One day some two weeks ago, two blackbuck fawns were rescued from a marauding jackal in the Khairapura-based blackbuck conservation area in Bardiya, western Nepal. Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), or Krishnasar as it is locally known, is an antelope native to India and Nepal. The fawns that had gotten a new lease on life were taken to the rescue centre. But the trouble had not ended for one of the rescued fawns; a few days ago, it had one of its eyes pecked away by a crow. On Friday, it died.

The staff at the centre are now carefully watching over the remaining fawn. When they are alone, the fawns are attacked by jackals, hyenas, leopards and stray dogs. Protecting them from predators is a challenging task, says Aashish Tripathi, a ranger at the blackbuck conservation area.

Female blackbucks generally live in groups to protect their fawns, Tripathi said. “And when they stray away from the group, they fall easy prey to other animals.”

According to him, the birthing season for blackbucks is generally from mid-February to mid-April. Jackals, leopards, hyenas and stray dogs enter the conservation area during this time to attack vulnerable fawns, say conservationists.

A week ago, the staff at the conservation area attempted to rescue a pregnant blackbuck while it was being taken away by a jackal. Unfortunately, the blackbuck died. Veterinarians conducted surgery and successfully took out two fawns from the mother’s womb but the fawns did not survive beyond three days.

“We have been doing our best to protect the mother blackbucks and their fawns,” Tripathi said. “The staff try to smoke out jackals from their hiding holes but it still is not enough because we cannot keep track of jackals who enter the conservation area.”

According to the blackbuck conservation area, a total of 32 blackbuck fawns were born in the past month. The number could rise as some blackbucks are pregnant. So far, 26 fawns have been killed by jackals inside the conservation area. As many as 11 male blackbucks were killed by leopards within the span of a week in August last year.

There are currently 192 blackbucks in the conservation area. Last year’s count put the blackbuck population at 190 in the conservation area.

The blackbuck population in the conservation area stood at 300 in 2014. Their number has declined over the years due to various challenges. Frequent attack by jackals, leopards and hyenas is the main challenge for blackbuck conservation.

Blackbuck is listed as a near-threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Efforts for blackbuck conservation began in Nepal in 1975 when a small herd was spotted in Khairapura in Bardiya district. On March 16, 2009, the government officially declared the area as ‘Blackbuck Conservation Area’, which spreads over 16.95 square kilometres of land in Gulariya Municipality Ward 2.

Blackbuck conservation has not been effective due to a lack of regular patrolling of the conservation area, says Tanka Adhikari, a conservationist and ward chief of Gulariya Ward 2. “We must work towards the conservation of blackbucks since their number is dwindling,” he says. “We should build a strong fence to keep jackals, hyenas and stray dogs from entering the conservation area.”