The presence of a leucistic sambar has been documented in the Sangama range of Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary during studies carried out on leopards by conservation scientist Sanjay Gubbi and his team.
The female sambar deer was seen accompanying another adult female sambar and it is speculated that this may be a sub-adult individual with its mother. The animal was spotted in the Hyra beat of the Sangama range on January 17, 2023.
This is the first recorded photographic record of a white form of sambar from this landscape though a white form of sambar deer was previously recorded in Bandipur Tiger Reserve in 2014.
