Species in Nepal - Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra)

A little gazelle easily tamed

The blackbuck is a small gazelle, with a shoulder height of 70 - 80 centimetres. It lives mainly in open grasslands or dry deciduous forests. During the breeding season, blackbucks live in herds comprising an old male and several females and fawns, while younger males stay away avoiding competition with the old ones.

During other times of the year, they all gather together to form mixed herds. They are vocal animals that use several kinds of sounds to communicate with each other.

Blackbucks can quite easily get habituated to human presence. According to old scripts, it seems it has been quite usual for Hindu fakirs to tame blackbucks and have them as domestic animals, and there are several old paintings depicting kings and other prominent figures together with tame blackbucks.

Still has a foothold in Nepal
As an animal of open plains, blackbuck has always been easy to shoot. After a long history of hunting and habitat loss, very few blackbucks remain in Nepal. There are a few small populations left, and with long-term measures, they can be brought back to numbers that will be genetically viable in the long run.