Black Buck in India

Black Buck, common name for an antelope, mainly of India but with other small populations in Pakistan and Nepal. The black buck has ringed horns that have a moderate spiral twist of three to four turns and are up to 70 cm (28 in) long. The name black buck has also been applied to the sable antelope of Africa. The adult male stands about 80 cm (about 32 in) at the shoulder and weighs 32 to 43 kg (71 to 95 lb). The body's upper parts are black; the underparts and a ring around the eyes are white. The light-brown female is usually hornless. Males are dark brown. Black bucks frequent the open plains in herds. When the rut (mating season) reaches a peak, one male establishes dominance.

Black Buck

Kala Hiran also called Indian Black Buck Antelope (Antelope cervicapra L.). It has four sub species, they are:

» Antelope cervicapra cervicapra
» Antelope cervicapra rajputanae
» Antelope cervicapra centralis
» Antelope cervicapra rupicapra

Other Names : Kala Hiran, Sasin, Iralai Maan and Krishna Jinka

Speed : Upto 50 mph

Found In : Corbett , Bandhavgarh, Velavadar and Kanha National Park in India.

Natural Habitat

Apart from India, black buck is found in parts of Pakistan and Nepal. Initially in India, the blackbucks were found almost everywhere except for the northeastern regions. However, today the population of black bucks has become limited to parts of Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat, along with a few areas in the Central India. Blackbucks have open plains of India as their natural habitat and count amongst the fastest running animals on earth. They live on open grasslands, dry thorn and scrublands. Black bucks were introduced in various parts of the world, including a number of ranches in Texas, in the United States of America. There are also free-ranging populations of Indian black bucks in Argentina (Pampas in southern Buenos Aires, Santa Fe and Entre Ríos provinces).

Diet

Black Buck are herbivorous. They prefer eating Grasses, fruits, pods, flowers, shrubs and herbs.

Current status of Black Bucks

Black bucks are included in the list of endangered species in India as well as Nepal. Two major factors that have contributed to their declining population are poaching and habitat destruction.

Threats

Apart from poaching and habitat destruction, the other threats to blackbucks include predation, overgrazing, diseases, inbreeding and hoards of visitors. The flesh and skin of black buck fetches quite a high price in the market, making the animal extremely vulnerable to hunting. The species is suffering from inbreeding and at the same time, there is the wide scale encroachment by the humans. Once found easily in the plains of North India, they have now being restricted to a few pockets in the country.

Trivia

Bollywood actor Salman Khan was convicted for killing a black buck, while shooting for the film 'Hum Saath Saath Hain'. However, the conviction was stayed some time later.