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ZooNooz Article - december 2004
Focus on Blackbuck
Story by ANDREW PARNELL
Photograph Leonie Saville
Illustration Ngaire Sales
The Blackbuck or Indian Antelope |
The Blackbuck or Indian Antelope is
one of the most elegant and striking
of the antelopes. Superior athletes,
they live in herds of between five
and 50 on open woodlands,
grasslands and semi-desert areas in
India and Pakistan.
They are one of the few species
of antelope with a colour distinction
between females (does) and males
(bucks). On their upper bodies
and outside legs, does and young
are yellow-fawn, while in striking
contrast, dominant bucks are a deep
rich brown that can appear almost
black. Males start to mature at about
two years of age and their colour
becomes more brown, darkening
with age and enhanced social status.
Both sexes are white on their bellies,
around their mouths and eyes, and
inside their legs.
Adding to their elegant
appearance are the bucks' long,
spiraling horns (does are hornless).
These start developing at two years and grow at an angle, appearing as
a 'V' when seen front-on. Dominant
bucks have the longest horns, from
50 to 70cm. (Blackbuck stand about
76cm high at the shoulder, so a
buck's horns can be almost as long as he is high.)
These amazing animal athletes had the ability to outrun the Asiatic Cheetah, which was one of their main predators before it became extinct in India in the 1960s.
Danger is detected by sight, as
they do not have highly developed
senses of smell or hearing. A startled
Blackbuck will leap into the air,
while does will sometimes hiss to
alert the rest of the herd. They are
one of the fastest of all animals,
having been recorded at more than
80km/h. Blackbuck also have great
stamina and are able to maintain
speeds of up to 60km/h for about
10km, leaping up to 6m at a time.
They can jump over 2m high.
These amazing animal athletes
had the ability to outrun the Asiatic
Cheetah, which was one of their
main predators before it became
extinct in India in the 1960s.
Current predators include tigers
(also in danger of extinction),
wolves, jackals and wild dogs.
Family life
Blackbuck |
Herds comprise a dominant buck
along with his harem of does, their
young and, outside of the breeding
season, subordinate bucks. Mating
can take place at any time of the
year, with the peak breeding seasons
from March to April and August to
October.
During the breeding season,
dominant bucks claim territories
by scent-marking trees, bushes and
other landmarks. Males have a gland
under each eye which they can
enlarge to appear more aggressive.
They rub the secretion from this
gland onto tree trunks and then rub
their horns on these trees to transfer
the scent so that when they use their
horns to fight, their opponents are
marked with their scents.
About six months after mating, one calf is born. In rare cases there may be two.
Territories range in size from
one to 17 hectares, though where space is limited they can be as small
as 0.3 hectares. All other bucks,
including mature ones from his herd,
are aggressively forced out of the
dominant buck's territory with loud
grunts. If this strategy is unsuccessful
a fight may eventuate, the bucks
lowering their heads and locking
horns, enabling them to push and
twist each other.
Young bucks without harems
form herds. Living in this way means
they can take it in turns to eat and
look out for danger. The bachelor
herds develop hierarchies, giving the
young bucks an idea of their relative
strength before they start looking for
does of their own. At the end of the
breeding season they generally rejoin
their original herd.
When courting a doe, the buck
follows her with his neck upright,
head erect, ears down and short tail
laid flat on his back. Aspects of this
behaviour are very similar to that of
particular species of gazelle, to which Blackbuck are closely related.
Once India's and Pakistan's most common hoofed mammal, the Blackbuck is now considered vulnerable as a result of hunting, both for sport and for its highly desirable meat, loss of habitat to farmland and other human activity.
About six months after mating,
one calf is born. In rare cases
there may be two. For a short time
immediately after birth the young
Blackbuck hides in the grass to
gather its strength, though it is soon
up and running. In the wild they live
for up to 15 years.
Blackbuck graze on short grass
and, with the establishment of
farmland in their ranges, on sorghum,
millet and other crops. Interestingly, it
is thought that they don't drink water
as they are able to reuse the nitrogen
that in most other animals would be
lost in their urine. During the cool
season they are active throughout the
day, while in the hot season they rest
during the day and graze in the very
early morning and early evening.
Vulnerable
Once India's and Pakistan's
most common hoofed mammal,
the Blackbuck is now considered
vulnerable as a result of hunting, both
for sport and for its highly desirable
meat, loss of habitat to farmland and
other human activity. Over the last
100 years the population in India is
estimated to have fallen from about
4 million to about 10,000. Blackbuck
had almost vanished from Pakistan
by the 1960s.
Fortunately Blackbuck breed
easily in captivity and there are now
more living on ranches in Texas
(over 18,000), than India. Recovery of
Pakistan's population started with 10
animals being sent from a Texas ranch
in 1970, and six more from Taronga Western
Plains Zoo in the early 1980s.
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