Nilgai in Panna national park, Madhya Pradesh.
The nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), sometimes called nilgau, is an antelope, and is one of the most commonly seen wild animals of central and northern India and eastern Pakistan; it is also present in parts of southern Nepal. The species has become extinct in Bangladesh. The mature males appear ox-like and are also known as blue bulls. The nilgai is the biggest Asian antelope.
Nilgai antelopes are found throughout most of India, from the base of the Himalayas in the north, down to the state of Karnataka in the South, being absent only in eastern Bengal, Assam, the Malabar Coast, and regions close to the Bay of Bengal. They are found in small numbers along the Indian borders with Pakistan and Nepal.
Nilgai have thin legs and a robust body that slopes down from the shoulder. They show marked sexual dimorphism, with only the males having horns. Adult males have a grey to bluish-grey coat, with white spots on the cheeks and white colouring on the edges of the lips. They also have a white throat bib and a narrow white stripe along the underside of the body that widens at the rear. The tips of the long tufted tail and of the ears are black. They also possess a tubular shaped "pennant" of long, coarse, hair on the midsection of the throat.
The males have two black conical horns, arising close together just behind the eyes. The horns are project upwards, but are slightly curved forward; they measure between 15 and 24 centimetres (5.9 and 9.4 in) in a fully grown adult. Although the horns are usually smooth, in some older males they may develop ring-shaped ridges near the base.
In contrast, females and young are tawny brown in colour, although otherwise with similar markings to the male; they have no horns and only a very small "pennant". Both sexes have an erectile mane on the back of the neck, terminating in a bristly "hog-tuft" just above the shoulders.
The estimated population of nilgai in India is approximately 100,000. Wild populations also exist in the US states of Alabama and Texas and the Mexican state of Tamaulipas where they have escaped from private exotic ranches. The population around the Texas-Mexico border is estimated to be around 30,000 and the King Ranch where Nilgai were first released now has around 10,000 of them.
Like many Indian animals, nilgai are often victim to vehicular accidents, and their carcasses are often seen on major highways in northern India. The main threat to this species is the loss of habitat due to human population growth. However, nilgai are a crop menace, causing large-scale damages especially along the Gangetic belt, especially in the Rohilkhand division of Uttar Pradesh. It has been declared as vermin in northern India, and they may be legally hunted after obtaining a permit. Nevertheless the local belief, that nilgai are a cow and hence sacred, has protected it against hunting.
Source: Wikipedia
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