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Black
Buck |
| Other
Attractions In Bandhavgarh |
| Pick
up any of the paintings depicting an Indian
sage in meditation, and you will always find
two things: a wise man sitting on a tiger’s
hide, and an impressive black buck standing
nearby. This graceful antelope has inspired
poets and the painters, since the beginning
of civilisation. Today, black bucks are the
beloved of the Bishnois, (tribals who inhabit
the Thar Desert) who treat them as their children. |
| The
average height of a black buck is 80-85cm, and
its weighs around 40kg. A beautiful pair of
horns adorn the male, and they grow by a node
each year. The male wears a dark brown coat,
while that of the female is a lighter shade
of brown. The ventral portion of the belly,
the legs and the chin of both the sexes are
white. The black buck feeds mainly on grass
and cereal crops and plays havoc in the villages
near the National Parks. |
| With
the onset of the rutting season, the behaviour
of the black buck takes an interesting turn.
Suddenly the males become extremely intolerant
of each other. 
They demarcate their territories by rubbing
a sticky secretion from the glands under their
eyes on the leaves of plants and young shoots.
Any intrusion into one’s territory is challenged
and dealt with. More often than not, stags can
be seen with their horns locked. The fights
are more or less symbolic, and very rarely do
the combatants inflict any serious injury on
each other. Nevertheless, a few cases of death
due to the permanent locking of the horns have
been reported. Unable to feed due to locked
horns, the poor stags starve to death. |
| Another
impressive characteristic of the species is
its agility. When chased by its predators, it
can clip at a speed of more than 100km per hour. |
| The
gestation period of the black buck is ten months,
and the litter comprises of one or two calves.
The young ones are extremely agile and restless,
and the mother has to take great care to look
after them. Females attain maturity faster than
males, and are ready to conceive at the age
of four to five. |
| The
list of the black buck’s enemies is long. It
forms the staple diet of almost all the big
cats, but its biggest threat comes from man.
It is hunted for its skin and meat. Sometimes
stray dogs form a group and hunt fawns and young
black bucks. |
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