Puri: Had it not been for actor Salman Khan, who is embroiled in the Blackbuck hunting controversy since September of 1998, the endangered Indian antelopes may not have got the attention they deserved, as a 'nearly threatened species'. From being massively hunted during pre-Independence till attaining an endangered status, the blackbucks have come back to focus, with conservation efforts increasing across the country, though they are predominantly found in Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana.
In one such ambitious conservation effort, the Puri Forest Department started a project last year to revive the Blackbuck population in Balukhand Sanctuary but despite controlled conditions, the project is teetering on failure with nine of them dying between November and December 2024.
While the exact cause remains unclear, the bodies of the blackbucks have been sent to Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) in Bhubaneswar for examination. Environmentalists, however, suspect that inadequate habitat conditions, poor management, and inexperienced staff could be the contributing factors.
On June 18, 2024, the Forest Department brought 10 rare Blackbucks, including six females and four males, from Nandankanan to Konark Balukhand forest in the first phase with the aim of increasing their population. They were kept in a special enclosure built on an 10-acre area near Khandia Nai under Kurujang panchayat, 3 km from the main road of Kakatpur model school.
After getting acclimatized, they were freed to roam in the sanctuary. In the second phase, the department brought 13 rare black deer, including seven males and six females, from Nandankanan on September 19, 2024. Finally, on September 27, 2024, two more were brought accounting for a total of 25 Blackbucks which were released in the forest and the department kept a close watch on them.
Even in the first week of January, three black deer, including two females and one male were released from the forests of Ganjam and accommodated in a second enclosure in the Chitreswari sanctuary in Konark.
On the deaths of nine blackbucks, experts say, the species could not adapt to the environment of the Balukhand Sanctuary which is not conducive. Besides, they alleged that inexperienced forest staff and management errors could also have led to the deaths. However, the forest department has attributed some of the deaths to pneumonia.
Environmentalist Saroj Kumar Jena said the project has met with roadblock. "If the Forest Department attributes the death to pneumonia, why did it not take action when one after the other started dying. This is sheer negligence of the department staff," he alleged adding, inexperienced staff failed to take care of the species. "Staff who do not have knowledge about black deer were given the responsibility to take care. The government should investigate the entire incident," he demanded.
Senior lawyer Ramesh Prasad Sinha says, Balukhand Sanctuary located close to the sea is difficult for Blackbucks to sustain. "Earlier, there used to be a creeper called Mendhi which was a fodder for the antelopes. But now since the plant is extinct, the deer do not get much food in the forest and also find it difficult to adapt," he added.