The barasingha is a grasseater. Like the chital, this deer finds security from predators — such as wild dogs, tigers and leopards — by sticking together in flocks. A herd comprises both males and females for most part of the year but buck parties have also been spotted. On an average, a herd consists of 10 to 20 deer.

At the onset of the mating season, a barasingha stag adorns its antlers with dry leaves and grasses to attract prospective mates.

Of the three recognised barasingha subspecies in the world, the hard-ground barasingha or Rucervus duvauceli branderi is native to the Kanha Tiger Reserve in India. The eastern barasingha or R.d. ranjitsinhi is found in the Brahmaputra plain of northeast India. And the third variety, the wetland or terai barasingha, R.d. duvaucelii, is restricted to the Indo-Gangetic plain in India and southwest Nepal.