BHOPAL: Diwali, the festival of lights, has brought a glimmer of helicopter-powered hope to farmers, holding the promise of freeing them, particularly in the western parts of Madhya Pradesh, of the menace of blackbucks and nilgais, which have been devouring standing crops for long.
The helicopter-driven boma technique has been initiated by the forest department to capture herds of blackbucks and later nilgais and then shift them to wildlife sanctuaries and tiger reserves of MP, which is the only state to have cheetahs, tigers and leopards.
The start was made on Monday in Kalapipal area of western MP’s Shajapur district, which houses large populations of blackbucks and nilgais that have become a major destroyer of farmers’ standing crops.
On Day One of the exercise, as many as 45 blackbucks were successfully captured and shifted to the safe zone of the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, which is located 275 km away.
The Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, which is located in Mandsaur and Neemuch districts of western MP, is the second home to African cheetahs in India as well as a habitat of more than 35 leopards.
Confirming the start of the exercise, MP’s additional principal chief conservator of forests (APCCF-Wildlife) L Krishnamoorthy told TNIE on Tuesday, “The helicopter-driven boma technique to capture the key antelope species began on Monday with the successful capture and shifting of 45 blackbucks. Though the exercise wasn’t undertaken on Tuesday, it will be resumed on Wednesday, under the guidance of a 15-strong team of experts from South Africa, who over the years have mastered this art in their nation. This preliminary exercise will be ten days long in Shajapur district. Based on its success, it will be replicated in other parts of the state covering more antelope species, like the nilgais.”
The helicopter boma technique in South Africa is a method of mass animal capture where a helicopter herds animals into a large, funnel-shaped enclosure made of plastic or netting. As the animals move through the funnel, plastic curtains are closed behind them, forcing them into a solid-sided crush and up a ramp into a loading bay for transport. This technique is used for capturing large numbers of animals with minimal stress and contact, but it requires careful planning regarding wind direction.
According to informed sources, the department plans to shift around 400 blackbucks and 100 nilgais to the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, using the helicopter boma technique.
Shajapur is among the districts of MP where farmers have been suffering loss of crops due to blackbucks and nilgais. The district reportedly houses around 20,000 blackbucks and more than 3000 nilgais.
The Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, which became home to African cheetahs in April 2025, currently houses three South African cheetahs and more than 35 leopards.
“The blackbucks have been freed in another part of the sanctuary, which is free from cheetahs or leopards. The aim is to first stabilize the population of blackbucks and nilgais there,” a source connected to the developments said.
While the helicopter-driven exercise is being used for the first time anywhere in India for blackbuck capture, back in 2016-17 it was used to capture more than 25 nilgais in western MP’s Mandsaur district and relocate them to the Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary.
