Sambar
Rusa unicolour
🦌
Chordata
Mammalia
Artiodactyla
Pecora
Cervidae
Rusa unicolour
The Forest Sentinel of South Asia, the Sambar Deer is a large, rugged cervid that roams dense jungles and mountain forests. Known for its distinctive, rugged antlers and dark brown coat, this deer has long played a role in both predator-prey dynamics and human hunting traditions across Asia.
Description
Sambar Deer (Rusa unicolor) — The Sambar is one of the largest deer species in Asia, belonging to the class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Cervidae. Adult males typically weigh between 150–300 kg, though exceptional stags can exceed 350 kg. Shoulder height averages 1.35–1.6 meters, and body length reaches 1.6–2.7 meters. The species is widespread across the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and southern China. Sambars are excellent swimmers and are most active at dusk and dawn. They use alarm calls—loud barks—to warn others of predators like tigers and leopards.
Quick Facts
Max Mass
Shoulder Height
Standing Height
Length
Diet
Trophic Level
180
1.2
1.8
2
kg
m
m
m
Mixed Feeder
Herbivores – Browsers
Hunt History
Humans have hunted Sambar Deer for tens of thousands of years for meat, hides, and antlers. Early human groups used stone-tipped spears and coordinated drives to trap sambars near waterholes and forest clearings. Later, as metallurgy emerged, bows and iron-tipped arrows became common hunting tools. Their large size made them valuable but also dangerous prey.
Three archaeological and historical examples:
Bhimbetka Rock Shelters, India (c. 12,000 BCE) — Cave paintings depict deer resembling sambar being pursued by hunters with spears.
Khao Sam Roi Yot, Thailand (c. 6000 BCE) — Excavated bone remains suggest human consumption of large cervids consistent with sambar morphology.
Sri Lankan Wet Zone Sites, e.g., Fa Hien Cave (c. 33,000 BCE) — Evidence of large deer hunting, likely sambar, through cut marks and burned bones found alongside prehistoric tools.
Time & Range
Extinction Status
Extant
Extinction Date
Temporal Range
Region
0
BP
Late Pleistocene
Asia
Wiki Link
Fat Analysis
Fatness Profile:
Medium
Fat %
5
Est. Renderable Fat
9
kg
Targeted Organs
Marrow, kidney fat
Adipose Depots
Seasonal backfat, perirenal; marrow
Preferred Cuts
Long-bone marrow
Hunt Difficulty (x/5)
3