Major Mortality of Birds in a Vineyard in Karnataka

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While on a birding trip to the Jayamangali Blackbuck Conservation Reserve on February 27th, 2021, my friend, Chris Bowden, and I, witnessed a serious problem involving the killing of hundreds of birds on a nearby private property. A vineyard, owned by Krushnamruga Wineyard and Blackbuck Vineyards Pvt Ltd., was covered over with a fine synthetic net, presumably to protect the ripening grapes from bird depredation. Unfortunately, gaps at the sides of the net due to poor installation had allowed … Read More

Dogs wreak havoc at Maidenahalli Blackbuck Reserve, Karnataka

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It was my first trip to Jayamangali (formerly Maidenahalli) Blackbuck Conservation Reserve in 2008. Soon after we reached I got my first glimpse of blackbuck.

Later in the day while I was trying to photograph an Indian Courser, when I heard a pack of five stray dogs chasing a blackbuck exactly like what dhole or wilddog do in the jungle. They circled the animal and were attacking the antelope from all sides. Amidst all this commotion came another bigger pack … Read More

Blackbuck and Sheep

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This was photographed in a field near the Jayamangali Blackbuck Conservation Reserve (formerly Maidenahalli) in Tumkur district, Karnataka. These free ranging blackbuck share their habitat with sheep herders and a lot of sheep. The sheep herders use dogs to protect their livestock and these dogs sometimes prey on newborn blackbuck — another threat to the numerous ones the reserve and the blackbuck already faces.

See this post for more conservation threats to the Jayamangali Blackbuck.… Read More

Blackbuck Entangled by Barbwire, Jayamangali Blackbuck Conservation Reserve

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I have been visiting the Jayamangali Blackbuck Conservation Reserve (formerly Maidenahalli) over the past 3 years, and have observed the number of blackbuck drastically falling. There are several threats to the reserve:

  • I saw this unfortunate sight of a blackbuck with a wire entangled around its neck. It may have been a trap set to catch blackbuck or drive them away from farms. I have never seen this before — this is a new threat for the animals.
  • Private land
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