The National Red List Project

NRLD - 327591 | Rusa unicolor

Assessment ID
327591
Taxon name
Rusa unicolor
(Kerr, 1792)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Rusa unicolor
(Kerr, 1792)
Common name(s)
Sambar, Sambar Deer, Sambar Horin
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Mammals
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
chordata
Class
mammalia
Order
artiodactyla
Family
cervidae
Genus
Rusa
Species
unicolor
Species authority
(Kerr, 1792)
Taxonomic notes and synonyms listed
Most 19th and 20th century sources placed the Sambar in the genus Cervus, as C. unicolor, but Grubb (1990) resurrected the genus Rusa for this and allied species. This was followed by Groves (2003) and Grubb (2005). Later Groves and Grubb (2011) divided S
Cervus unicolor Kerr, 1792; Rusa unicolor Grubb, 1990
Location and scope
Specific locality or subnational name or regional name
Bangladesh
Scope (of the Assessment)
National
Countries included within the scope of the assessment
Bangladesh
Country ISO code(s)
BGD
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Assessed as
Critically Endangered
Abbreviated status
CR
Criteria system used
IUCN

(see Assessment details)

Assessment rationale/justification
This species is very rare but found only in the degrading mixed evergreen forests. Though the Extent of Occurrence and Area of Occupancy of this species are much larger than the threshold level, the habitat quality and quantity have decreased at least more than 80%. Moreover, the total mature individuals in the wild will not exceed 250. Therefore, the species qualifies as Critically Endangered.
Assessment details
Year assessed
2015
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
Md. Farid Ahsan
Criteria system used
IUCN
Reference for methods given
IUCN (2012) IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1. Second edition. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iv + 32pp; IUCN (2012) Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
URL (link) of redlist assessment or publication
http://iucnredlistbd.org/
Further information
Endemism (according to assessment)
Endemic to region
No
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
It occurs in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China (Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan), India, Indonesia (Sumatra), Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Viet Nam (Timmins et al. 2015). It has only been recorded from the mixed evergreen forests of the northeast and southeast.
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes, in the publication/on website
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Terrestrial
Not_assigned
Freshwater
Not_assigned
Marine
Not_assigned
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
Sambar lives in dense undergrowth and tall grassbeds in the mixed evergreen forests as well as denuded forests locally called unclassed state forests in the Greater Chittagong Hill Tracts (Khan 1985). Sambar lives singly, in pair of in small family groups. It is mostly active at night but could forage at daytime where large carnivores like the tiger and leopard are absent. It is basically a grazer and to some extent a browser and always need to drink water (Khan 1985).
History
Critically Endangered in Bangladesh (IUCN Bangladesh 2000).
Publication
Red List of Bangladesh Volume 2: Mammals
IUCN Bangladesh. 2015. Red List of Bangladesh Volume 2: Mammals. IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Bangladesh Country Office, Dhaka, Bangladesh, pp. xvi+232