Four new Nilgai calves bring hope, but shortage of females limits breeding

Four new Nilgai calves have been born at Gazipur Safari Park over the past month, taking the population of the antelope to 13. But a shortage of females is limiting prospects for faster population growth.

Only two of the 13 Nilgais are females, leaving the park with a significant gender imbalance, said Tareq Rahman, assistant conservator of forests.

"We have very few females. There are only two. If we had five or six females, the population would have increased proportionately," he told Daily Waadaa.

The sex of the four new calves has not yet been determined. Officials said they would need more time to identify them.

The shortage of females also creates competition among the males, particularly during the breeding season.

"The males fight among themselves, especially during the breeding season, because all of them want to claim the females. They try to establish their dominance," Rahman said.

The Forest Department has no other known Nilgais elsewhere in Bangladesh from which to bring additional females, he said.

One possible solution could be to keep some males in separate enclosures to reduce competition. But the population is unlikely to grow significantly until the number of females increases.

"If two or three of these four calves turn out to be females, we might get more calves next year or the year after. But if all four are males, we may have to continue with just the existing two females," Rahman said.

Bangladesh was once home to Nilgais, but the species disappeared from the country's forests. Two animals were rescued from the wild in 2018 and 2019, one from Thakurgaon and the other from Naogaon. They were initially kept at Ramsagar National Park in Dinajpur before being moved to the Gazipur safari park.

The first Nilgai calves were born at the park in August 2021. Five were born in three batches by early 2024, when the population stood at nine.

Wildlife experts had previously said successful breeding in captivity could offer hope of eventually reintroducing the species into Bangladesh's forests. However, they warned that habitat loss and human threats would make any release difficult.

Despite the breeding challenges, Rahman said the recent births were encouraging.

"The fact that we are getting calves regularly is a positive development. Perhaps the environment is favourable for them, which is why they are reproducing," he said.