They quickly rushed to the spot in the Abohar Wildlife Sanctuary (AWS) in a bid to save the blackbuck. Chased by dogs, the blackbuck had rammed into barbed wires, which enclose agricultural fields to avoid crop damage from stray cattle. For the blackbuck, Punjab’s State animal, it’s a fight for existence at the AWS in the Fazilka district. It faces a severe threat from stray cattle, attacks by stray dogs, and habitat fragmentation due to change in land use and cropping patterns over the past few years. Stray cattle will destroy my standing crop if I don’t take precautionary measures.

Source: The Hindu February 17, 2019 15:56 UTC