THE BLACKBUCK 
(ANTILOPE CERVICAPRA ) 
T HE Blackbuck is surely one of the most beautiful beasts that 
walks this earth, and if he were only rare plenty of us would 
travel thousands of miles to shoot a single specimen. As it is he 
cannot be described as a very interesting animal to hunt; more- 
over, he is seen so often from the road or railway that one gets 
in the habit of looking upon him more as an adjunct to the land- 
scape than as a game animal. Blackbuck are found practically all over 
India, but not in Burma or Ceylon. They are lovers of the plains and do 
not take to the hills. Most of the good heads come from Jeypore and the 
Bikanir Desert, while they run smaller in the Central Provinces and 
Southern India. 
The coat of this antelope certainly varies somewhat with the seasons; 
the mature bucks are generally black, but occasionally one is seen in the 
same herd of a lighter or brownish shade. No man seems yet to have 
solved this problem of coloration, but it probably has something to do 
with the period when the antelope ceases to be the master buck of the herd. 
Very much the same variation of colour may be observed among the 
herds of the Cobus leucotis, or white -eared kob, of the Upper Nile, the 
explanation of which is still lacking. 
In open country a careful stalk after blackbuck is often useless; it is 
then more effective to stroll along casually in full view, gradually edging 
nearer till one can throw oneself down and take the shot. In the preserves 
of the Maharajah of Bikanir special bullock carts are used, and when 
within range the sportsman jumps out and lies down, without stopping 
the cart, on which the antelope keep their attention fixed. Blackbuck 
are beautiful movers and sometimes execute the most wonderful 
bounds in the air. As they are often found on cultivated ground, with 
many natives in the vicinity, the greatest care must be taken in using a 
long-range rifle. 
The females of this antelope are light fawn in colour and hornless. 
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