The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, is quite neutral about the nature of animals it protects, Schedule of the Act of the hand protects a carnivore like tiger, which requires some 3000 kg of meat ever year to survive. And on the completely opposite side of the food chain, the Act protects the blackbuck, member of the antelope family that survives on bushes and shrubs.
In the hands of humans, however, the fates of these two animals seem to be the same – extinction. Tigers are being butchered for skin and body parts. But why are black bucks poached? Once upon a time, black bucks were found in lakhs in the country. Their number now, according to experts, has been reduced to some 30000.
Black bucks are vanishing for two major reasons. One is poaching. The other is loss of habitat.
“The animal is also not restricted to national parts and sanctuaries. Especially, in north and central India, its fond outside protected area,” says Dr. A.J.T.Johnsingh, dean of the Dehra Dun-based Wildlife Institute of India.
Mostly, the animals is killed for its meat, considered a delicacy and is traditionally popular among the central and north Indian royalty. “It’s a beautiful animal with spiraling horns and a skin that’s black and white. So its, considered a trophy as well,” says a conservationist.
Johnsingh says the animals is found easily found in parts of Gujarat, Rajashtan, Orissa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu besides Haryana and Punjab. “At one time, blackbucks served as the prey base for cheetahs and wolves since they all are open area animals,” he adds.
The international Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (ICUN), of which India too a member, has placed the animals in the ‘vulnerable’ category.
But Ashok Kumar of the Wildlife Trust of India says: “I don’t remember any case when a poacher was hauled up or jailed for hunting a blackbuck.”
Black bucks in the crosshairs
First Salman Khan now Tiger Pataudi – black bucks have been the favorite animals of hunters. But why?
