The Forgotten Antelope

[thakur]

It is said to be a primitive animal which has not evolved for millions of years and probably this is the reason why it has survived successfully in the wild. Which ever way you look at it, its name or its physical characteristics, the animal comes across as a mix of many attributes.

We are talking about the ‘Nilgai’, called as Boselaphos Tragoscamelos - Bos (Latin) an ox; elaphos (Greek) a deer; Tragos (Greek) a he-goat; kamelos (Greek) a camel. This odd combination of names is probably on account of the Nilgai's strange mixture of characteristics. Loosely termed as Nilgai, this animal is in fact an antelope. The term Nilgai meaning ‘blue cow’ is for the male due to its bluish grey skin colour. In Haryana this animal is called as ‘Roz’.

Nilgai is a typical large antelope that is to be found inhabiting vast tracts of the subcontinent. In India they are found in North and Central regions in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and some parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Africa being such a large reserve of wildlife does not posses the Nilgai. African bushbuck comes closest to the Nilgai in look and appearance.

The Nilgai prefers grassy areas with short scattered bush and trees. It has a distinct dislike for dense forest but is comfortable living on the fringes of large forest areas especially around the wildlife sanctuaries and attached forest reserve areas. It is also found in large numbers in the agricultural belt stretching from Punjab to Bihar where it mainly lives of the agricultural crops. The animal is purely vegetarian and lives on a mixed diet of grass, herbs and leaves. It can stand on its hind legs to reach the overhanging branches and has been seen to kneel on its front legs to graze (rarely) or reach water.

The animal is extremely hardy and can survive without water for quite a few days. This characteristic has enabled it to adapt to the harsh scrub open jungle areas of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. There have been reports of large herds of Nilgai sometimes numbering over 100 to roam freely in these areas.

Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Wolf and Wild Dog are the main predators of Nilgai. But great reduction in the predator population, protection under law and religious customs has enabled the Nilgai population to grow in abundance. These animals are prolific breeders and usually give birth to two off springs at a time. They do not have any particular breeding season. Mating peaks around December-March, with the resulting calves born in September and October, after a gestation period of eight months. Nilgai have been known to live up to 21 years but in the wild this age is rarely attained.

Over the ages Nilgai has provided the sports hunter a formidable quarry. Mughal era paintings depict the Nilgai being hunted from horse back. Sometimes dogs were used to chase and tire the animal before it was shot using bow and arrows or speared to death. During the British times Nilgai hunting was quite prevalent. British officers on leave from work used to indulge in this sport actively. The use of modern rifles made it easy to shoot a trophy from long range.

The method generally used for hunting was to chase the animal on horse back on open plains and take the shot at the appropriate moment. Sometimes locals were engaged to surround a field or forest area and flush out the animals while the hunting party waited at one end and shot the Nilgai as they emerged. This method is termed as ‘haka’ and the planning and execution of the process calls for a high degree of coordination and management.

Yet another means of getting the Nilgai was to use traps or snares. Wire or strong rope was used to make a loop which was hidden in vegetation along the routes normally taken by Nilgai herds. The ends of the loop were securely tied to a tree or a stake driven in the ground. The idea was to get the animal to step into the loop and as it pulled, the loop would tighten around its foot trapping the animal. Hunting parties would regularly visit these trails and slaughter the trapped animal.

In the winter of 2004-05 I witnessed a unique incident near Aligarh where some local farmers used the loop method of trapping and killing Nilgais that had raided and destroyed their crops, particularly sugarcane. One-inch thick rope was used to make a net with loops at 10 ft intervals. This net was tied to one side of the sugarcane field and secured using wooden pegs driven into the ground. The loops were at a height of 4 ft from the ground.

The men then formed two groups; one split into two and manned the edges of the field to prevent any animal from escaping from the flanks while the other entered the field from the opposite side to the net and began driving the animals towards the net. The ‘haka’ began with considerable shouting and clapping which panicked the Nilgai hiding in the sugarcane field. They fled towards the net and some of them got their necks stuck in the loops. The loops being loose tightened as the animal tried to run away from it. This way out of a herd of about 8 Nilgais, 3 were trapped in the net. As all began to collect around the trapped animals, it was found that one member of the ‘haka’ party was lying in the field and later told us that he had been knocked in the chest by a Nilgai trying to break back into the line of men driving them.

Next came the hard part of putting down the captured animals. The village butcher accomplished this task effectively. In a span of 2 hours he slaughtered and skinned two large animals. One was let off, as it was a pregnant female. I was quite surprised to see that even these chaps followed some ethics. One of the members of the party told me that the blood and gore left in the field at the site of the slaughter were enough to keep the animals away for at least 2-3 weeks. The meat was later divided up amongst the members of the party.

This incident highlights the man vs animal conflict. Destruction of natural habitat and absence of an effective government program forces the farmers to take the matters into their own hands to protect their crops and save their meager earnings. The animal for no fault of theirs has to bear the brunt of such action leading to an untimely and sometimes painful end.

Today the Hindu religious sentiments prevent hunting and killing of these antelopes. As a result they have grown vastly in numbers in certain areas and cause wide spread damage to crops. Some farming communities do not mind killing these animals but it is largely done to scare them away from the agricultural fields rather than for sport or meat. Some state governments have opened controlled culling under the supervision of District administration and Wildlife authorities but lack of field knowledge and arbitrary interpretation of rules makes the whole process not worthwhile. Nobody wants to be charged with illegal hunting just like some well known personalities have recently been accused of this act and tried in court.

Hunting of Nilgai is banned under the Indian Wildlife Act 1972 though the animal is termed as a least threatened species. Recently Punjab Government has begun issuing licenses to farmers, under a controlled culling program, to put down the animals that have been destroying crops. Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh Governments have also opened up Nilgai shooting by farmers in areas where there has been wide spread crop destruction. Other states, that are facing crop damage due to increased Nilgai population, need to observe this program carefully, and may be with some alterations to suit their situation, introduce the concept of controlled culling.

It’s a wild thought but under the Wildlife Department pilot programs can be introduced where sports hunters are charged a fees to shoot an animal. Such activity is practiced in South Africa, Australia and some European countries and the revenue generated is pumped back into conservation issues. A number of ranches in Texas, USA have imported Nilgai way back in 1920 and bred them for trophy hunting. A fee of US$ 2,500 is charged which gives you two days to hunt a trophy Nilgai bull with the assistance of an experienced tracker, meals and basic accommodation at the ranch, meat packing (if you want it! Incidentally Nilgai meat is considered to be a delicacy amongst the connoisseurs of game meat), and taxidermy services for the hide and mounting. A vast and continuous education and monitoring process will have to be put in place to educate all concerned and affected by such culling programs.

I have written this article based on my experiences and hope that those of you who read it will find it worthwhile. I am sure that some of you will contribute to nature conservation and rehabilitation of animals to reduce their conflict with man and in the process eliminate their suffering at our hands.

[prashantsingh]

A very nice and complete article Thakur.
There is little, one can add to it.
I find the heading interesting
"The Forgotten Antelope"
Well in rural Uttar Pradesh (Cow Belt) it surely is not "forgotten".
Most Hindus protect it.

On my farm the Neelgai is:
"The most common antelope".
"The largest antelope".
and also
"The ugliest antelope".

Just wanted to add. When two males fight for dominance. You can expect a couple of "beeghas" of your crop ...raised to ground. Inspite of their large size they are also fantastic jumpers. I have seen a big male jump over a 6 foot fence like a champion showjumping horse.

[Vikram]

Thakur,

Thanks for sharing this very informative essay. May I ask a question? Is it entirely penned by you or does it have any copyrighted content from anywhere? If there is any of the latter in this essay, please post a link to those sources so that we do not violate any copyrights. I write this not to undermine your work or offend you, but to ensure that we are in the clear.Thank you.


Best-
Vikram

[Safarigent]

'The meat was later divided up amongst the members of the party.'

Under the relevant acts, any animal that is killed for crop protection or otherwise has to be burned/ destroyed in the presence of a forest official.
Atleast thats my reading of it.
Could you elaborate if that is not being followed?
We would not want the vast hordes coming here to get a contrarian idea.

P.S. Well written!

[thakur]

Prashant,

The word 'Forgotten' was used as the Nilgai has not featured in many articles, documentaries, etc.

Regarding male dominance I have heard some stories but have not seen it personally. I can imagine it would be an interesting sight.
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Vikram,

While researching I did pick up some information from public websites. This mainly relates to habitat. The Aligarh incident is an eyewitness account.
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Safarigent,

The Aligarh incident was a doing of the locals and I am sure they had no official permission. They wrapped up the job as they thought was best for them.
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[Katana]

On my farm the Neelgai is:
"The most common antelope".
"The largest antelope".
and also
"The ugliest antelope".

On my farm it is also the most destructive antelope.

Just wanted to add. When two males fight for dominance. You can expect a couple of "beeghas" of your crop ...raised to ground. Inspite of their large size they are also fantastic jumpers. I have seen a big male jump over a 6 foot fence like a champion showjumping horse.

I have seen an alpha male charge straight into a diamond link fence, break it, get lacerations in the process, but make a path for the rest of the herd to get away. This happened during the monsoons when the females were part of the herd.

'Roz' is a sanskrit/ prakrit term for this animal. The term 'nilgai' was coined during the Mughal era, when large armies were constantly on the move and it readily afforded them fresh meat. There nothing bovine about this animal, but it's very easy to play with sentiments in India.

[Hammerhead]

I have written this article based on my experiences and hope that those of you who read it will find it worthwhile. I am sure that some of you will contribute to nature conservation and rehabilitation of animals to reduce their conflict with man and in the process eliminate their suffering at our hands.

From this problem to .......

It’s a wild thought but under the Wildlife Department pilot programs can be introduced where sports hunters are charged a fees to shoot an animal. Such activity is practiced in South Africa, Australia and some European countries and the revenue generated is pumped back into conservation issues. A number of ranches in Texas, USA have imported Nilgai way back in 1920 and bred them for trophy hunting. A fee of US$ 2,500 is charged which gives you two days to hunt a trophy Nilgai bull with the assistance of an experienced tracker, meals and basic accommodation at the ranch, meat packing (if you want it! Incidentally Nilgai meat is considered to be a delicacy amongst the connoisseurs of game meat), and taxidermy services for the hide and mounting.

A vast and continuous education and monitoring process will have to be put in place to educate all concerned and affected by such culling programs.

This solution completes the whole article.

Well, good article but not much has changed yet if we were this careful in the first place. "Wildlife Department pilot programs can be introduced where sports hunters are charged a fees to shoot an animal" and invest the money and efforts back into the wildlife to better conservation rather blanket ban on any thing - Haji

[prashantsingh]

There is this funny story I heard from an old time retd. Army Officer when he was posted on a border post in Poonch Dist (J&K).
This gentleman was a keen Shikari. Interestingly the Commanding Officer on the other side of the border shared the same interest.

So the two CO's struck this (unofficial) deal.
The Paki's would shoo out the wild boar from their side and send them over to the Indian side.
While the Indian's in return would drive out the Neelgai to their side.
Since Muslims do not eat pork (wild boar) and Hindus do not eat Neelgai (inspite of the animal being an antelope and not a bovine).

Worked well for both the sides. Both sides had a regular supply of fresh meat. Kept them busy hunting (on their respective sides) rather than fighting each other.

[mundaire]

Have seen two bulls slug it out over control of a herd of females (back in the early 1990's), the battle must have lasted at least 30 minutes, though it seemed much longer at the time. We were less than 30 yards away (in a Maruti Gypsy), but the bulls ignored us - as if we were invisible! What made it even more memorable was the setting - a sort of dell formed between the dunes... very scenic location, in a raw desert sort of way.

Cheers!
Abhijeet

[Ace_doc]

an addendum to above.
they damage much more than crops. as a student enroute to his pmt exams i saw a nilgai try to cross the GT road near sonepat in day time and it crashed into a maruti omni. the omni overturned and the nilgai got up limping a bit.

the next occurred around two years ago when a Volvo i was traveling in from delhi to panipat rammed a nilgai. the jar was substantial and broke the front windshield (driver side suffering more damage).
when my father was posted at Lucknow we would take our Alsatians for their daily jog and they would wind up chasing these antelope. the chase would last a fair way till the dogs were recalled.