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Species in News: Four Horned Antelope
Context:
A rare four-horned antelope has been sighted for the first time in Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve (Sagar district).
Four-horned antelope:
- Four-horned antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis), or chousingha, is a small antelope endemic to India and Nepal.
- In India, they may range from the foothills of the Himalayas (north) to the Deccan Plateau in the (south).
- Typically found in moist areas like Pench, Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Sanjay Tiger Reserves, not in dry regions like Nauradehi.
- Distinguished by its four horns, unlike most other bovids with two horns.
- One pair of horns between the ears, another on the forehead; posterior horns are longer than anterior horns.
- Only males in this species grow horns.
- Slender with thin legs, short tail, yellowish brown to reddish coat.
- Diurnal and mostly solitary, may form loose groups of three to five with adults and sometimes juveniles.
- Feeds on grasses, herbs, shrubs, foliage, flowers, and fruits; needs frequent water, stays near water sources.
- Breeding behaviour: gestation lasts about eight months
- Habitat: areas with significant grass cover or heavy undergrowth, avoids human settlements.
- mostly found in open, dry, deciduous forests in hilly terrain.
- Threatened by habitat loss due to agricultural expansion and targeted by trophy hunters for its unusual four-horned skull.
- Classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN.
About Antelope:
- They are numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals belonging to the family Bovidae (order Artiodactyla).
- They account for over two-thirds of the approximately 135 species of hollow-horned ruminants (cud chewers) in the family Bovidae,
- which also includes cattle, sheep, and goats.
- Diverse in size: Males are generally larger than females.
- Colour: Various shades of grey and brown, some with light or dark markings.
- Sexual dimorphism found in some species:
- Distribution:
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- Majorly found in Africa, especially in savannah regions.
- Many species also in Asia:
- Blackbuck, chinkara, and nilgai in India.
- Saiga and Tibetan antelope in Central Asia and Russia.
- No species in Antarctica and Australasia.
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The Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve
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