Bihar plans to sterilise, not cull, nilgais

• The Bihar government will not cull the Blue Bull, locally known as the nilgai or ghurparas, anymore.
• It will, instead, sterilise them to control their increasing population in the state.

About Blue Bull(nilgai)

• Scientific Name: Boselaphus tragocamelus .
• It is the largest Asian antelope (family Bovidae).
• The nilgai is indigenous to the Indian subcontinent, and Hindus accord it the same sacred status as cattle (both belong to the subfamily Bovinae).
• Description: Nilgai is the Hindustani word for “blue cow,” which describes the blue-grey of adult bulls.
• It has a long neck with a short upright mane, a bony narrow head, a barrel-like chest, strong legs, and high withers sloping back to the croup.
• Habitat: It lives in a lightly wooded forest, wooded grassland, scrub areas and agricultural areas and human settlements. Blue Bull usually avoids dense Forests
• Social Behaviour: It is a diurnal and social animal. Generally, they are found in small herds of 4 to 20 individuals but can form large groups of 20 to 100 individuals.
• However, the adult male is also seen alone wandering widely at old ages.
• Distribution: It is found in Nepal, India and Pakistan
• Threats: It is seldom killed or injured in retaliation in response to crop-raiding.
• The major threat to this species is habitat loss and degradation due to human encroachment, clearing of forest for agriculture and over-grazing of livestock in their habitats.

Conservation Status :

• The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species listed it as Least Concern.
• It enjoys legal protection by virtue of the species having been included in Schedule-III of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.