Abstract
Blackbuck Antilope cervicapra in human dominated landscapes are vulnerable to poaching, habitat loss and competition with livestock for forage. I estimated population sizes and age structure of Blackbucks in an unprotected site of 61.21km² in Odisha over a period of one year (October 2012 to October 2013). A total of 7,134 individuals in 366 herds were documented ranging from a single individual to the largest herd of 51 animals. Average herd size was 19.49±0.03 (SE) and ranged from 13.34±0.06 in summer to 31.86±0.07 during the monsoon. Sex ratio was skewed towards females by 3:1. The young constituted 16% of the population. This indicates that a healthy population of blackbuck is surviving in this area; therefore measures need to be taken to conserve this site and manage the area as a Blackbuck reserve.
Highlights
Population size, herd structure and sex ratio of the Blackbuck Antilope Cervicapra (Mammalia: Cetartiodactyla: Bovidae) in a human dominated area in Odisha, India
I classified the type of herds, age structure and sex ratio as per Herlekar (2014) and Prater (1980)
Most herds had 11–20 individuals (Fig. 2) and female biased groups (Image 1) were more frequent (74.31%) than bachelor herds (Image 2) and solitary males (Image 3)
Summary
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