Bhubaneswar: After a long wait of two decades, the blackbucks also known as Indian antelopes, will be seen once again at the Balukhand-Konark Wildlife Sanctuary in Puri
On Wednesday, the PCCF Wildlife & CWLW, Sushant Nanda, shared two videos on his X handle, one of which shows a group of blackbucks whereas, another gives a glimpse of the animals transported through the forest department’s vehicles.
Puri Balukhand Sanctuary will be home to BlackBucks again. It had gone locally extinct from the area since last two decades.
As part of the species recovery programme, Blackbucks are being re wilded from Nandankanan & translocated from wild from over populated Ganjam landscapes. pic.twitter.com/wvZB3Vftyn— Susanta Nanda (@susantananda3) June 19, 2024
Senior IFS officer taking on his X handle wrote, “Puri Balukhand Sanctuary will be home to blackbucks again. It had gone locally extinct from the area since the last two decades. As part of the species recovery programme, blackbucks are being rewilded from Nandankanan & translocated from wild from overpopulated Ganjam landscapes.”
The endangered antelope is locally known as ‘Krushnasar mriga’, and ‘Kala bahutia’ is usually found in Balipadar-Bhetnoi and adjacent areas in the Ganjam district, and coastal plains of Konark-Balukhand Sanctuary in Puri district.
According to a Census report published on the Odisha Wildlife Organization website, the total population of blackbucks was recorded at 7,358 in the Ganjam district in the year 2020-2021.
Out of which 4,196 were females, 1,712 males and 1,450 calves.
Similarly, in Konark-Balukhand Sanctuary, the census report after 2012-2013 showed zero traces of the endangered antelope in the region.
Till the late 1960s, the blackbucks were also scarcely found in Bolangir, Kalahandi and the coastal dunes of Bhitarkanika and Kujang area.
As per the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972, blackbucks are recognised under Schedule 1, which covers all endangered categories of animals.
Animal species covered under this Schedule, are strictly prohibited from being hunted throughout India, except under specific circumstances where they pose a direct threat to human life or suffering from any irrecoverable disease.
The blackbuck population in Odisha witnessed significant growth in the last decade with the rapid rise in population.
The total number of blackbucks reported in the year 2011 was 2,194, whereas by 2020, it rose to 6,875, as per the official reports.
