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Nilgai
The blue bull — the largest antelope in Asia, a horse-like animal whose old males turn a striking slate blue-grey.
How to spot it
The largest antelope in Asia, built more like a horse than a deer, with a sloping back and a stiff dark mane. Old bulls turn a slaty blue-grey and carry short, sharp horns; cows and young are tawny-brown and usually hornless.
Where it lives
The open scrub, grassland and farmland of the Indian subcontinent, from the plains of Rajasthan and Gujarat across the north and centre. It avoids deep forest, keeping to open country near cultivation.
What it eats
A herbivore that both grazes grass and browses leaves, buds and fruit, and readily feeds on crops at the field edge — which brings it into conflict with farmers.
Behaviour & life
Active by day, it lives in small loose herds, with old bulls often alone. It is wary and can run hard when alarmed, and males settle contests by dropping to their knees and pushing horn-to-horn.
In India
Classed as Least Concern and common — one of the few large wild animals that has thrived alongside farming. Its name means "blue cow", and that link to the cow has long shielded it in many Hindu communities, though crop damage now makes it a management problem in places.
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