Scott Hanko
Nilgai Antelope Females
The nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), sometimes called nilgau, is an antelope, and is one of the most commonly seen wild animals of central and northern India and eastern Pakistan; it is also present in parts of southern Nepal. The mature males appear ox-like and are also known as blue bulls. The nilgai is the biggest Asian antelope.
Nilgai stand 1.2-1.5 meters (4–5 feet) at the shoulder and are 1.8-2 meters (6-6.6 feet) long. Their tails are 40-45 centimeters. Mature nilgai typically weigh 120-240 kilograms.
Calves usually weigh 13.6-15.9 kilograms (30-35 pounds) at birth after an 8 month gestation period. Over 60% of births result in twins, though births of 1 or 3 do occur. They reach sexual maturity at around 18 months and can live as long as 21 years.
Nilgai have thin legs and a robust body that slopes down from the shoulder. Their long, narrow heads are topped by two small conical horns which are straight and tilted slightly forward. Horns on trophy males are normally 21.6-25.4 centimeters (8.5-10 inches). They have an erectile mane on the back of the neck and a tubular shaped "hair pennant" on the midsection of the throat. They have a small triangular tail which moves with a very high frequency when they are excited.
Female nilgai have a short yellow-brown coat. Males' coats gradually darken to a grey-blue as they reach maturity. They have white spots on the cheeks and white coloring on the edges of the lips. They also have a white throat bib and a narrow white stripe along the underside of the body that widens at the rear.
Nilgai can be found in single sex or mixed sex herds of 4-20, although old bulls are sometimes solitary.
Nilgai antelopes are found in the north Indian plains from the base of the Himalayas in the north, down to the state of Karnataka in the South, and from the Gir forest and from all along the entire eastern length of Pakistan and over across the border of Rajasthan in the West to the states of Assam and West Bengal in the East; in Nepal, they occur patchily in the southern lowlands. The population density in central India is 0.07 animals per square kilometer.
Historic notes mention the nilgai in southern parts of India but there have also been suggestion that they may be a feral population.
I believe that the Coimbatore and Salem collectorates are almost the only places in Southern India, in which nil-gai are to be found. It is difficult to account for the animals being thus so widely divided from their usual haunts unless as has been generally supposed, these Southern specimens are the progeny of a semi-domesticated herd, which, at some by-gone period, had escaped from the preserve of a native potentate.
Refer to Anderson on shikar in southern India. Nilgai have existed north of Bangalore and probably still do.
Nilgai were introduced in Texas in the 1920s by the King Ranch for recreational purposes. Over the years some escaped and they are now free ranging in various southern portions of the state.
Wild Animal Park Escondido Ca.
Nilgai Antelope Females
The nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), sometimes called nilgau, is an antelope, and is one of the most commonly seen wild animals of central and northern India and eastern Pakistan; it is also present in parts of southern Nepal. The mature males appear ox-like and are also known as blue bulls. The nilgai is the biggest Asian antelope.
Nilgai stand 1.2-1.5 meters (4–5 feet) at the shoulder and are 1.8-2 meters (6-6.6 feet) long. Their tails are 40-45 centimeters. Mature nilgai typically weigh 120-240 kilograms.
Calves usually weigh 13.6-15.9 kilograms (30-35 pounds) at birth after an 8 month gestation period. Over 60% of births result in twins, though births of 1 or 3 do occur. They reach sexual maturity at around 18 months and can live as long as 21 years.
Nilgai have thin legs and a robust body that slopes down from the shoulder. Their long, narrow heads are topped by two small conical horns which are straight and tilted slightly forward. Horns on trophy males are normally 21.6-25.4 centimeters (8.5-10 inches). They have an erectile mane on the back of the neck and a tubular shaped "hair pennant" on the midsection of the throat. They have a small triangular tail which moves with a very high frequency when they are excited.
Female nilgai have a short yellow-brown coat. Males' coats gradually darken to a grey-blue as they reach maturity. They have white spots on the cheeks and white coloring on the edges of the lips. They also have a white throat bib and a narrow white stripe along the underside of the body that widens at the rear.
Nilgai can be found in single sex or mixed sex herds of 4-20, although old bulls are sometimes solitary.
Nilgai antelopes are found in the north Indian plains from the base of the Himalayas in the north, down to the state of Karnataka in the South, and from the Gir forest and from all along the entire eastern length of Pakistan and over across the border of Rajasthan in the West to the states of Assam and West Bengal in the East; in Nepal, they occur patchily in the southern lowlands. The population density in central India is 0.07 animals per square kilometer.
Historic notes mention the nilgai in southern parts of India but there have also been suggestion that they may be a feral population.
I believe that the Coimbatore and Salem collectorates are almost the only places in Southern India, in which nil-gai are to be found. It is difficult to account for the animals being thus so widely divided from their usual haunts unless as has been generally supposed, these Southern specimens are the progeny of a semi-domesticated herd, which, at some by-gone period, had escaped from the preserve of a native potentate.
Refer to Anderson on shikar in southern India. Nilgai have existed north of Bangalore and probably still do.
Nilgai were introduced in Texas in the 1920s by the King Ranch for recreational purposes. Over the years some escaped and they are now free ranging in various southern portions of the state.
Wild Animal Park Escondido Ca.