Nilgai

Fascinating facts about the Nilgai

• Standing as tall as a two-story house's doorway, the nilgai reaches 100-150 cm at the shoulder and can tip the scales at up to 308 kg, dwarfing most Asian antelopes. Males typically weigh 109-288 kg while females are lighter at 100-213 kg, and the species can grow to a head-and-body length of 1.7-2.1 m.
• Nilgai densities swing wildly: in India's Indravati National Park they dip to just 0.23-0.34 animals per km², yet in Ranthambhore National Park they soar to 6.6-11.36 per km², with Keoladeo National Park holding about 7 per km². the total population was pegged at roughly one million in 2001. thriving where scrub and grass mix, but thinning out where dense forest.
• Female nilgai reach sexual maturity by two years, while males only become active at four to five years old. In Texas, females develop ovaries by two years and may give birth a year later, whereas males show active testes by three years and mature fully by four.
• Between mid-July 2024 and mid-July 2025, Madhesh province recorded 14,821 wildlife-conflict cases, with 134 human deaths and 457 animal fatalities, many caused by nilgai raiding crops. A 2016 study linked 303 nilgai in 16 Rupandehi villages to $68,600 in annual farm losses. These figures expose how the antelope's appetite for maize, wheat and vegetables directly threatens food security for some of the world's most vulnerable farming families.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia
• Mongabay

At a glance

About the Nilgai

In the golden light of dawn, the nilgai, a creature of unassuming elegance, steps silently across the Indian grasslands, its large, dark eyes watchful and alert as it navigates the delicate balance of its ecosystem. With a gentle, loping gait, it moves through the tall grasses, its blue-grey coat blending seamlessly into the shadows, allowing it to roam undisturbed in its native habitat. As it pauses to graze, its quiet strength and resilience are a testament to its remarkable adaptability, a true marvel of evolution in this enchanting and fragile world.

More mammals to discover

Browse Feravox