BLACKBUCK

About: 

• Common name: Indian antelope. 
  
  
• Scientific name: Antelope cervicapra. 
  
  
• Genus: The blackbuck is the sole extant member of the genus Antilope found in India. 
  
  
• Description: 
  • It is a small gazelle, with a shoulder height of 70 - 80 centimetres. 
    
    
  • The long, ringed horns are generally present only on males, though females may develop horns as well. 
    
    
  • The coat of males shows two-tone colouration: while the upper parts and outsides of the legs are dark brown to black, the underparts and the insides of the legs are all white. On the other hand, females and juveniles are yellowish fawn to tan. 
    
    
  
  
  
• Habitat: It lives mainly in open grasslands or dry deciduous forests. Due to their regular need of water, they prefer areas where water is perennially available. 
  
  
• Distribution: The antelope is native to and found mainly in India (with small population in Nepal and Pakistan), while it is extinct in Bangladesh. 
  
  
• IUCN status: Least Concern. 
  
  
• Threats: 
  • During the 20th century, blackbuck numbers declined sharply due to excessive hunting, deforestation and habitat degradation. Nevertheless, populations in India have increased from 24,000 in the late 1970s to 50,000 in 2001. 
    
    
  • In 2018, Bollywood actor Salman Khan, in a high-profile case, was sentenced to five years imprisonment for poaching a blackbuck in 1998. 
    
    
  
  
  
• Conservation: 
  • The blackbuck is listed under Appendix III of CITES. 
    
    
  • In India, hunting of blackbuck is prohibited under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. 
    
    
  • Blackbuck has been declared as the state animal by the governments of Punjab, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh. 
    
    
  • Tribes such as the Bishnois revere and care for most animals including the blackbuck.