Meet the blackbuck
A true antelope: the blackbuck is the only living member of its genus and is found only in the Indian subcontinent.
Black means mature: only adult males turn black, and it can take several years for a dominant male to reach his full dark coat.
- Species
- Blackbuck, Antilope cervicapra
- Found in
- The Indian subcontinent only
- Protection
- Schedule I, India's highest legal protection
- Diet
- Grasses, especially soft sedges
- Fawn females: females and young males are a warm golden brown with white undersides, and females usually have no horns.
- The horns: a male's horns rise in a tight spiral with several turns, longer and more twisted on older males.
- Built for open land: blackbuck are animals of flat grassland and open farmland, where speed and sharp eyes keep them safe.
- Fully protected: the blackbuck is listed in Schedule I of India's Wildlife Protection Act, the same category as the tiger.
A flat land under a big sky
Where it is: between Ratangarh and Sujangarh in Churu district, beside the small town of Chhapar that gives it its name.
A shallow basin: the sanctuary sits in a saline depression where, in good monsoons, rainwater once spread across the ground and brought a flush of grass.
- Small but rich: about 719 hectares, a little over seven square kilometres, with more land protected around it over the years.
- Mothiya: after the rains the ground fills with mothiya, a soft sedge the blackbuck love, and the herds are at their finest.
- A working countryside: camels, cattle, sheep and goats graze outside the fences, and village ponds draw birds of their own.
- More on the place: our Tal Chhapar guide covers the sanctuary in full.
From a royal shoot to a sanctuary
A royal reserve: the Maharajas of Bikaner kept Tal Chhapar for shooting, famous for blackbuck and for wintering demoiselle cranes.
Protection: the last crane shoot was held in 1962, and the land was protected through the 1960s, first as a reserve and then as a sanctuary.
- Once
- A hunting reserve of the Bikaner maharajas
- Last crane shoot
- 1962
- Sanctuary
- Records give 1966 or 1971
- Today
- An Important Bird Area and Key Biodiversity Area
- Decline: by the late twentieth century the grassland was overgrazed and the herd had shrunk.
- Revival: forest staff brought it back, among them the range officer Surat Singh Poonia, remembered for restoring the sanctuary by the late 1990s.
- Recognition: Tal Chhapar is now listed as an Important Bird Area and a Key Biodiversity Area.
How many blackbuck, honestly
A few thousand: the sanctuary and the land around it support a herd of a few thousand animals.
Why counts differ: blackbuck move in and out of the sanctuary to the fields around it, so a count depends on where and when it is made.
- What you will see: on a good morning, hundreds at once, grazing, resting and running in loose groups across the grass.
- A healthy sign: fawns with their mothers after the monsoon, and young males gathering in bachelor groups at the edges.
- Across India: blackbuck have recovered in many places thanks to protection and to communities like the Bishnoi, though habitat loss remains the great threat.
Territories, sparring and the rut
Small territories: in the breeding season, dominant males hold small patches of ground and try to keep females within them.
The display: a displaying male raises his muzzle and lays his horns back along his body, showing off the white of his throat.
- Sparring: rival males lock horns and push, sometimes for minutes, until one gives way. Serious injuries are rare.
- Dung piles: males mark their territories with dung middens. Your naturalist will point them out on the tracks.
- Bachelor herds: young and defeated males gather in groups at the edges, waiting for their turn.
- When: breeding behaviour can be seen at more than one time of year, with strong activity after the monsoon. Ask your naturalist what the herd is doing this season.
The leap that seems to stop time
Why they leap: the high, bounding run is a warning to the herd and a signal to a predator that this animal is fit and not worth chasing.
Then speed: after a few leaps, blackbuck settle into a fast, flat run that can outdistance most predators over open ground.
- Seen best: when a herd crosses a track or a harrier swoops low. Never cause it for a photograph.
- Photographing it: use a fast shutter, keep both eyes open and follow the lead animal. The rest follow the same line.
- Our rule: we never ask a driver to push towards a herd to make it run. A chased herd wastes energy it needs.
Fawns and the season of the young
One at a time: a female usually gives birth to a single fawn after a pregnancy of around six months.
Hiding at first: newborn fawns lie flat and still in the grass while their mothers graze nearby. If you find one alone, leave it.
- Joining the herd: within weeks the fawns follow their mothers and play in small groups at the edge of the herd.
- Vulnerable: village dogs and jackals take fawns, one of the biggest threats around the sanctuary.
- Best season: late August to October, when the grassland is green and the young are active.
Harriers, eagles and the great migration
Harriers: Montagu's and marsh harriers pass through in large numbers from late September, with pallid and hen harriers too. Many roost together in the grass.
The roost at dusk: watch the harriers drop out of the sky one after another to settle for the night.
- Eagles: tawny eagles all year, with steppe and eastern imperial eagles in winter, often hunting spiny-tailed lizards.
- Falcons and vultures: laggar falcons, lesser kestrels on passage and cinereous vultures in winter.
- Cranes and geese: flocks of demoiselle cranes and bar-headed geese graze the grassland. Read about the cranes of Khichan.
- For birders: our birding page and birding journey build whole days around these birds.
Foxes, cats and the life of the grass
Desert fox: small, pale and big-eared, often seen near its dens at dawn and dusk.
Desert cat: a spotted wild cat of the Thar, shy and seen mostly at night.
- Jackals and jungle cats: they hunt the edges of the grassland and the fields beyond.
- Spiny-tailed lizards: they live in burrows in the hard ground and dive underground when an eagle passes over.
- Chinkara: the small Indian gazelle is occasionally seen in the scrub.
- Desert hares: they sit very still in the grass until you almost drive past them.
What the grassland is up against
Prosopis: a thorny shrub introduced from the Americas has invaded large parts of the grassland. Where it grows, grass and blackbuck disappear.
Lost water: the blocking of channels that once brought rainwater across the basin has changed the grass.
- Invasive shrub
- Prosopis juliflora, spreading fast
- Water
- Old channels blocked, fewer flooded seasons
- Dogs
- Village dogs chase and kill fawns
- Roads
- Traffic around the sanctuary edges
- Salt pans and grazing: salt works on old sanctuary land and heavy grazing add pressure.
- Dogs: free-ranging dogs chase and kill fawns and stress the herds.
- A warning: the great Indian bustard was recorded here as recently as 2009 and has since gone. Read about the great Indian bustard.
The blackbuck and the Bishnoi
A faith of protection: the Bishnoi community, founded by Guru Jambheshwar in 1485, forbids killing animals and cutting green trees.
Fields without fear: in Bishnoi villages south of Jodhpur, blackbuck graze within sight of houses and barely lift their heads.
- Standing up to poachers: Bishnoi villagers are known for confronting hunters, including in a widely reported case of 1998.
- Visit them: our Bishnoi villages morning and our piece on Bishnoi conservation tell the story.
- Two experiences: Tal Chhapar shows blackbuck in a wild grassland. Bishnoi country shows them living beside people. Both are worth seeing.
When to come
Late August to October, the green season
- After the rains: the grassland turns green, the mothiya grows thick and the blackbuck are in fine condition.
- Migration begins: rollers pass through in August and September, and the harrier passage builds from late September.
November to February, the golden season
- Winter visitors: eagles, vultures, cranes, geese and huge flocks of larks.
- Cold, clear dawns: sometimes close to freezing, with beautiful light for photographs. See our Rajasthan in January guide.
March to July, the hot season
- Fierce heat: temperatures can approach 48 degrees in summer. The blackbuck remain, but we don't recommend it for most travellers.
How to watch the herds well
Be at the gate at first light: the herds are most active in the first two hours, and the light is softest.
Come back late: in the migration season the harriers come in to roost around sunset, and the last light on the grass is unforgettable.
- Hire a local naturalist: they know the fox dens, the eagle trees and where the males are sparring.
- Stop and switch off: drive slowly on permitted tracks, stop often and turn the engine off.
- Muted colours: greens, browns and khaki, and a warm layer for winter dawns.
- Check the rules: fees and access rules change, so we confirm them before your visit.
A morning at Tal Chhapar, hour by hour
Before dawn: the drive
- Leave early: from Churu about an hour and a half before sunrise, from Bikaner a little over two hours.
- Packed tea: a flask of masala chai and blankets for the cold winter road.
First light: the herds
- At the gate: enter as the light rises, when the bucks are grazing in the open.
- Slow tracks: stop often, engine off, and let the herds settle around you.
Early morning: birds and foxes
- Raptors: eagles on the scattered trees, harriers quartering the grass.
- Foxes: a desert fox at the mouth of its den, if you are lucky and quiet.
Mid-morning: breakfast and onward
- Breakfast: at a simple place nearby or a picnic outside the sanctuary.
- Carry on: to Bikaner's palaces, Shekhawati's painted towns or back to Churu for the havelis.
Photographing blackbuck
Low light, low angle: the sun at dawn and dusk lights the bucks from the side and turns the grass copper. Shoot from a window at eye level.
Lens: 400 millimetres and up for portraits and birds, with a beanbag on the window frame.
- Go wide: a herd running under a huge sky, or a lone buck on the horizon, often makes the strongest picture.
- Mind the haze: by mid-morning heat shimmer softens every distant shot. Rest at midday, as the animals do.
- Dust: change lenses inside the vehicle and keep a blower brush handy. Our photography tips cover the rest.
What most visitors miss
The quiet: switch the engine off for ten minutes and listen to the larks, the wind and the hooves.
The small males: young bucks halfway between brown and black, sparring clumsily at the herd's edge.
- The lizards: watch a spiny-tailed lizard's burrow and you'll see it bask, feed and bolt when an eagle passes.
- The village ponds: outside the sanctuary, ponds near Chhapar are often full of waders, ducks and cranes.
- The evening roost: in autumn, the harriers coming in at sunset are as memorable as any blackbuck.
Where to stay and how to get there
Churu: stay in a restored merchant's mansion in Churu, see the havelis in the afternoon and leave for the grassland in the dark.
- From Churu
- About 85 kilometres
- From Bikaner
- About 130 kilometres, a little over two hours
- From Jaipur
- About 210 kilometres, four to five hours
- Nearest airport
- Jaipur
- Bikaner: the region's finest palace hotels, Laxmi Niwas Palace and Narendra Bhawan, are a little over two hours away.
- Shekhawati: from Mandawa it is roughly two and a half to three hours, so Tal Chhapar fits between the painted towns and Bikaner.
- Simple stays nearby: keen birders can sleep in a basic lodge near Chhapar for both dawn and dusk. We'll suggest one that suits you.
Who Tal Chhapar suits
Birders and photographers: open views, raptors in numbers and wonderful light.
- Families: children love the leaping bucks and the foxes, and the drives are short and flexible.
- Repeat visitors: anyone who has seen the forts and wants a quiet, wild morning somewhere few travellers go.
- Not for: those who want big cats, luxury lodges on the doorstep or a forest. For tigers, see Ranthambore.
Before you go
Warm layers: winter dawns in an open vehicle are bitterly cold, and by ten you'll want a hat and sunscreen.
Binoculars for everyone: the herds are close, but the birds and foxes are not.
- Water and snacks: facilities are basic, so we pack everything you need.
- Rubbish: carry it all out. Food waste draws the dogs that kill fawns.
- Patience: the best moments, a fight or a leap or a fox, come to those who wait.