The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : A deer with a difference

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

A deer with a difference

Staff Reporter

The spotted animal, discovered in Nagarhole, is white in colour

A surprise aberration: The albino spotted deer at Nagarhole National Park

Bangalore: A white spotted deer (chital) is certainly not a common sight in nature: in fact, there have been no reports of a sighting in Karnataka. So when S.G. Neginhal, ex-Indian Forest Service officer, spotted this albino deer amid a herd grazing in the Nagarahole National Park last week, he was overjoyed. It was one of the highlights of his wildlife career of several decades, he said.

Mr. Neginhal, who has managed Nagarahole, Bandipur, Ranganathittu and BRT Hills as wildlife officer in the 1970s, said he had never come across an albino spotted deer in the wild so far. “This discovery is the first recorded in Karnataka and perhaps in south India,” he said. “I happened to be visiting Nagarahole and was driving through the forest when a white object flashed across the road. I thought it was odd because not much of our wildlife is white in colour. When I got a closer look, I realised it was an albino chital and made sure I took a picture for the record,” he said. This aberration in colour means the white spots are barely visible in this young chital, he said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka