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The blackbuck (Antelope cervicapra) population in Ganjam district, the only habitat of the most elegant member of the antelope family in Odisha, has increased by 498 over a year and 2,412 in the last five years, according to the latest census of the species.
The number of blackbuck came to 9,287 in the census conducted by wildlife organisations and the state forest department across the district on January 29, 2026. The count results were officially declared on February 3.
Their number was estimated at 8,789 in 2025, 7,273 in 2023, 7,358 in 2021 and 6,875 in 2020, official sources said.
Of the total population in the latest estimation, there are 5,832 females, 2,104 males and 1,351 young, the census report revealed.
The blackbuck is a Schedule-1 animal under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (amended in 1992) and is considered as ‘vulnerable’ according to the Red Data Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It is included under Appendix 111 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).
While the highest number of the animals was sighted in Ghumusar South division (5,972), the lowest number of 459 was counted in Ghumusar North division. As many as 2,856 blackbuck were found in the Berhampur forest division, the survey data revealed.
Around 500 people, including wildlife experts, activists, academicians and college students, were organised into 123 units. These spread out across all three forest divisions and conducted a head count of the blackbuck. This time, drone-based aerial monitoring, particularly Artificial Intelligence-assisted counting, was held in select areas of Ghumusar south division during the census on an experimental basis, said regional chief conservator of forest (RCCF) Berhampur, Vishwanath Neelannavar.
The software for counting and identification of the species was developed by the RCCF Berhampur’s “forest innovation cell”, in association with Manoj Ukamanal, associate professor, mechanical department in KIIT University, Bhubaneswar. “As of now, the software has shown results almost similar to those reached through manual counting,” said Neelannavar.
Improvement of habitats, protection given by local people and forest staff are some of the reasons for the increase in the blackbuck population of the district every year, said Vipasha Parul, divisional forest officer (DFO) of Ghumusar South. In the division itself, their number has increased by 1,858 in the last five years, added Pradeep Kumar Behera, assistant conservator of forest (ACF) of Ghumusar South.
“The people of the region believe the sighting of blackbuck in paddy fields is a harbinger of luck,” said president of the Blackbuck Protection Committee (Ganjam) Amulya Upadhyaya. Despite the animals destroying standing crops like green gram and black gram during the Rabi season, the farmers do not harm blackbuck, which occupy an important place in Hinduism, he said. The animals roam freely due to the protection provided by the local people, he said.
Like the Bishnoi community in western Rajasthan and the Vala Rajputs of Saurashtra, the people of Ganjam district in Odisha have protected the animal for several years, said Jitshatru Mohanty, a former senior forest officer.
Blackbuck used to be sighted in the Balukhand-Konark Wildlife Sanctuary in Puri district till 2012-13. But they have since vanished from the area. The forest department has taken initiatives to restore their lost habitat in the sanctuary besides trans-locating individuals there.
Himansu Sekhar Mohanty, DFO Ghumusar North division, said the department has already shifted four blackbuck — three females and one male — from Ganjam to Puri in the last year. They plan to shift another two pairs of blackbuck to Puri in the future.