Blackbuck fawn deaths in Khairapur highlight conservation challenges

In the conservation area in Bardiya of western Nepal, many blackbucks have fallen prey to jackals, leopards and hyenas. Conservationists underscore a need for regular patrolling.

One day some two weeks ago, two blackbuck fawns were rescued from a marauding jackal in the Khairapura-based blackbuck conservation area in Bardiya, western Nepal. Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), or Krishnasar as it is locally known, is an antelope native to India and Nepal. The fawns that had gotten a new lease on life were taken to the rescue centre. But the trouble had not ended for one of the rescued fawns; a few days ago, it had one of its eyes pecked away by a crow. On Friday, it died.