The Indian Blackbuck started its spread across our nation slowly. It appears to have been a slow colonizer owing largely to the heavy vegetation of the times, it follows that the existence of heavy forests during that period slowed the spread of this grassland species. Eventual spread of human settlements and agricultural fields resulted in clearance of large swathes of this forest and the blackbuck was at hand to take advantage of this fortuitous situation. No ungulate species has derived greater benefit from the clearance of forests and high grasslands and their substitution by agricultural crops and short grasslands, than the blackbuck. Being prolific and taking advantage of this ecological niche, it became the most numerous and most conspicuous of ungulates seen by human beings on the subcontinent. It seems for the time being our young buck’s destiny is entwined with mine.
Photo #4, May 2018
Fathebad, Haryana