black deer in rajasthan

Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), Krishna Mrigam is a species of antelope found mainly in India, and also in some parts of southern Nepal, and Pakistan, though it has also been introduced in Texas and Argentina. It is one of the fastest of all terrestrial animals reaching to speeds of up to 80 km/hr and is one of the few antelopes where males and females have distinctive coloration, as the male bucks are a distinctive black and white and have long twisted horns, while females are fawn coloured with no horns [2]. In its scientific name Antilope cervicapra, 'Antilope' from 'anthalops' (Greek) a horned animal; 'cervicapra' from 'cervus' (Latin) a deer and 'capra' (Latin) a she-goat [3].

The blackbuck, is the provincial animal of India it is known as Krishna Mriga in Kannada and Krishna Jinka in the Telugu language, has been declared the state animal of Andhra Pradesh. Other local names for the species include Kala Hiran, Sasin, Iralai Maan, and Kalveet in Marathi [4]. It is often simply called Indian antelope though this term might also be used for other Antilopinae from the region.

The skin of Krishna Mrigam plays an important role in Hinduism, and Brahmin boys are traditionally required to wear a strip of unleathered hide after performing Upanayanam. It used to be one of the most abundant hoofed mammal in the Indian subcontinent, so much so that as late as early 1900s, naturalist Richard Lydekker mentions herds of hundreds in his writings, though today only small herds are seen that too inside reserves, chief reason of their decline being excessive hunting [2]. Till Indian independence in 1947, many princely states used to hunt the Indian Antelope and gazelle with cheetahs, which became extinct in 1960s. Though the royal sport had ended, growing cultivation saw it as crop-raider, further leading to its decline. Eventually, when in the 1970s several areas reported their extinction, it was enlisted as a protected animal under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972

Like most wild animals, the Blackbuck is in principle protected in India by the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.

Its protected status has gained publicity through a widely reported court case in which one of India's leading film stars, Salman Khan, was sentenced to five years imprisonment for killing two black bucks and several endangered chinkaras. The arrest was prompted by intense protests from the Bishnoi ethnic group, which holds animals and trees sacred, and on whose land the hunting had taken place.

In another notorious incident of criminal poaching, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi also killed a Blackbuck -[1], and then absconded as a fugitive. He finally surrendered only when the case was transferred from the criminal court to a Special Environment court, where he would face lighter sentencing.The Founder Chairman PFA Haryana Naresh Kadyan, whistle blower in this case -[2] also booked by Jhajjar Police for no reasons but he moved public interest litigation before High Court, Chandigarh and get transferred this case from Jhajjar to Faridabad.