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Nilgai in Kuno Selected Savanna Most Strongly at Night

Wild male nilgai in grassland in Blackbuck National Park
Research · Ecology

A 2026 MSc dissertation from the Wildlife Institute of India examined why nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) may move into cropland around Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. The study combined nutritional ecology, habitat selection, movement patterns and herd dynamics to investigate factors that could help explain crop raiding.

Nutrition alone did not appear to explain the pattern. The dissertation reports that nutrition mattered in semi-arid areas dominated by invasive vegetation, but crops did not appear to offer a clear nutritional advantage where natural vegetation was available.

Habitat use showed a clearer pattern. Nilgai selected savanna, especially at night — meaning they used it more than expected from how much savanna was available — and used forest less than expected. At a finer scale they also avoided higher elevations, steeper slopes, hills and mixed forest. The dissertation also reports behaviour consistent with predator avoidance, although no actual attacks were observed.

Herd dynamics changed through the day and across the breeding season. The dissertation also identifies nilgai social structure as an area for further study. The dissertation therefore treats crop raiding as more than a question of food quality alone, with habitat use, movement and herd dynamics also part of the picture.

Sources and image credit

  1. Vyas, T., Kolipakam, V., Habib, B., & Bipin, C. M. (2026). Nutritional ecology, movement patterns and herd dynamics of Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) in Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh [MSc dissertation]. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.Wildlife Institute of India repository record. The item is dated 2026 and was accessioned on 29 July 2026. The abstract reports results on nutrition, savanna selection, movement, predator avoidance and herd dynamics in Kuno National Park.

Image: Bernard Gagnon — wild male nilgai in Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar, Gujarat, India, 23 November 2013. Source: Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0. Representative species and grassland-habitat image; not an animal from the Kuno study. · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

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