Blue Bull of India - (Nil gai)

   

Blue Bull is also known as  Blue Buck or Nil Gai,

The vernacular name "nilgai" (pronounced /ˈnɪlˌgaɪ/) comes from the fusion of the Sanskrit word  
nil ("blue") and gai ("cow"). 
The word was first recorded in use in 1882 Alternative origins could be from the Sanskrit gabhih ("female bovid"), or Persian gaw ("cow"). The nilgai has been referred to by a variety of names: neelghae, nilgau, nilgo, nylghau, and nylghai,constructions referring to other "blue" animals. They are also known as white-footed antelope.

 During Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's reign (1658–1707) of India, the nilgai was known by the name nilghor ("nil" for "blue" and "ghor" for "horse")

 the Indian Nilgai or Blue Bull or Blue Buck is the biggest Asian antelope with the scientific name boselaphus tragocamelus tragocanelus falling under the family Bovidae. It is the most commonly seen animal in central Northern India and pakistan. It looks m ore or less as an ox with below classification,




Nilgai is a Schedule – III animal, according to wildlife (Protection) act, 1972 and classified as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN.


Classification


Common Name –Nilgai / Blue bull
Local Name – Nilgai / Rojh / Roz / Rojra
Zoological Name – Boselaphus tragocamelus
Kingdom – Animalia
Phylum – Chordata
Class – Mammalia
Order – Cetartiodactyla
Family – Bovidae
Subfamily – Bovinae
Genus – Boselaphus

Body Structure

this antelope is covered with the yellow-brown or oragish colored skin for female and blue-gray or brownish-gray in males. Both have thin and medium legs. 
They have a long and narrow head with two small smooth horns and both making a  U shape. They have white spots on the cheeks, edges of lips and the ventral side of the body. they e long and heavy hair on the back part of neck and on the mid of throat.
They have small tail which moves to and fro when the bull is excited. the strong solders and thick neck helps them to intensity on slopping profile. Blue Bull (Nilgai) is 4-5 feet (120-150 cm ) tall and 6-6.6 feet (180-200 cm) long.
Tthe length of tail ranges from 40 to 45 cm. they weigh about 264 to 829 pound (120-240 kg.).the horns are 8-10 inch (20-25 cm)long.

Their life span can be 20-30 years. Blue Bull (Nil Gai) herds comprise about 10 animals: occasionally 20-100 number could be seen in group. A Blue Bull can survive for long days without water ,but they closely live near water holes. This antelope usually gather in order to deposit their droppings. 





Sometimes referred to as the "blue bull" (Nilgai), it is the largest of all Asian antelopes and is one of the most commonly seen wild animals in all of India.
 Nilgai stand 3 feet 7 inches to almost 5 feet tall at the shoulder (1.1 to 1.5 meters) and have a length of 5 foot 7 inches to almost 7 feet (1.7 to 2.1 meters). 
They weigh between 220 and 680 pounds (100 to 308 kilograms); this makes them quite the imposing creatures. 
Their somewhat peculiar shape make them very interesting to the eye. 
The nilgai are very robust animals with bodies similar to horses, but have much smaller heads and small horns (only on the males), leading many to compare them to a cross between a horse and a goat. 

Females are a lighter brown color and slightly less robustly built. Both males and females have a short bristly mane.