The
nilgai or blue bull (
Boselaphus tragocamelus) is the largest Asian
antelope and is
endemic to the Indian subcontinent. The sole member of the genus
Boselaphus, the species was
described and given its binomial name by German zoologist
Peter Simon Pallas in 1766. The nilgai stands 1–1.5 metres (3.3–4.9 ft) at the shoulder; males weigh 109–288 kilograms (240–635 lb), and the lighter females 100–213 kilograms (220–470 lb). A sturdy thin-legged antelope, the nilgai is characterised by a sloping back, a deep neck with a white patch on the throat, a short crest of hair along the neck terminating in a tuft, and white facial spots. A column of pendant coarse hair hangs from the dewlap ridge below the white patch.
Sexual dimorphism is prominent – while females and juveniles are orange to tawny, adult males have a bluish-grey
coat. Only males possess
horns, which are 15–24 centimetres (5.9–9.4 in) in length.
This picture shows a male nilgai in a potato field at Jamtra, in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp