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All India Balaghat Barasingha of Kanha National Park

Barasingha of Kanha National Park

This reserve is the only place in the world where you can see the Barasingha swamp deer in the wild.

Balaghat, India

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Mariellen Ward
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This is the elusive Barasingha male deer. This is a young adult with a impressive horn structure.   Basundhara Chowdhury / CC BY-SA 4.0
A male hard ground barasingha in Kanha National park, India.   Prajwalkm / CC BY-SA 3.0
Female barasingha deer in Kanha meadows.   T. R. Shankar Raman / CC BY-SA 3.0
Hard-ground barasingh in Kanha Tiger Reserve.   A. J. T. Johnsingh, WWF-India and NCF / CC BY-SA 3.0
Female Barasingha grazing in herd at Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh.   Ashishmahaur / CC BY-SA 4.0
Hochl and barasingha (Rucervus duvauceli branderi) at Kanha National Park.   Altaipanther / Public Domain
Tiger in Kanha Tiger Reserve.   Davidvraju / CC BY-SA 4.0
Tiger and tigress walking alone along the path at Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh.   Ashishmahaur / CC BY-SA 4.0
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A large deer with a woolly golden-hued coat, the Barasingha swamp deer gets its name from the many tines on an adult male’s antlers; "Barasingha" means "12-tined" in Hindi. Stags can actually have up to 20 tines, which gives them a very regal look indeed, for those lucky enough to see these beautiful, elusive animals. 

The Barasingha hard-ground swamp deer (Branderi Barasingha) is the state animal of Madhya Pradesh in Central India. It was very close to extinction when a successful breeding program and conservation practices at Kanha National Park brought the animals back from the brink.

Today the national park, best known as a tiger reserve, is the only place on the planet to see the endangered deer in the wild. The Barasingha are magnificent creatures when you see them standing tall in a meadow, with the golden sunlight of India lighting up their coats.

The species is still on the vulnerable list after numbers fell drastically in the mid-20th century. Human encroachment on their habitat, poaching, and disease all led to the decline. There were only about 60 individuals left in the national park when the conservation program started in the early 1970s.

Various conservation methods were used, including habitat improvement and captive breeding, and today there’s an estimated 450 Barasingha in Kanha. Today, you can see herds of 10 to 20 strong roaming the fields and meadows of this large and beautiful national park and tiger reserve. 

Along with the Barasingha, there’s an abundance of other animals and birds you can enjoy seeing at Kanha National Park, which sprawls over 360 square miles (940 square km). These include spotted deer, dhole, gaur, golden jackals, Hanuman langurs, and, of course, tigers. The tiger population in Kanha, and elsewhere in India, is on the rise, and the reserve is one of the best places in the country to see one in the wild.

The Barasingha is a Kanha success story, which the park celebrated in 2017 by becoming the first tiger reserve in India to officially introduce a mascot: Boorsingh the Barasingha.

Related Tags

Animals Endangered Animals National Parks Wildlife Sanctuaries Conservation Nature Tigers

Know Before You Go

Kanha National Park is open from October 15 to June 30. It's a very popular park and visitor access is highly restricted. Best to book jeep safaris at least three months in advance.

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mariellen

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January 17, 2018

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  • https://forest.mponline.gov.in/eBrochure/eBrochureDetails.aspx?parkid=2
Barasingha of Kanha National Park
Kanha National Park and Tiger Reserve
Balaghat
India
22.334513, 80.611513
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