BERHAMPUR: A female blackbuck died after being trapped in barbed wire fencing in the Bhetanai area of Aska block, in Ganjam district, on Monday.
Upon receiving the information, president of the Blackbuck Conservation Society, Amulya Kumar Upadhyaya and his team reached the spot and rescued the blackbuck, but it succumbed to its injuries.
Blackbucks, which prefer open fields near human habitation, are frequently trapped in these illegal barricades, which also deprive them of grazing space. The barbed wire poses a serious threat to the endangered species, said Upadhyaya.
The issue of land encroachment has been reported to the Ganjam collector, he stated, adding, the blackbuck is a Schedule I animal under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and is listed as ‘near threatened’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Ganjam and Balukhand in Puri district are the only habitats of this species in Odisha.
RCCF SK Swain said Ganjam is home to about 7,800 blackbucks, and there is a proposal to translocate some of them to Balukhand to help increase the population there.
However the number of antelopes to be shifted not ascertained,but soon the proposal would be executed, the officer stated.