MUNTIACUS MUNTJAK, the INDIAN MUNTJAC 30.1 the Living Animal

CHAPTER THIRTY

MUNTIACUS MUNTJAK, THE INDIAN MUNTJAC

30.1 The Living Animal

30.1.1 Zoology The Indian muntjac1 is a small deer with a shoulder height of only 0.5–0.7 m. Males bear deciduous antlers, which are very short (c. 7 cm) and simple, having only a brow tine. The pedicles on which the antler stands, however, are very long and prominent. They form bony ribs on the face arising from the orbit up to the rear of the skull, which are emphasized by dark hairs on the surface, hence its popular name of rib-faced deer. These two dark ridges give the muntjac its typical angry look (ﬁ g. 389). The ridges are present in both sexes, but only males bear antlers; females have a tuft of bristly hairs instead. Seen from a distance and in a glimpse, the head appears triangular (ﬁ g. 390). Males further bear sharp, protruding upper canines. The coat is spotted only in the newborn. Muntjacs live solitary or at most in pairs, and are very shy. The call of muntjacs resembles the barking of dogs. When alarmed, they may also stamp the ground with their feet as most deer do. Muntjacs are common in the dense forests from the foothills of the Himalaya to the forests of South India, including Sri Lanka. They prefer thick forests with outskirts and open clearings.

30.1.2 Role of Muntjacs in Society Muntjacs are hunted for their meat, but not in the same scale as the large gregarious deer, because of their solitary and hidden life style. Muntjacs are not associated with a particular deity, nor do they play a role in mythology and folklore. At most, they may ﬁ gure as mriga, the broad category of game animals into which all deer, gazelles and

1 Other popular names are barking deer, rib-faced deer and red muntjac. 316 MUNTIACUS MUNTJAK antelope species fall. In Buddhism, mriga are a symbol of the First Sermon of the Buddha;2 in Jainism they are symbol of the Last Sermon of the Jinas. In Hinduism, mriga are related to certain manifestations of Shiva.3

30.2 Muntjacs in Stone

A pair of muntjacs with their young fi gures on one of the gateways of the Great Stupa at Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh (c. 50–25 B.C.E.; fi g. 155). The scene represents animals paying homage to the Buddha under the Bodhi tree, indicated by an empty seat, a so-called aniconic representation of the Buddha.4 On the extreme left water buffaloes are depicted with in front of them what seems to be a pair of muntjacs. This is indicated by their clearly curved backs and straight and mas- sive antlers.5 On a pedestal of a stele with Revanta, god of hunting, engaged in a hunt from Bihar (tenth century, chlorite), three game animals are depicted, of which the central one resembles a muntjac.6 The animal is slightly smaller than the boar to the left and clearly larger than the hare or four-horned antelope to the right. It looks backward as seen in several antelope and gazelle sculptures. The animal has further short limbs, a curved back and the characteristic triangular head of a muntjac (fi g. 390).

2 See further sections 1.1.3 (antelopes), 2.1.3 (deer), 7.1.2 (nilgai) and 22.1.3 (gazelles). The First Sermon of the Buddha is indicated by the presence of a wheel (dharmachakra) ﬂ anked by a pair of mriga. 3 See section 2.2.1 for sculptures of Shiva with a young spotted deer or a spotted mouse deer as his mriga. 4 See, however, J. Huntington, op. cit. (1985) and S. Huntington, op. cit. (1985, 1990) according to whom scenes like this one represent a pilgrimage to the place where the enlightenment once took place. 5 Another option is that they represent hog-deer, Axis porcinus; see for description of this species, section 2.1.2. 6 Pasadena: Norton Simon Museum, cat. no. M.1975.14.14.S; ﬁ gured in Pal, op. cit. (2003), pl. 140.