A rare white sambar deer was spotted on captured on camera in the Sangama range of Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in Chamarajanagar district in Karnataka.
The female sambar deer was spotted by environmentalist Sanjay Gubbi and team, who were there to conduct studies on leopards.
This is the first time a white form of sambar deer or leucistic sambar deer has been spotted in this forest area. A similar deer was spotted at Karnataka's Bandipur Tiger Reserve in 2014.
Leucism is a condition in which is caused due to lack of body pigment melanin on an animal’s skin, leading to pale skin.
Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary
- Spread across the districts of the Mandya, Chamarajanagar and Ramanagar of Karnataka, the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area.
- The Cauvery River passes through the midst of Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. The sancturary occupies an area of 102,753 hectares (253,910 acres).
- On its east, Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary adjoins Dharmapuri forest division of Tamil Nadu state.
