- Nepali authorities will relocate 18 blackbucks to an enclosure near Chitwan National Park to establish a new habitat for the critically endangered animals, which in Nepal are currently found only in Bardiya and Shuklaphanta.
- However, Chitwan’s monsoonal climate, competition from other deer species, and the presence of tigers and leopards are likely to increase physiological and behavioral stress for the blackbucks, conservationists warn.
- They’ve also flagged the relocation enclosure’s proximity to a municipal waste dump and a carnival ground, and warned of potential disturbances from tourists.
- Earlier translocations to Shuklaphanta were considered successful, helping to boost Nepal’s blackbuck population, largely in human-managed landscapes; but ecologists say true success will be achieved only when the animals are released into the wild and can sustain a self-sufficient, breeding population.
KATHMANDU — Nepal is preparing to relocate blackbucks from protected areas in the country’s west to the south-central lowlands, in an effort to expand the species’ population beyond its current range. But conservationists have raised questions about the suitability of the new site, including the increased risk of predation.
Under the plan, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) will release 18 blackbucks (Antilope cervicapra) in Tikauli, a corridor forest area near Chitwan National Park. The animals, six males and 12 females, will be translocated from Shuklaphanta National Park and Blackbuck Conservation Area, located in Nepal’s far-western and southwestern regions, respectively.
“We will be translocating them as soon as possible,” said Haribhadra Acharya, senior ecologist at DNPWC who has planned the translocation for nearly five years now. “It will be a mix of young and subadult individuals. The main objective of this translocation is to revive the blackbuck population in a different geographic location and habitat area, so if they’re impacted by disease or disaster in one area, there will be an alternate secure population.”
Blackbucks are an antelope species native to the Indian subcontinent, and were once widely distributed across the region. Today, India has the largest population of blackbucks, while the species occurs in small, fragmented pockets in Nepal, considered the northernmost extent of its range. Although the species as a whole isn’t considered in danger of extinction on the IUCN Red List, within Nepal it’s classified as critically endangered, and in Bangladesh and Pakistan has already gone extinct. Meanwhile, around 20,000 blackbucks survive in the U.S. state of Texas, where it was introduced in 1932 for hunting.
In Nepal, the antelope was believed to have gone extinct, until a herd of nine was found in Bardiya in 1975. The government’s conservation efforts for the species include the establishment of Blackbuck Conservation Area in Bardiya in 2009, helping revive the antelope’s population. A further boost came with a series of successful translocations to Shuklaphanta National Park between 2012 and 2015. Together, these measures have helped Nepal to revive its blackbuck population to more than 500 individuals.
“It is encouraging that the population is increasing,” said Amar Kunwar, a community ecologist who has researched blackbuck conservation. “However, it is a preconception to consider the population translocated to Shuklaphanta ecologically successful. True success would be when the population is released from the enclosure to the wild and the population survives, breeds and maintains its healthy population in the wild.”
Nepal has wild and semiwild blackbuck populations, with many in managed grassland habitats and conservation enclosures. At the newest planned translocation site, near Chitwan, the blackbucks will be kept in an enclosed area covering roughly 20 hectares (50 acres) within a protected forest.
Blackbucks prefer arid and semiarid regions, along with hot, dry climates — as in Bardiya and Shuklaphanta — with short grasslands rich shrubs, forbs and grasses that can provide both food and cover. In Chitwan, however, the grasses grow as high as 4.5 meters (15 feet), which could affect food availability and raise predation risks for the blackbucks, said Kunwar, who analyzed the region’s vegetation for his doctoral thesis.
He added that Chitwan also “does not suit blackbucks climatically,” as it’s humid, colder, and has a monsoonal subtropical landscape and strong seasonal flooding, which could be challenging for a dryland-habituated species like the blackbuck.
“They will be struggling to adapt in the monsoonal climate, which will increase their physiological and behavioral stress,” Kunwar said. “Stress leads to poor adaptation, making the species vulnerable to predation. Since Chitwan already supports high densities of deer species (such as chital [Axis axis]), competition will obviously intensify. So, outcomes will depend strongly on careful habitat preparation, predation risk management and long-term monitoring, not just the translocation itself.”
Acharya said the wildlife department has already taken precautionary measures to protect blackbucks from predators. But some conservationists argue that the presence of tigers and leopards in Chitwan’s forests could increase the risk of predation and population collapse. In 2018, more than 50 blackbucks were killed by leopards and hyenas in a single year in Bardiya, highlighting the species’ vulnerability.
The proposed relocation site in Tikauli falls under the jurisdiction of Ratnanagar Municipality and lies within the Panchakanya Community Forest. It forms part of the Barandabhar Corridor that connects Chitwan National Park and India’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve in the south to Nepal’s Annapurna Conservation Area in the Himalayan foothills. With an abundance of tigers in the area, experts say that leopards have been pushed to the fringes, where the blackbuck relocation area sits. Its proximity to a highway has also raised concerns.
“As blackbucks roam the area once translocated, they are likely to attract leopards,” said Bishnu Prasad Acharya, chief of the Division Forest Office in Chitwan, which will monitor the enclosure once the animals are relocated.
He said the surrounding sal trees (Shorea robusta) could pose a risk to blackbucks, as leopards may use them to climb into the enclosure, which he said could be “devastating.” He added that discussions are ongoing with relevant government agencies on how to manage the roughly 30 trees around the enclosure.
“We could increase the height of the fence by a few feet and cut off branches,” he said. “But we are proposing to wait until we conduct a complete risk assessment. We might need to fell some trees to prevent leopards from climbing and entering the blackbuck enclosure. Ratnanagar Municipality has put so much effort into this translocation, and we want to ensure that the enclosure is 100% risk-free.”
Other concerns for blackbuck relocation in Tikauli include its proximity to Ratnanagar municipality’s waste dump, as well as the area’s annual carnival, which has been viewed as a source of disturbance to local wildlife.
Rohit Raj Jha, a doctoral candidate in quantitative ecology at Louisiana State University in the U.S., who also co-authored a study on Nepal’s blackbucks, said such factors could “create multiple layers of chronic disturbance for the animals.” While a trach dump can attract feral dogs, scavengers, heavy human activity and disease vectors, seasonal gatherings can temporarily increase crowding, noise pollution and waste around the habitat.
“Blackbuck are highly responsive to anthropogenic risk and tend to avoid habitats with intense human activity even when forage resources are available,” Jha said. “Because blackbuck rely heavily on vigilance and open visibility for predator detection, repeated disturbance may alter movement behavior, habitat use, and stress levels over time.”
He called on authorities to “ensure that the enclosure functions as a conservation habitat rather than becoming an isolated fenced display population near urban activity.”
While Nepal has achieved limited success with translocation of the greater one-horned rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis) and other species — albeit with concerns — there have also been failures that experts say should serve as cautionary lessons. In 2017, a dozen wild water buffaloes (Bubalus arnee), along with three others from Central Zoo in Kathmandu, were moved from Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve in eastern Nepal to Chitwan National Park in an attempt to establish a second population, as Koshi Tappu was prone to floods and lacked forest cover.
However, four of the wild water buffaloes died that same year, and although the birth of six calves over the following five years raised hopes for a population recovery, all of them eventually died. A 2023 study attributed the reintroduction failure to “poor planning, lack of resources and ignorance of the avoidable issues.”
“Population growth is an important indicator of translocation success,” said Chandra Mani Aryal, a co-author of the study and assistant professor of environmental science at Kathmandu’s Padma Kanya Multiple Campus. “But reintroduction can be said to be successful when the population can survive naturally. To achieve this, translocated individuals should survive, reproduce and expand their population. Furthermore, they need to develop a coping mechanism, such as defense against predation.”
As for the blackbucks, Aryal said that although their population is growing, questions remain about their defensive capabilities, as the current populations are largely confined to semicaptive conditions under human care. He added that a gradual loss in natural defense abilities could ultimately affect their long-term survival.
“Currently, we cannot risk them by releasing them in an open habitat,” he said. “Thus, for the short term, putting in an enclosure is the only option available. However, that may eventually lead to the disappearance of attributes to term them wild animals.”
Meanwhile, in Tikauli, the local government is preparing for the arrival of the blackbucks nearly a decade after the idea was first proposed. Ratnanagar municipality has so far spent 25 million rupees (about $163,000), with300,000 rupees ($2,000) allocated for the current fiscal year, according to Shankar Bahadur Kunwar, an engineer with the municipality who is overseeing infrastructure and administrative work related to the translocation project.
“We’ve built solar-powered electric fences, ponds and food sheds, and also trimmed grasses to create a suitable environment for blackbucks, and are now managing trees with coordination from forestry officials to prevent predators from attacking blackbucks,” he said. “We are also building a viewing tower and will promote the area for tourists, where they can not only see the animals but also learn about them. It will also help in raising awareness on their conservation.”
However, there are also concerns about whether visitors would travel to Tikauli solely to see blackbucks, rather than opt for more diverse and iconic wildlife experiences in nearby Chitwan National Park.
Bishnu Prasad Acharya of the Division Forest Office in Chitwan said he’s optimistic that blackbucks will enhance the diversity of attractions for tourists visiting Chitwan, making the enclosure an additional draw outside the national park area. He added that tourism is unlikely to disturb the animals, as the enclosure spans a large area and the blackbucks are already accustomed to human presence.
However, ecologists like Amar Kunwar argue that tourism “should not motivate” species translocation but should serve as a secondary benefit, particularly in established destinations like Chitwan, which already receives high visitor numbers. He added that Banke and Bardiya national parks are still better ecological matches for blackbucks, and urged the authorities to strengthen post-release monitoring and study, including demographic and behavioral ecology, following the translocation.
“It is a positive conservation initiative to increase the population at the landscape level,” he said. “However, enclosure should be used for habituation and acclimatization in a new habitat, and that success should be measured by survival in the wild, successful breeding and maintenance of a viable population.”
But establishing a fully wild population will take time, according to wildlife department ecologist Haribhadra Acharya, who added that the current translocations are laying the groundwork and creating opportunities for future generations to build upon.
“This is a trial to see how the blackbucks will adapt to nature,” he said. “It might not be 100% successful, but it’s our responsibility to conduct such trials because we need to save these critically endangered species.”
Banner image: A male blackbuck in neighboring India’s Rajasthan state. Blackbucks are an antelope species native to the Indian subcontinent, and were once widely distributed across the region. Image by Tisha Mukherjee via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Nepal’s tigers & prey need better grassland management: Interview with Shyam Thapa
Citations:
Jha, R. R., & Isvaran, K. (2022). Antelope space‐use and behavior indicate multilevel responses to varying anthropogenic influences in a highly human‐dominated landscape. Ecology and Evolution, 12(10). doi:10.1002/ece3.9372
Jha, R. R., & Isvaran, K. (2023). Grouping dynamics of the northernmost population of blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) in Krishnasaar Conservation Area, Nepal. Nepalese Journal of Zoology, 7(2), 16-22. doi:10.3126/njz.v7i2.60806
Aryal, C. M., & Aryal, P. C. (2023). Wildlife restoration in Nepal: Tracking the conservation translocations in the country. Journal of Environment Sciences, 9(1), 51-66. doi:10.3126/jes.v9i1.56479
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