This deer barks...

Muntjac deer or barking deer as it is commonly called can be sighted in the Kanha and Bandhavgarh national parks of Madhya Pradesh. (in pic at Kanha national park) They are called ‘barking deer’ due to their alarm call, which seems very much similar to the barking of a dog. They are also called by some as 'Kakad deer'. They can be easily distinguished from the other deer. The deer have two raised dark ridges on their forehead, which extend till their antlers. One of their unique features is that they have both, a pair of antlers as well as overgrown canines (tushes). They make use of the tushes mainly as weapons in a fight.

They are shy and prefer to live in isolation. One rarely finds them moving around in groups. The Barking deer are mostly seen inhabiting dense forests of India. Muntjac are the oldest known deer and are of great interest in evolutionary studies because of their dramatic chromosome variations and the recent discovery of several new species.