Nilgai Mating : How Long Excitement Have Nilgai, #junglesafary

Nilgai Mating : How Long Excitement Have Nilgai, #junglesafary

Nilgai means “blue cow” in Hindi and describes the lovely bluish-gray color of the male’s coat. It’s not only the biggest antelope found in Asia, it’s one of the oldest species of antelope in the world. Scientists believe that this big-bodied animal with its slender legs showed up as long as 5 million years ago and hasn’t changed much since. Read on for more information about the nilgai.

The scientific name of the nilgai is Boselaphus tragocamelus. Boselaphus comes from the Latin word for “cow” which is bos and the Greek word for “deer” which is elaphos. Tragocamelus combines the Greek words for “billy goat” and “camel,” which are tragos and kamelois respectively. There are no subspecies of the nilgai, and it is only found naturally on the Indian subcontinent. The name nilgai is Hindi for “blue cow.”

The biggest of the Asian antelopes, the nilgai can be as much as 4.9 feet high at the shoulder, 6.58 feet long and weigh up to 634 pounds. Males are larger than females and stand out because of their blue-gray coat. The coat of the females is tawny. In both males and females the coat is short, rather thin and doesn’t offer much protection from the cold. Even nilgai found in Texas can freeze to death from an unexpected cold snap.

Four Amazing Nilgai Facts

1. They are so plentiful that they’re listed as pests in some parts of India.
2. The nilgai is the only member of the Boselaphus genus.
3. This Asian animal was brought to Texas ranches in the 1920s and 1930s for game hunting, but some escaped. There is now a feral population of nilgai in Texas.
4. The nilgai’s healthy numbers are at least partly due to the fact that practitioners of the Hindu religion consider the antelope sacred and won’t kill or eat it.

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Nilgai Mating : How Long Excitement Have Nilgai, #junglesafary