India’s blackbuck survives in fragmented grasslands despite habitat loss and dog attacks

India’s blackbuck population, estimated at around 35,000 in 2016, survives mainly in protected grasslands despite habitat loss and dog attacks threatening the species.

What Happened

The blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) is the only living species in its genus and relies on exceptional endurance to sprint across open plains, once fast enough to outrun the now‑extinct Asiatic cheetah. Males develop a dark brown coat, cork‑screw horns and defend display arenas called leks where they leap and call to attract females, while females are light‑brown and move in herds often led by an older male. Younger males live in bachelor groups until they claim territories. Historically spread across the Indian subcontinent, the animal was heavily hunted for trophies during British rule, leading to its disappearance from the wild in Pakistan and Bangladesh and leaving only small pockets in Nepal. In India it is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the highest legal safeguard against hunting, poaching and trade. The species is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, reflecting a still‑wide but fragmented distribution across 13 Indian states, with strongholds in Velavadar, Tal Chhapar, Point Calimere and Karnataka’s Ranebennur and Jayamangali reserves.

Threats

Habitat loss remains the chief threat as grasslands are often labeled wastelands and converted for agriculture, infrastructure or invaded by non‑native plants. Feral dogs add a growing danger; in Haryana’s Hisar district more than 360 blackbucks were killed by dogs between 2016 and 2020. Mihir Godbole, founder of The Grasslands Trust‑India, said blackbucks are key indicators that grassland species cannot thrive elsewhere.

Context

Grasslands support many specialised animals, but their low economic value leads to neglect, making species like the blackbuck vulnerable. Protecting these habitats also safeguards the cultural and religious significance the animal holds for communities such as the Bishnoi of Rajasthan and the states that honour it as a state symbol.