Blackbuck deer

(Antilope cervicapra)

 Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Antilopinae
Tribe: Antilopini
Genus: Antilope
Species: A. cervicapra

 Habitat:
The India from the base of the Himalayas to the neighborhood of Cape Comorin (the
southernmost locality known to me is Point Calimere), and from the Punjab to Lower Assam, in
open plains, not in Ceylon nor east of the Bay of Bengal. Not found on hills nor in thickly
wooded tracts, and wanting throughout the Malabar Coast south of the neighbourhood of
Surat. The statement that this antelope is not found in Lower Bengal is not quite correct ; none
are found in the swampy Gangetic delta, but many exist on the plains near the coast in
Midnapore (I have shot them near Contai), as they also do in Orissa. Antelopes are most
abundant in the North-west Provinces, Rajputana, and parts of the Deccan, but are locally
distributed and keep to particular tracts

 Biological importance:
In The blackbuck is an herbivore and grazes on low grasses, occasionally browsing
as well. It prefers sedges, fall witchgrass, mesquite, and live oak and was occasionally observed
browsing on acacia trees in the Cholistan Desert. Oats and berseem were found to be palatable
and nutritious to captive populations. In Velavadar Black Buck Sanctuary, Dichanthium
annulatum comprised 35% of the diet. Digestion of nutrients, especially crude proteins, was
poor in summer, but more efficient in the rainy and winter seasons. Crude protein intake in
summer was very low, even below the recommended value. Blackbuck consumed less food in
summer than in winter, and often foraged on the fruits of Prosodies juliflora. Prosopis becomes
a significant food item if grasses are scarce. Water is a daily requirement of the blackbuck.