Big Bull Blue Bull

Thanks lovely people for a wonderful response, such overwhelming responses motivates me to travel to different places to search for something unique which I can deliver to you on blog platter. So let’s get into this week’s topic, from the last couple of week we have seen some wonderful birds so let me give you something different, I mean time to know about an animal. I thought a lot had few choices to make but I decided Blue Bull because it is my observation that not many people are even aware that such animal is in existence hence I decided to introduce Blue Bull which is also known as Nilgai, interesting isn’t it? Bull and Gai dual name, so let us get into the next section to read more.

The Blue Cow

The nilgai or blue bull literally meaning "blue cow"; Boselaphus tragocamelus is the largest Asian antelope and is endemic to the Indian subcontinent. See how you can identify them, a sturdy thin-legged antelope, the nilgai is characterized by a sloping back, a deep neck with a white patch on the throat, a short crest of hair along the neck terminating in a tuft, and white facial spots. A large animal found in forest and grassland gives lovely moments to create a frame. It is not always you will find nilgai with blue color, so do not be surprised if you see tawny/orange color nilgai because females and juveniles are orange to tawny and not blue like a male blue bull.

After color identification, let us see where we can find them and what they eat etc. Nilgai prefer areas with short bushes and scattered trees in scrub forests and grassy plains. They are common in agricultural lands but hardly occur in the dense forest. Major populations occur in the Terai lowlands in the foothills of the Himalayas (northern India).

Nilgai are herbivores, they prefer grasses and herbs; woody plants are commonly eaten in the dry tropical forests of India. Studies suggest they may be browsers or mixed feeders. The nilgai can tolerate interference by livestock and degradation of vegetation in its habitat better than deer, possibly because they can reach high branches and do not depend on surface vegetation. Diets generally suffice in protein and fats.[49] The protein content of the nilgai should be at least seven percent. The nilgai can survive for long periods without water and do not drink regularly even in summer. Now I am sure you will be able to identify this large size animal in wild, do capture beautiful pictures with such a lovely animal. now let us see some facts as well.

The Fantastic facts

Nilgai is a large animal. It usually has 4 to 5 feet in height, 6 to 6.6 feet in length, weighing up to 530 pounds

Only males have horns. They are conical in shape, slightly curved forwards. In adult nilgai, horns can reach 5.9 to 9.4 inches in length

Nilgai can survive long periods without water

They are diurnal (active during the day) animal that usually lives in small herds, composed of animals of only one sex

Mating usually takes place between June and October. Females reach sexual maturity at the age of two and males one year later

Males will mate with more than one female during mating season. They do not form harems but rather wander around looking for females that are ready for mating

Nilgai lives 12 to 13 years in the wild and up to 21 years in captivity.

One of the sad facts of Nilgai is that it is not liked by many because Nilgai has been considered a pest in several north Indian states, as they ravage crop fields and cause considerable damage. In Bihar, authorities have classified the nilgai as vermin

Rather declaring Nilgai as Vermin hope Authorities takes some reasonable step to secure crops as well as this lovely creature