.

• In some, the outer tine is longer.

• Antlers of fully adult males attain a size of about 43 cm.

• Antlers are fully grown by the fourth year of age of the stag.

Developmental stages of an Antler