India GO
Mammal · Muntiacus muntjak
Barking deer (Indian muntjac)
काकड़ (kakar)
IUCN LC · Least concern
A small rufous deer of hill forest that gives a single, dog-like bark when it senses a predator, and keeps barking for minutes.
How to recognise it
Hunched posture, short antlers on long hairy pedicles, and dark lines running up the face. Usually alone, crossing a forest track at dusk.
Where to see it
Mussoorie
The barking call is how most Himalayan trackers learn that a leopard is moving nearby; it is the forest's alarm system, not a threat display.
Jabarkhet Nature Reserve (often) · Benog Tibba & Wildlife Sanctuary (often) · Pari Tibba (Witch's Hill) (in season)