Nilgai
I.U.C.N status
International Union for Conservation of Nature
Identity card
Grasses and herbaceous plants.
Did you know?
The Nilgai, although commonly called “antelope”, is not a true antelope because it belongs to the bovine subfamily. Its name comes from Sanskrit, where “nîla” means blue and “gov” means cow. Its coat is short, with a yellow-brown tint for females and blue-gray for adult males.
Threats and conservation
The widespread nilgai often causes severe damage to crops, making it a pest in northern India, where it can be hunted. However, its resemblance to the cow, a sacred animal for Hindus, means that it is sometimes spared depending on the region. Introduced in Texas in the 1920s and 1930s for breeding purposes, some individuals have escaped, forming a wild population of around 30,000 nilgai in the United States today.
