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Farmer Survey Estimated Annual Nilgai Crop Destruction Near Junagadh at 63%

Male nilgai standing in an agricultural field in Madhya Pradesh, India
Conservation · Human–wildlife conflict

A study of nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) damage in agricultural land near Junagadh, Gujarat, India, estimated annual crop destruction at 63%. The researchers surveyed farmers across eight villages to examine which crops were most affected and how nilgai use of farmland changed through the year.

Groundnut was highlighted as particularly heavily damaged. The study also reports a preference for vegetable crops over staples such as rice, wheat, mustard and maize, showing that crop vulnerability differed substantially among the foods available in the agricultural landscape.

Nilgai were reported most frequently in agricultural fields during summer and winter. During the rainy season, they generally entered fields only after crops had reached a particular growth stage, indicating that crop development as well as season influenced when farmland became attractive.

The authors describe effective control options as largely unavailable in the study area. They present the seasonal and crop-specific patterns as a basis for developing better ways to reduce losses and conflict between farmers and nilgai around Junagadh.

Sources and image credit

  1. Suvalka, C., Nuwal, A., & Joshi, M. (2026). Evaluation of crop damage caused by blue bull in agriculture land near Junagadh.Primary research article published 3 September 2026. The accessible primary abstract reports farmer interviews across eight villages near Junagadh, particularly severe damage to groundnut, preference for vegetable crops over rice, wheat, mustard and maize, seasonal changes in agricultural-field use, and estimated annual crop destruction of 63%. The full PDF could not be independently accessed during this review, so claims not supported by the accessible primary abstract were removed.

Image: Male nilgai in a potato field at Jamtra, Madhya Pradesh, India, 24 November 2017. Photo: Charles J. Sharp / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0. Representative agricultural image; not an animal from the Junagadh study. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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Human–wildlife conflict

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