Blackbuck at Knowsley Safari

Antilope cervicapra

Category: Herbivore

Location: Safari Drive

About Blackbuck

This small, delicate and attractive antelope is from the open plains and dry forests of Pakistan and Northern India - from Punjab in the West across to Bangladesh.

The females and their young are light in colour, whereas males gradually become darker in colour and are almost black when they're fully grown.

Unfortunately, excessive hunting and the destruction of their natural habitat has reduced the number of blackbuck in the wild. However, they have been successfully bred in captivity and reintroduced to their natural habitat.

Juvenile Blackbuck standing in a field.

Male blackbuck coats get darker and darker as they get older until they're almost black. Whereas females stay light in colour.

Blackbuck are herbivores, feeding on grass and vegetation.

Blackbuck are from the open grassland, dry thorn scrub, scrubland and lightly-wooded areas of Pakistan and Northern India.

Blackbuck are classed as least concern in the wild. They're threatened by habitat loss and hunting, but a number of blackbuck bred in captivity have now been released into the wild.