THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A nilgai at the city zoo gave birth to twins on Thursday afternoon. With the addition of two new members, the niglai or ‘blue bull’ population in the zoo has risen to seven.
“While one offspring is a male, the other is a female. One of the twin is frail. This is not the first time that twinning has happened,” Thiruvananthapuram Zoo veterinarian Dr Jacob Alexander said.
It was in 2014 that five niglais - four females and one male - were brought from Delhi zoo. Last year, a new enclosure was constructed for them. It is the first delivery after the nilgai were shifted to the new enclosure, zoo officials said.
Nilgai has a gestation period of eight to nine months. The first set of nilgai that was brought to the zoo years ago had delivered triplets. But, usually only one of them survives.
Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) is the largest Asian antelope found in the Indian subcontinent. It is the sole member of the genus ‘Boselaphus’. German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas first described the species and gave its binomial name in 1766.
Standing at a height of one to 1.5 metres, nilgai males weigh 109 to 288 kilograms and the females weigh 100 to 213 kilograms. The thin-legged antelope is noted for its sloping back, a white patch on the throat and a thick neck.A short crest of hair along the neck terminates in a tuft. White facial spots is its other main characteristics. Sexual dimorphism is prominent in nilgai which means there is a distinct difference in size or appearance between the sexes.
While females and juveniles are orange to orange-brown in colour, adult males have a bluish grey coat. Only the male nilgai has horns which is up to 24 cm long.