Sambar deer
| Sambar | |
|---|---|
| Stag | |
| Hind both R. u. unicolor in Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh, India | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Cervidae |
| Genus: | Rusa |
| Species: | R. unicolor |
| Binomial name | |
| Rusa unicolor (Kerr, 1792) | |
| Range of the sambar | |
| Synonyms | |
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The sambar (Rusa unicolor) is a large deer native to the Indian subcontinent, South China and Southeast Asia that is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 2008. Populations have declined substantially due to severe hunting, local insurgency, and industrial exploitation of habitat.
The name "sambar" is also sometimes used to refer to the Philippine deer called the "Philippine sambar", and the Javan rusa called the "Sunda sambar".