The sangai is an endemic and endangered subspecies of brow-antlered deer found only in Manipur, India. It is also the state animal of Manipur. Its common English name is Manipur brow-antlered deer or Eld's deer and the scientific name is Rucervus eldii eldii. Its original natural habitat is the floating marshy grasslands of the Keibul Lamjao National Park, located in the southern parts of the Loktak Lake, which is the largest freshwater lake in eastern India. The brow-antlered deer or the dancing deer is found in its natural habitat only at Keibul Lamjao National Park over the floating biomass locally called "phumdi" in the south eastern part of Loktak Lake. It is located between 24°27’ N and 24°31’ N latitude and 93°53’ E and 93°55’ E longitudes. The park covers an area of 40 km2 and the home range of the deer in the park is confined to 15–20 km2. Photo credit: pexels.com Phumdi is the most important and unique part of the habitat. It is the floating mass of vegetation formed by the accumulation of organic debris and biomass with soil. Its thickness varies from few centimeter to two meters. The humus of phumdi is black in color and very spongy with large number of pores. It floats with 4/5 part under water. The number of deer listed in the Red Data Book was only 14 in 1975. After the declaration of the area as a national park and with strict conservation measures taken up by the Forest Department, the fear of its extinction has been greatly reduced.
