The Hindu : Two pairs of blackbuck released into Guindy National Park

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 16, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

Two pairs of blackbuck released into Guindy National Park

By P.Oppili

CHENNAI Aug. 15. Two pairs of captive bred blackbuck (one of the endangered deer species) from the Children's Park, Guindy, have been released into its natural habitat _ Guindy National Park (GNP) by the wildlife authorities.

According to the Wildlife Warden, Chennai, K.S.S.V.P.Reddy, the blackbuck population in the Children's Park, Guindy, was on the rise. A total of 17 animals were housed in the park, including four adults, a good number of females and fawns.

The increase in the population of ungulates in the enclosure led to infighting among the males and the space inside was not sufficient to house all the animals. With a view to overcoming these problems, the pair was released into the wild on July 22, Mr. Reddy said.

While the females managed to join their cousins in the GNP immediately, the males did not join those in the wild immediately. They walked on the road leading to the GNP and during night hours, stayed near the enclosures till sunrise. Moreover, they were afraid of other males in the wild. But, recently the males also tended to join the wild ones, said biologist, G.Kamaraj.

Gradually the pair, which was accustomed to feeding by animalkeepers, had started grazing on their own, which came as a surprise for the authorities, said forester Jabez.

However, when there were four males inside the enclosure, fighting among males was a common sight, which attracted a large number of visitors. Huge crowd, particularly the children, used to wait in front the enclosure to see the male blackbuck in a combat posture, said the park Range Officer, S. Ramadoss.

Globally, releasing captive bred animals into the wild was not a success story, as the prey species like the deer are exposed to the dangers of predatory animals. But, with the absence of a predator in the GNP, the authorities are hopeful that the antelope pair will successfully survive and be spared of the law of the jungle _ `Survival of the fittest'.

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Two pairs of blackbuck released into Guindy National Park