PRESENT DISTRIBUTION OF THE BLACKBUCK ANTILOPE CERVICAPRA LINN. IN INDIA, WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON THE LESSER KNOWN POPULATIONS1 2 Asad R. Rahmani (With a text-figure) Introduction Study Period TheblackbuckorIndianantelopeAntilope cer- This paper is a result of notes kept between vicapraLinn, is endemic to the Indian subcontinent, 1981 and 1988 during our study on the Indian bus- being present in India, Pakistan and Nepal. During tards. Blackbuck and the great Indian bustard Ar- the lastfew years its ecologyandbehaviourhasbeen deotis nigriceps share common habitats, and as the studied by many workers (e.g. Mungall 1978a, b, bustard study involved much travel and surveys, I 1979, Ranjitsinh 1982a, b, Prasad 1983, 1984, had the opportunity to visit a large number ofblack- Prasad and Ramana Rao 1984, Bhattacharya and buck areas. All sightings of the blackbuck were Chattopadhyay 1984). Censuses in Pt. Calimere noted. Additional information was gathered from (Daniel 1967, Johnson 1975, Nair 1976, Natarajan the forest department, local people, naturalists and etal. 1978), Velavadar (Rashid 1977) and states like the existing literature. In many cases, census es- Gujarat (Sinha and Chhabra 1985) and Andhra timates are based on the information supplied by the Pradesh (Ramana Rao and Prasad 1982) have been Forest Department. Asa proper census has not been done. Ranjitsinh’s (1982a) assessment based on the done in all the areas, population counts are only ap- official data supplied by the Forest Department proximate. gives a picture of the all-India distribution of the Results blackbuck, but in many instances exact locations have notbeen given and/or the population estimates Statewise Distribution of Blackbuck have become outdated. For example, in the Karera Bustard Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, Ranjitsinh Uttar Pradesh: The blackbuck is very widely but reported8 blackbuck, butaccording tothe 1988 cen- thinly distributed in Uttar Pradesh, being present in sus the population is now more than 500. Similarly, at least 19 districts. Most of these populations are during the last seven or eight years I have noticed presentinagricultural fieldsandgrazingareas. Itcan many scattered populations which have not been also be seen in 6 out of 22 sanctuaries of the state reported anywhere (exceptperhaps in official files). (Table 1). According to R.P. Sharma, ChiefWildlife TheenactmentoftheWildlife (Protection) Act Warden ofUttarPradesh, blackbuckare found in the 1972 hasprovidedbetterprotection tomany wildlife following districts (population estimates in paren- species, resulting in a localised increase in the theses): Varanasi (90), Kanpur (35), Pilibhet (18), population of some animals like the blackbuck in Lakhimpur Kheri and Shahjehanpur (40), Banda newly established protected areas. Under these cir- (21), Sitapur and Hardoi (51), Bijnor (75), Bahraich cumstances, it was felt necessary to re-assess the (82), Muzaffarnagar (50), Meerut (65), Aligarh present distribution and status of the blackbuck in (420), Bulandshahr (150) and Ghaziabad (10). India. The main emphasis of this paper is on the The total population comes to about 1100, description of the lesser known populations. which is slightly higher than Ranjitsinh’s (1982) es- Wherever available, census data are given and in timate of941 to 1000 in 11 districts. However, Shar- some cases updated. Only a briefreference is made ma has not included Etah and Mathura districts, to well-known blackbuck areas like Velavadar, Pt. where Ranjitsinh estimated 30 and 20 animals Calimere, Guindy and Rannibennur. respectiv—ely. In both lists, Agra, Baduan andEtawah districts where I kn—ow with certainty that black- Accepted February 1989. Bombay Natural History Society, Hombill House, buck are still present have been omitted. Accord- Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road, Bombay 400 023. ing to Prabhu Singh, Range Forest Officer, Mus- 36 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HITT. SOCIETY, Vol. 88 Table 1 PROTECTEDAREASINUTTARPRADESHWITHBLACKBUCKHERDS Name District Area Blackbuck Reference (sq. km) numbers Katemiaghat Bahraich 400 20-30 Pers. observ. Kaimur Mirzapur 501 250 Forest dept. Ranipur Banda 243 No data -do- Hastinapur Meerut, Bijnor 2070 No data -do- Ghaziabad & Moradabad Kishanpur Lakhimpur Kheri 227 15-20 Pers. observ. Sikandra * Agra 0.5 32 in 1978 Pers. observ. * captive herd tufabad, Pilibhet, who belongs to Baduan district, ficer, Purnea, blackbuck are present in large num- 1000-2000 blackbuck are present in Asafpur block bers in Buxarand Sasaram areas ofsouth-east Bihar of Bisoli tehsil in Baduan district. If this estimate is and due to crop damage, the Forest Department true, this mustbe the largestpopulation oftheblack- wants to translocatethem toKhaimurplateau, where buck in the state, and efforts should be made to some animals are already present in open country protect it. Baduan district adjoins Aligarh, where between Jamgaon and Rajpur villages. The Bihar Sharma has reported the largest population (420) in Government is also planning to develop a wildlife his recent estimate. Another unknown population is sanctuary in the Khaimur plateau like the one in the present in the Jamuna Khader of Orai Range of adjoining areas in Uttar Pradesh. Rodgers and Pan- Babain section in Etawah district. Among the cap- war (1988) have suggested creating a small 10 sq. km tive herds outside zoos, a small population ispresent blackbuck refuge in a cropland/wasteland area in Sikandra near Agra. Schaller (1967) counted 128 near the Ganga river in Rohatas district. in 1965, but the following year (1966) only 104 were Madhya Pradesh: The blackbuck is widely dis- left (Spillctt 1966). In 1978-79, 1 counted only 32, a tributed in MadhyaPradesh and in many sanctuaries clear drop of 72.65% in 12 years. like Karera, numbers have increased during the last Comparing the blackbuck numbers in ten years. Ranjitsinh (1982a) found it to be present protected areas (sanctuaries and national parks) and in eight sanctuaries and national parks and 12 dis- unprotected areas (agricultural fields), we find that tricts. He estimated a population of 1300 in the more than 80% of the blackbuck in Uttar Pradesh whole state. Some ofhis data, based on the informa- are found outside protected areas, where the Forest tion supplied by the Forest Department, is not cor- Department has little control. In these areas the rect. For instance, he reported a population of 8 my blackbuck survives eitherdue to sentimental protec- blackbuck in the Karera Bustard Sanctuary, but tion by villagers or because the terrain makes estimate is thatnotless than 50 were present in 1982 motorized hunting difficult. UttarPradesh beingone and now the population is ten times as high. ofthe formerstrongholds ofthis species,amore sys- Presently blackbuck are seen in 15 sanctuaries tematic survey of the whole state is urgently re- and national parks (Table 2) in Madhya Pradesh. A quired. blackbuck sanctuary in Aligarh-Baduan They are seen in the following districts: Shivpuri, region should be established. Gwalior, Morena, Ujjain, Dhar, Chhatterpur, Raj- Bihar: The blackbuck is making a slow comeback nandgaon, Raisen, Hoshangabad, Mandsaur, in some areas of Bihar. According to Shahi (1971), Vidisha, Guna, Damoh, Narsinghpur and Shahdol. in the olden days "herds of thousands were found in Some of the sanctuaries mentioned in Table 2 are in the forests of Champaran and Shahabad but now a these districts, but theblackbuck is also seen outside small population in some areas ofShahabad is fight- protected areas. Like in other states, no systematic ing its last battle for survival". Fortunately, the pic- survey has been done for the whole of Madhya ture is not so grim now: Ranjitsinh (1982a) es- Pradesh but population estimates for some timated a population of 30 to 40 in the Shahabad sanctuaries like Kanha, Narodehi, Karera, Ghatig- area. However, according to the latest information gaon and Kunu-Palpur are available (Table 2). given to me by Amar Prasad, Division Forest Of- DISTRIBUTION OF ANTILOPE CERVICAPRA 37 Table 2 BLACKBUCKPOPULATIONINTHEPROTECTEDAREAS INMADHYAPRADESH Name District Area Yearof Blackbuck Reference (sq. km) census numbers 1. Karera Shivpuri 202 1988 500-600 Pers. observ. 2. Kunu-Palpur Shivpuri 345 1986 60-80 Pers. observ. 3. Ghatigaon Gwalior 512 1988 100-150 Pers. observ. 4. Narodehi Sagar 1186 - 466 Ranjitsinh (1982a) 5. Bagdara Sidhi 478 - 313 Ranjitsinh (1982a) 6. Kanha Mandla 940 1986 30 Pandey el. al (1986) . 7. Panna Panna 543 1987 35-40 Forest Dept. 8. Chambal Morena 3902 - 113 Ranjitsinh (1982a) 9. Sanjay Sidhi-Sarguja 1938 - No census data Forest Dept. 10. Samarsolh Sarguja 430 - -do- -do- 11. Son-Gharial Sidhi-Shahdol 209 — -do- -do- 12. Tomar-Pingla Sarguja 608 - -do- -do- 13. Ratapani Raisen 689 - -do- -do- 14. Singhora Raisen 288 - -do- -do- 15. Kheoni Dewas-Sehore 123 - -do- Table 3 SOME SCATTEREDBLACKBUCKHERDS OUTSIDETHEPROTECTEDAREAS IN MADHYA PRADESH Name District Blackbuck Source Remarks numbers Pipla- Agartaluka Shahjapur 15-20 Forest Dept. Gautampura & Choddal Ujjain 100 (?) Pers. observ. Visited on 12 Sept. 1986 villages in Badnagar taluka and saw many tracks Kater Khera, close to Dhar 5 Range Forest May 1986 Narbada riverin Kuksi Officer, Sailana Range Kotha plantation in Panna 30-40 Forest Dept. Visited on 5 Jan. 1988 Saleha Range NearSumerbetween Vidisha 5 Q. Qureishi Seen from the train on Bina and Bhopal (1988 per. comm.) 23 July 1988. Table 4 BLACKBUCK HERDS LNTHEPROTECTEDAREAS OFORISSA Name District Area Blackbuck Reference (sq. km) numbers Balukhand-Konark Puri 150 & Bhelonoi-Parushottampur Ganjam 485 Patnaik Acharjyo (1985) Bhitarkanika Cuttack 650 13 * L.N. Acharjyo (1988,in lilt.) ^Introduced Orissa: Once found in all the suitable plains, the wildlife. In the Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary, in blackbuck in Orissa survives only in two districts: order to build up a blackbuck stock, five (2 males Balukhand and Chilka ranges of Puri district and and 3 females) were released in November 1985 Bhetonoi and Purushottampur areas of Ganjam dis- from a captive herd ofthe Nandankanan Biological trict. According to a census conducted in 1980 in Park (L.N. Acharjyo, 1988 in lilt.). In March 1987, Bhetonoi and Purushottampur areas, 485 were another nine (7 males and 2 females) were released, counted (Patnaik and Acharjyo 1985). The Orissa out of which one died. government has declared a 150 sq. km coastal West Bengal: At present there is only one known sanctuary called Balukhand-Konark Wildlife area where blackbuck survive after being intro- Sanctuary to protect the blackbuck and other duced more than 20 years ago. According to Bhat- 38 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 88 Table 5 BLACKJBUCKNUMBERS INPROTECTEDAREAS OFANDHRAPRADESH Name District Area Blackbuck Reference (sq. km) numbers Pranahita Adilabad 136 No data Forest Dept. Etumagaram Warangal 803 -do- -do- Kinnerasani Khammam 623 -do- -do- Nagarjunsagar -Srisailam Guntur, Kurnool, 3568 -do- -do- Mehboobnagar, Nalgonda, Prakasan Rollapadu Kurnool 6 40 Manakadan & Rahmani (1989) Pakhal Warangal 860 -do- Forest Dept. Mahavir Hiran Vanaslhali * Hyderabad 3.4 100 Forest Dept. *Captive population Table 6 BLACKBUCKHERDS OUTSIDETHEPROTECTED AREAS INANDHRAPRADESH Name District Area Blackbuck numbers Reference (sq. km) Mudmal Mehboobnagar 80 95 Prasad & Ramana Rao (1990) Mogullur Prakasan 25 61 -do- Seetarampuram Prakasan 20 62 -do- Guttumela Khamman 10 8 -do- Bayyaram Khamman 20 25 -do- Ravulapalam West Godavari 25 56 -do- Kedarlanke &Mudinanipalli West Godavari 30 66 -do- Kanigiri Nellore - 100 Forest Dept. Kurichedu Guntur — - -do- Grasslands of Ranga Reddy - - -do- Punganoor Forest Chittor — 4 seen in one day B.C. Chowdhury (pers. comm.) Setturplantation near Kalyandurg Anantapur 1 male and 1 female K.P. Muniswamy (1988, in lilt.) Negalapuram Anantapur - 1 -do- Maremmagude Anantapur 4 (3 males, 1 female) -do- MallegelinearAlur Kurnool — 1 male R. Manakadan (1987 pers. comm.) Kalichedu nearNelapattu Nellore 3 Members ofMadras Naturalist’s Society {Blackbuck Vol. 4:2, 1988) tacharya and Chattopadhyay (1979), in 1955 an ap- where blackbuck are distributed in Andhra Pradesh. proximately 203 acre tract of eroded and barren However, a few lesser-known areas like Rollapadu laterite tractundertheBallavpurForestRange, close in Kurnool district and Punganoor Forest Range in to Shantiniketan, was afforested. About 100 acres Chittor district have not been included by them. were fenced to establish a ’’Deer Conservation There are still more areas (see Table 6) in Guntur, Unit”. In 1967, four male and seven female black- Mehboobnagar, Khammam, Anantapur, Prakasan buck were introduced, which increased to 54 by and Ranga Reddy districts where scattered herds of 1975. At present the population is estimated to be blackbuck are seen, Among the 16 wildlife 140. sanctuaries in AndhraPradesh, blackbuck are found Andhra Pradesh: Ramana Rao and Prasad (1982) in six (Table 5), excluding the captive animals in andPrasadandRamanaRao (1990) have listedareas Mahavir Hiran Vanasthali near Hyderabad. DISTRIBUTION OF ANTILOPE CERVICAPRA 39 Table7 PROTECTEDAREAS INKARNATAKAHAVINGBLACKBUCKHERDS Name District Area Blackbuck Reference (sq. km) number Rannibennur Dharwad 119 >2000 Neginhal 1980; and pers. obs. Melkote Mandhya 50 No data Forest Department Adi Chunchanagiri Mandhya 0.8 -do- -do- Chincholi Gulbarga 80 -do- -do- Karnataka: Blackbuck in Karnataka have suffered pers. comm.). According to the Forest Department a massive decline and disappeared from most areas. estimate there are now 400 antelopes in that area. The largest extant population is present in the Ran- Earlier, Ranjitsinh (1982a) had reported 150 to 200 nibennurBlackbuck Sanctuary (Neginhal 1980, and blackbuck. According to Sivaganesan’s estimate pers. obs.) where nearly 2000 can be seen. In addi- there are nearly 300 animals. In a day’s trip he saw tion to Rannibennur, there are three more 57. sanctuaries in Karnataka where blackbuck are 2. North Arcot district: Rajasingh (1984) has present (Table 7). described a dramatic increase ofblackbuck popula- According to the information collected by tion from five individuals in 1968 to 92 in Al- Ranjitsinh (1982a) isolated herds are seen in liyalamangalam Reserve Forest, about 145 km Mandhya, Tumkur and Bidar districts, but M.K Ap- south-west of Madras city. payya (1988, in litt.) mentions only Mandhya, Dhar- 3. Tirunelveli district: Ranjitsinh (1982a) war, Gulbarga, Raichur, Bellary and Bijapur dis- reported a population of 30 animals in Vallanadu tricts and notTumkurand Bidar. Itcould notbe con- Reserve Forest in Tirunelveli district, but according firmed whether the isolated herds in Tumkur and to the District Forest Officer (1988 in litt.) the Bidar mentioned by Ranjitsinh (1982a) have disap- population has gone up to 100 in the reserve area of peared or were overlooked by Appayya. 2054 ha. There is a proposal to set up a blackbuck I1n. Raichur district, on Raichur-Hyderabad sanctuary in Vallanadu. road on the banks of the Krishna river, some black- Maharashtra: There are at least a dozen lesser buckarepresent. Here the Krishna forms the bound- known areas in Maharashtra where blackbuck are ary between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and present. In some places like Nanaj, Karmala and blackbuck can be seen on both sides. Ramana Rao Kasegaon in Solapur (Rahmani and Manakadan and Prasad (1982) have mentioned this area in then- 1989) and Rekhuri in Ahmednagar (E. Bharucha report, and S. Sreevatsa (1987, pers. comm.) has 1988, pers. comm.) the blackbuck population has seen 44 blackbuck in one day. The second area gone up considerably and is causing crop damage. which appears to be unknown is Makri in Shimoga Ranjitsinh (1982a) reported its occurrence in Os- district, where P. Shroff (1988, pers. comm.) has manabad, Bhir,Parbhani,Nanded, Solapur, Ahmed- seen 50 to 60 bucks in April 1987. The area is flat nagar and Wardha districts and estimated a total of and under agriculture fields. 1000 blackbuck in the whole state. Ramana Rao and Tamil Nadu: In Tamil Nadu, Pt. Calimere Wildlife Prasad (1982) found it occurring in Yeotmal, Bhir, Sanctuary and Guindy National Park are two well- Parbhani, Nagpur, Ahmednagar, Amravati and known blackbuck areas. Itis not so well-known that Wardha. Strangely, Solapur district, where the there are more areas in this state which may have a largest number of blackbuck in the whole state are population of more than 500 blackbuck. seen, was omitted by them. Sujjalkatte Sanctuary (Proposed): Suj- Owing to habitat restoration and effective jalkatte is on the eastern side of the Nilgiris, and the protection under the Drought Prone Areas blackbuck is found in a 10 sq.km flat and degraded Programme (DPAP) and various afforestation area between Mangalapathi and Bhavani Sagar in schemes, the blackbuck is repopulating many areas the Sathymangalam range (N. Sivaganesan 1988, and can sometimes be seen from the national high- 40 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 88 Table 8 BLACKBUCKPOPULATIONS INVARIOUS DISTRICTS OFMAHARASHTRA District Important areas/taluk Total Population Remarks Reference Solapur whole district 3300 - Pers. observ. & Forest Dept, records & Ahmednagar Karjat, Shrigondha, Pamer 500-600 250-300 in Rehkuri Pers. observ. and Jhamkhed talukas Forest Dept, records Aurangabad Near Kasota village in 10-15 Seen in silviculture Forest Dept.t Kannad taluka plot of25 ha Osmanabad Umarga, Bhoom, Paranda and No data 180 seen in Gangaivadi Pers. observ. Tuljapurtalukas plot on 11 July 1988 Beed (= Bhir) NearNaigaon in Goirai taluka ‘few’ - Forest Dept. Sangli Jath, Kawthimankal, Islampur No data ‘scattered herds’ -do- and Khanapur talukas Pune Dhaund, Indapur, Baramati, No data ‘scattered herds’ -do- Shirur and Purandhar Nanded Hingola and Kinwat talukas No data -do- -do- Buldana Malkapur taluka No data Proposal to developa Rodgers & Panwar (1988) sanctuary ofdry and Forest Dept. grassland ecosystem Akola Karanja, Murtijapur and 100-150 Potential to developa -do- Chickalchalwal talukas blackbuck sanctuary in Karanja taluka Amravati 17 km from Amravati on 18-20 Seen in winterof 1986 Karkare (1988 pers. comm.) Yeotmal road Near Borgaon on Akola road 4 Seen in winterof 1986 -do- Bhandara Margi area 50 P. Job (1988 pers. comm.) Yeotmal Wani forest in Tipeshwar No data Proposal todevelop a blackbuck sanctuary in 225 sq .km ways. For example, on 24 October 1984, seven saved (Singh 1984). In all other places in Punjab the animals were seen by me on Pune-Solapur highway, blackbuck is extinct, except for some semi-captive about 17 km before Solapur. Similarly, P. Gole herds in Chhat Bir near Chandigarh, Bir Molibagh (1988, pers. comm.) in January 1988 saw three Patiala and Bir Gurdial Pura. blackbuck from a bus between Jhamkhed (in Ah- Haryana: The largest recorded herd of 10,000 mednagar district) and Beed (=Bhir). The total blackbuck was seen in a grassland in Hissar district blackbuck population in Maharashtra may be be- in Haryana (Jerdon 1874). In 1955 and 1956, Ran- tween 4500 and 5000, with Solapur district having jitsinh (1982a) saw "sizeable herds in the same tract, more than half the total (Table 8). including one of over a hundred in sight of Hissar Punjab: The plains of Punjab (and Haryana) were town. By 1961, there were no signs ofblackbuck on some of the chief strongholds of the blackbuck in the same ground". However, H. Dang (1964) north India. Even 30 years ago, it was found in reportedseeingoverahundred blackbuck in theHis- Ferozpur, Faridkot, Ludhiana, Ropar, Bhatinda and sar area, and added "reports would put the figure at Sangrur districts, but now the blackbuck survives thrice that number". He also estimated about 300 in only in Abohar area in Faridkot, where up to 3500 Khader area ofFerozpur, 100 in Rewari, and 300 in can be seen (Parshad 1984). The blackbuck around Kapurthala. According to R. Dang (1988, pers. 13 Vishnoi villages covering an area of 182 sq. km comm.) there are three blackbuck refuges, and a were given full protection in 1982 in deference to population of about 400 animals is present at some the demands by the Vishnois that their antelopes be distance from Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary in Gurgaon ) DISTRIBUTION OF AN71LOPE CERVICAPRA 41 Table 9 BLACKBUCKHERDS OUTSIDEPROTECTEDAREASINGUJARAT Name District Blackbuck References numbers Kadi Mehsana >300 A. Daga (1988 pers. comm.) Latuda-Katuda Surendranagar >200 Y. Jhala (1988 pers. comm.) Karara (Wandhwan to Limdi) Surendranagar > 10 -do- Wandhwan Surendranagar 15 -do- & Little Rann Surendranagar 300 Sinha Chhabra (1985) and Kutch & Dhankaniya veedi Botad taluka Bhavnagar 350 Sinha Chhbra (1985) and Pers. observ. & Near Port Victor Bhavnagar 40 Sinha Chhabra (1985) Umavadi veedi in Gondal Rajkot 10-15 Upadhyay (1988 pers. comm.) & NearRajula Amreli 40 Sinha Chhabra (1985) Near Damnagar Amreli 20 -do- Near Lathi Amreli 15 -do- NearJhajmar Junagadh 25 -do- Near Kotda Junagadh 50 -do- Sunderpura Vadodra 350 Oza (1978) and Rahmani & D’Silva (1984) Kandoma Rana Porbander 40 seen in one day Mohile (1981 Table 10 PROTECTEDAREAS IN RAJASTHANWITH BLACKBUCK POPULATIONS Name District Area Year of Blackbuck Reference (sq. km) census numbers Keoladeo Bharatpur 29 1987 18 Haque (1988) Talchapper Churu 7 1986 1400 Pers. observ. Gajner Bikaner 25 1981 575 Forest Dept. Sorson Kota 40 1988 80-100 Pers. observ. Guru-Bishnonian Jodhpur 425 1987 6163 S. Sharma (pers. comm.) 3-4000 Prakash (1988) Dhawa-Doli Jodhpur 470 1987 3000 -do- Sathri Jodhpur 245 1987 ‘few’ Forest Dept. district. There is a proposal to establish a blackbuck gone up. For example, Sinha and Chhabra (1985) sanctuary near Sirsa among 12 to 13 villages reported only 75 blackbuck but in October 1987, A. dominated by the Vishnoi community, who do not Daga (1987, pers. comm.) saw nearly 300. Similar- kill these antelopes (G. Singh, 1989 pers. comm.). ly, a few places like Latuda-Katuda and Umvadi Gujarat: The Velavadar National Park in Bhav- veedi in Gondal where blackbuck are seen were not nagar district is one of the most famous protected mentioned by Ranjitsinh (1982a) or by Sinha and areas forblackbuck in India. Itwas specially created Chhabra (1985). Thereforea fresh assessmentofthe in 1969 fortheprotection ofthisantelope. Notmany blackbuck population in Gujarat should be done. people know that there are more than a dozen other Rajasthan: Among the Indian states the highest places in Gujarat where blackbuck can be seen. In numberofblackbuck are present in Rajasthan. Ran- four such areas, the population ofblackbuck is more jitsinh (1982a) estimated between 7600 and 8000 than a hundred each. Ranjitsinh (1982a) estimated blackbuck in the whole of Rajasthan, but according that the total blackbuck population in Gujarat may to the recent census done by the Forest Department, be 3300 to 3500, while Sinha and Chhabra (1985) in Jodhpur district alone, nearly 10,000 are found in estimated 3295 blackbuck in the whole state. In Guru-Bishnonian and Dhawa-Doli areas (S. Sharma some areas like Kadi in Mehsana the population has 1987, pers. comm.) However, S.P. Goyal (1988, 1 42 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 88 Table 1 BLACKBUCKHERDS OUTSIDETHEPROTECTEDAREAS INRAJASTHAN Name District Date ofsighting Estimated No. Reference/Source Raja-Kheri ravine Dholpur - 10-15 Forest Dept. Khamerto Sareri Bhilwara - > 150 Forest Dept. 50 Km from Jodhpur Pali 26 July 1987 > 100 Pers. obs. on Pali road Dudli in Rohat Pali 26 July 1987 150-300 Pers. obs. NearOmkali Pali 26 July 1987 10-12 Pers. obs. Raniwara Jalore - ‘few’ S.P. Goyal (1988 in lilt.) NearJohdi Alwar - 400 Rodgers & Panwar (1988) Lamba Jodhpur 22 Jan. 1987 150-200 Pers. obs. Near Banai Jodhpur 22 Jan. 1987 10-15 Pers. obs. Near Diyatra Bikaner 22 Jan. 1986 11 Pers. obs. - Raisinghnagar Bikaner 2000(?) Forest Dept. Ranipur Tonk - 100 Forest Dept. Table 12 NEW PROTECTED AREAS WHERE BLACKBUCKPOPULATION HASINCREASED Name Earlier population Recent population Reference estimates estimates m Karera Bustard Sanctuary 50-60 in 1982 500-600 1988 Pers. obs. Ghatigaon Bustard Sanctuary 20-25 in 1982 100-150 in 1988 Pers. obs. m Sorson Closed Area 15-20 in 1983-84 80-100 1988 Pers. obs. Nanaj 150-200 in 1981 600-800 in 1988 Pers. obs. m Kasegaon (Gangiawadi) 25-35 in 1983 180-210 1988 Pers. obs. Rehkuri Blackbuck Sanctuary 70-80 in 1982 250-300 in 1987 Pers. obs. Rollapadu Bustard Sanctuary 10-12 in 1984 38-40 in 1988 Pers. obs. Baliavpur Forest 11 in 1967 140 in 1988 Bhattacharya &Chattopadhyay (1979) and Forest Dept. Alliyalamangalam 5 in 1968 92 in 1982 Rajasingh (1984) Vellanadu 30 in 1981 100 in 1988 Ranjitsinh (1982a) and Forest Dept.. pers. comm.) feels that thepopulation is not so high. portant sanctuaries like Pt. Calimere, Velavadar and Apart from Jodhpur, the blackbuck is seen in Kola, Rannibennur (which were specially created for the Ajmer, Pali, Bikaner, Churu, Ganganagar, Bharat- protection of this species), but in newly created pur, Dholpur and Bhilwara districts (Tables 10, 11). sanctuaries like Karera, Rollapadu, Rehkuri and Nanaj. In some of the important blackbuck Discussion sanctuaries the population has actually gone down Ranjitsinh (1982a) estimated the total black- (e.g. Pt. Calimere). buck population in India to be between 22,000 and In protected areas such as Karera and Nanaj, 24,000. Since then the population has increased, and Vishnoi areas of Rajasthan, the blackbuck is especially in newly created protected areas like seen in private fields where the Forest Department Karera, Ghatigaon, Nanaj and Rehkuri (Table 12). has notmuch control on theland use. Asemphasized According to my rough estimate, the blackbuck by Rodgers and Panwar (1988) such areas have a population may now bebetween 29,000 and 38,000. dubious long-term wildlife value and should not be This large gapbetween the maximum and minimum taken as a guarantee for the safety ofa species. Oc- population estimates is mainly due to the rather currence of blackbuck in cultivated areas and the questionable official and non-official figures. resultant crop damage may even result in develop- It is clear from Table 13 that the population in- ment of a negative attitude towards conservation, crease during the last decade is seen not in the im- thus jeopardizing the future of such populations. DISTRIBUTION OF ANTILOPE CERVICAPRA 43 Fig. 1. Present sight records ofblackbuck in India Similarly, survival ofblackbuck in isolated pockets that the blackbuck should be removed from in the highly populated districts ofUttar Pradesh or Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act is not Bihar may not be guaranteed forever, especially tenable: it is not that the species is threatened, but when the human populauon is still increasing and that the habitat which it occupies is in danger offur- habitat alteration is accelerating everywhere. ther alteration. Unless the habitat is protected, there Though there may be more than a thousand is no long-term guarantee of the species’ survival. blackbuck in Uttar Pradesh, more than 80% of the Therefore, in my opinion, the blackbuck should population survives in areas which may in future not remain in Schedule I and some more areas should be remain suitable for the species. Therefore the identified to be developed as blackbuck sanctuaries. opinion that populations have increased so much Rodgers and Panwar (1988) have shown that 44 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 88 Table 13 POPULATIONESTIMATES OFBLACKBUCK IN WELL-KNOWN SANCTUARIES Name Yearofcensus No. ofblackbuck Reference Pt. Calimere 1967 750-800 Daniel (1967) 1971 970 Johnson (1975) 1974 340 Nair (1976) (see Johnson (1982) for contradiction ofcensus figures) 1977 506 (actual count) Natarajan el ai. (1978). 1980 1100 Forest Dept, (in Ramana Rao & Prasad 1982) 1988 550 Alagar Rajan el. ai. (in prep.) Kanha 1965 21 Schaller (1967) 1972 90 Martin (1977) 1986 30 Pandey el al. (1986) Keoladeo 1965 70 SpiUett (1968) 1980 24-26 Pers. observ. 1987 18 Haque (1988) Velavadar 1969 c. 400 Rashid (1977) & 1977 1678 Rashid (1977) Dharmakumarsinhji (1978) & 1985 2000 Sinha Chhabra (1985) 1989 900 A. Jhalla (Pers. comm.) Rannibennur 1958 ‘very few’ Neginhal (1980) 1970 c. 600 -do- 1974 1000 -do- 1979 2794 Forest Dept. & 1981 2500 Karanth Singh (1981) Table 14 STATE-WISE POPULATIONESTIMATEOFTHE BLACKBUCK State Population estimate Major strongholds Punjab 3500-4000 Aboharin Faridkotdistrict Haryana 400 Gurgaon district UttarPradesh 1000-2000 Aligarh and Baduan(?) districts Bihar 50-100 Kaimurplateau Madhya Pradesh 1500-2000 Karera, Narodehi and Bagdara Orissa 500-600 Bhetonoi and Balukhand West Bengal 140 None Andhra Pradesh 800-1000 Mehboobnagar, Prakasan and West Godavari districts Karnataka 2000-3000 Rannibennur Tamil Nadu 1500-1600 Pt. Calimere and Guindy Maharashtra 4500-5000 Solapurand Ahmednagardistricts Rajasthan 10000-15000 (?) Dhawa-Doli and Guru -Bishnonian in Jodhpur and Tal Chhaperin Chum Gujarat 3500 -4000 Velavadar, Sunderpura and Botad blackbuck exist in significant numbers in less than belong to the Forest Department. However, keeping five national parks and five sanctuaries, and that in mind thefactthatthelargestpopulationsofblack- there are only three protected areas with a popula- buck exist in the Guru-Bishnonian and Dhawa-Doli tion of more than 1,000 animals. They have listed areas ofJodhpur, such populations cannot be over- only Velavadar, Pt. Calimere (see Table 13 for con- looked, no matter what the existing status of their tradictory data) and Tal Chhaper. Rannibennur in habitat. KarnatakaandVishnoi areasofRajasthan havebeen Prakash (1990) has expressed the apprehen- omitted, though for the latter it can be argued that sion that with increasing crop damage by ungulates they are not true protected areas as the land does not in Jodhpur area, determination among the Vishnoi