CHAPTER ONE
ANTILOPE CERVICAPRA, THE BLACKBUCK
1.1 The Living Animal
1.1.1 Zoology The blackbuck (Plate 1) or Indian antelope, is a graceful and elegant medium-sized antelope with a shoulder height of about 0.8 m. The buck has long, backwards swept horns with a maximum length of about 0.5 m (North India) or even 0.65 m (South India); females are usually hornless. The horns of adult males are marked with prominent rings and are spiralled (fi g. 21); the horns of yearling bucks are without spiral while those of two-years-old bucks form a large open spiral. Blackbucks have a vertical slit below the eyes consisting of black skin under which a large face gland is found; the secretion functions as a means of communication. They usually live in herds of twenty to thirty individuals but in the past, herds of up to 400 or even 500 animals were not uncommon in Rajasthan and Punjab. When alarmed, the herd typically fl ees in a series of leaps and bounds, which evolves into a gallop. Barely escaped, they often stop running within fi fty metres or so and look back, but they never look back while still running. Blackbucks are found on the open plains, grasslands and open forests with grass expanses. The original distribution of the blackbuck was practically the entire subcontinent except along the Indian west coast, southward from Surat in Gujarat, where tropical semi- and wet ever- green forests prevail. Remains of blackbuck have been recovered from archaeological sites of the Indus Valley in Pakistan, e.g. Mehrgarh.1 The large herds gradually reduced in number and size due to extensive hunting and agricultural development. At present, the species is near- threatened,2 and blackbucks are currently confi ned to natural reserves
1 Neolithic period; Meadow, op. cit. (1986), 49. 2 D. Mallon, “Antilope cervicapra,” in 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, internet
1.1.2 Related Species One other medium-sized antelope occurs on the subcontinent: the chiru or Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsoni), which is related to the saiga of the Russian steppes. The chiru is as large as the blackbuck and its horns usually range between 0.6 and 0.65 m. The chiru is easily recognized by its broad, swollen muzzle, especially in the male. This saiga-like snout is an adaptation for life at high altitudes, where the air is thin and extremely dry and cold. The chiru further has high set eyes and dense woolly hair. The long, ridged horns, which stand almost vertical on the head, diverge towards the tips and curve slightly forward; females are hornless. The position, curvature and size of the horn of the chiru may have contributed to the unicorn fable.5 The male fi nally bears striking black markings on its forehead and legs. Chirus lived in vast herds on the Tibetan Plateau.6 The only region of the Indian subcontinent where chiru may occur, is northern Ladakh and adjacent areas. Once they were the most common wild ungulates on the Tibetan Plateau but at present they are an endangered species as a result of commercial hunting for their underfur.7 To obtain this wool, the animals are killed and skinned, not shaven or plucked.
1.1.3 Role of Antelopes in Society Blackbucks were hunted already in prehistoric times for their meat, skins and horns. In medieval times and later, they became the favou-
3 Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Pakistan. 4 Blackbucks are a strictly South Asian species and their occurrence elsewhere is entirely due to human interference. 5 Prater, op. cit. (1971). 6 G. Schaller, Wildlife of the Tibetan Steppe (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1998). 7 D. Mallon, “Pantholops hodgsonii,” in 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, op. cit.