Salman Khan’s face was the first thing that popped up in my head when Prashant talked about Blackbuck. Then I came back to my senses and asked him in bewilderment – “Blackbucks next to main road? That too in Kolar Gold fields?” This was news to me.
Murli who had informed us about Blackbuck sightings in KGF had dispensed all doubts by attaching to the mail, the pictures of these graceful animals leaping high into the air. He also informed that a few days back there were reports of dogs attacking a few of these fast beauties. We decided to check out the scene ourselves.
On Saturday, 12th September 2009, 5:00 A.M., Murli, Prashant, Anupama and I left for Kolar in Prashant’s car. Kolar is around 100 km from Bangalore. I had never been to this part of Karnataka but for the times when I had visited the sacred abode of Tirupati. Unlike then, I did not know what to expect from this venture.
By the time we had negotiated the roads, broken our fasts, taken toilet-breaks and reached KGF, it was almost 9 30. The place where Murali guided us to was a particular stretch between Bangarpet and Bethmangala, about 4 km from KGF on road. We immediately set out in search of these legendary creatures.
Blackbuck, or Krshnamrga in Kannada is one of the most striking of all antelope species. Mainly native to India and parts of Nepal, these were found in huge numbers throughout the country. Today, these are found only in pockets, and highly endangered, due to a variety of reasons like poaching, habitat fragmentation and gene degradation due to inbreeding.
“Why are Blackbucks endagered?” is the question that you might ask. After all, Chital (Spotted deer) or Axis Axis is also related to Blackbuck, yet they are thriving in our jungles. So why not BB, eh? This is where we, and many times our forest officials fail to get the finer aspects of evolution. Blackbuck is the fastest runner of all land animals in India today. It can run up-to the speed of 80 km/hr with a burst of leaps and gallop. But just imagine, can any large mammal run at such speeds in a dense forest? No! What it needs, and what it is evolved for is vast and uninterrupted grasslands, something that was aplenty throughout India just a few decades back. Then came the cities. Peninsular India and North India became hub of industrial activities. Mining was introduced. Grazing of cattle was necessary. All these led to a rapid and tragic depletion and degradation of open grasslands. And with the grasslands went the grassland dependent wildlife too. After all, a grassland is not a “Forest” is it?
In fact, the only animal that can ever overtake a Blackbuck in a race would have been the Asiatic Cheetah, for which the Blackbuck was a prominent prey species. But the story of the Cheetah is much more tragic than the Blackbuck’s. But that’s another story, and a story that is a subtle motivator for the conservation of Blackbucks too.
These factors were precisely the ones which got us up from bed while the nation slept and made us walk in the Sun on the scorching plain land while a lot others of us were contentedly mulling on which movie to watch that day.
We had walked about 300 meter away from the main road, and my skepticism made me more interested in finding snakes than antelopes. At once Murli remarked, “There!” .As one, 3 of us turned and were face to face with a male Blackbuck. Standing warily, its skin a blackish brown and its horns a signature corkscrew, it considered us. Click, Prashant’s camera exclaimed, and a switched clicked on my thoughts back too. I just turned to Murli who had an expression on his face that said, “There you go”. We took a step forward and away it cantered, into some eucalyptus trees beyond.
Leapin-Doe
That was the catalyst. At every cautious advance we detected more blackbucks, some with real lustrous black coats and long horns and lots of does (females) to go with. We soon lost count, but estimated aroun 70- 100 blackbucks within 45 min of our walk. We settled down a bit and so did the blackbucks.
Within few minutes of cessation of our activities, they resumed theirs. 2 big males sparred at a distance of a few hundred meters while another frolicked with his female fans. We could have sat there for a few hours and the Balckbucks would have relaxed more. That, is a big problem facing their very survival.
1. A Blackbuck pelt will fetch upto a quarter of a lakh, horns a few thousand and meat a few hundred rupees every kg. What will prevent a poor or a greedy man from walking into the grassland, load up a rifle, shoot a blackbuck and carry it away? He could finish the whole task and be gone in 60 seconds!
2. Street dogs are always hungry. And they had already shown their taste for fresh meat when they had attacked a stray blackbuck near the main road. What would stop them from developing particular taste for these black beauties and finish off their old or young ones? They would never be able to tackle the healthy ones for sure, but a generation of fawns gone could spell disaster for the buck’s future.
3. Wolves, the last great predators of our plains, survive on Blackbuck meat as part of their diet that includes cattle and livestock, incuding poultry. Brave wolves have been known to venture into villages and carry away children too. Loss of blackbucks will only worsen the situation and increase Human-Wolf conflict, thus putting a question mark on the already threatened wolf survival itself!
These reasons and more made us sit and think of an imaginary place where blackbucks would roam free without fear of man or other man-made threats, and where they would migrate and breed with other groups or herds, thus maintaining a healthy gene population. The answer which instantly popped into our minds was to make the whole area a protected area for the wildlife, something on the lines of Ranebennur Blackbuck sanctuary, or the more recent Maidenhalli Balckbuck reserve.
But this thought also brought with it important and subtler aspects and problems that could arise by such an action:
1. Do the animals represent resident population of the place?
2. Who owns the land on which they roam?
3. What are the difficulties that humans in the area would face by such a
decision?
4. Can we afford more “Protected” and thus inaccessible lands in the middle of a dense human population?
Clearly, a scietific approach has to be taken which would be in the best interests of both man and wild, with the long-term consquenses firmly rooted in mind.
But a strong and sensible decision to protect these poetry-inspiring wild animals would be a definite boost to the crumbling world of wildlife conservation. It could develop tourism in an area that is yet to cope up wit the closure of the mines that fed the coffers of the British for a century. It would open up avenues for research in grassland eco-systems and related issues. It would enhance the micro-world of eco-systems which support human life by producing fodder, honey etc.
On a personal note, the biggest added advantage of declaring the Blackbuck inhabited areas as protected, would be a step towards the reintroduction of the enigmatic Asiatic Cheetah to India’s wild, which once ruled as the predator in chief over much over India, but is now locally extinct as a result of Indian “royalty’s” over-indulgence. Only sub-species that exists is a small population in the volatile nation of Iran with which the government is holding talks (albeit unsuccessfully) to import a healthy breeding pair. The Cheetah will never be able to survive in pockets of grasslands. They would need huge areas with a large prey base. And protecting these blackbucks and their home would be the first step towards the rebirth of the Indian Cheetah.
Blackbucks being hunted by Asiatic Cheetah, as depicted in a Mughal painting
Garuda Purana mentions that Krshnamrga brings prosperity to the land that they inhabit. This has definitely been the case with Kolar Gold Mines. Is their depletion in accordance with the closing down of the mines?
Scriptures say that Krshnamrga or the Blackbuck is the vahana or the vehicle of the moon god. These Blackbucks are as pleasing to the eye as the full moon on a clear night. Once the full moon wanes to new moon, he shall again wax to full moon in a fortnight’s time.
We might never get that chance with our beautiful blackbucks. Its time to act now, or there might not be another chance.
A picture which makes me proud to be a human - Pic contributed by Anupama Kadam.
