Indian Hog Deer

Prelims: Current events of national and international importance | Species

Why in News?

A rare albino hog deer was recently spotted roaming freely inside Assam’s famous Kaziranga National Park.

Scientific Name – Axis porcinus
It is a small, solidly built deer, named for its hog-like running style.
Habitat – Dense grasslands, floodplains (Indo-Gangetic plains), riverine valleys.
Distribution – It is found across South Asia and Southeast Asia, including northern India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and western Thailand.
Name – Its name comes from its characteristic mode of locomotion, hog‑like running style — running with its head lowered to duck under obstacles rather than leaping.

Key Features

Size – Males stand about 70 cm at the shoulder and weigh ~50 kg, while females are smaller at ~61 cm and 30 kg.
Appearance – The coat shifts seasonally - thick dark-brown winter coat, reddish-brown in summer; often a dark dorsal stripe with light spots along the back.
Males grow three-tined antlers (brow tine + forked top), shed yearly.

Indian Hog Deer

Behaviour – Hog deer are crepuscular—active in the morning and late afternoon—and may extend nocturnal activity in hotter or threatened zones.
Reproduction – They are seasonally breeding; gestation lasts ~220–230 days, generally yielding one fawn, which weighs ~2.0–2.7 kg at birth.
Predators – Include tigers, leopards, dholes and sometimes the Burmese python.
Conservation Status
- IUCN – Endanger
- WPA, 1972 – Schedule I
Threats – Habitat loss, presence of invasive species, poaching & hunting.

Quick Fact

Albino Hog Deer

Mutation – Due to a rare genetic mutation known as albinism, the animal entirely lacks melanin pigment.
Appearance –It has a striking, snow-white coat, pale hooves, pinkish skin features, and translucent, light-colored eyes.
Rarity – Albino hog deer are almost never seen in the wild; folklore mentions “white deer,” but clear documentation is rare.

Albino Hog Deer

Other rare white wildlife in India

References