Studying Antelope around Ashoka University

Analysing Nilgai across an agricultural landscape..

Hey friends,

Greetings from Ashoka University, India!

That, my friends, is a nilgai. It is an antelope that lives across India (not in the south, extreme north and northeast), found in forests, grasslands, fields and semi-urban spaces.

My first nilgai encounter had me struck dumb for 10 minutes straight.

I was walking through the fields around Ashoka University (where I’m currently studying). It is located 30km from Delhi, as large swathes of land are hard to come by in the national capital. I was far from home, and my assignments were just piling up. I NEEDED a change of space.

Strolling through the fields, my eyes fell upon two pointy, phone-sized ears stuck above the maize plants. Quizzical, I wade in. I reached within 10 meters of those ears when they got up. Attached to them was a lanky form with 4 long legs and a short tail hanging behind.

The nilgai wasted no time staring at me. It promptly strutted further into the field, followed by 6 others I didn’t see earlier. They stopped to look back about 50 meters away before disappearing behind a bund.

There is no nilgai where I’m from, and so my fascination knew no limits. I’ve been going in search of them since then. I combined it with my running training. 4-5 times a week, I’d jog 11 km through the fields, keeping my eyes and ears peeled for these antelope.

For the past year, every time I saw nilgai, I’d record their location along with the time of the sighting, herd size and composition and any other noteworthy observations. The goal is to build a body of entries over my time here so that I can understand how these antelopes use this agricultural landscape. This week marks one year since I decided to take this on.

For the locals, nilgai is vermin, eating up crops and trampling over those they don’t. Their attitude towards these animals is very different compared to mine. Maybe I should talk to the villagers and understand their relationship with this antelope. I follow a scientific approach to my study, consulting my professors for guidance.

I hope that after 4 years, I can publish my findings on my website. Let’s see how this progresses!

This Week’s Links

Wildlife in and around Ashoka University, Haryana: I’ve compiled all the wildlife found in and around Ashoka University. The list is continually updated whenever we find a new species.

Why everyone should start an email newsletter: Ever wondered why I write The Owlet in the first place? This video is your answer (not all of it though, I do have a different take on some things)…

A horrific graphic-film of the bombing of Hiroshima

Postcard

A heron in the fields…

I took this shot a year ago but then lost it in my archives. I kicked myself, thinking I hadn’t transferred my images before clearing the SD card.

Then yesterday, it resurfaced while I was combing through an obscure corner of my hard drive. It’s funny how these things work.

Favourite Quote

It is the absence of meaning in what one lives, at the moment one lives it, which multiplies the possibilities of writing. - Annie Ernaux

Have a creative, energetic and inspiring week!

If you’re new, welcome to The Owlet! My name is Ishan Shanavas, and I am an Artist, Photographer, Writer and Student of the Natural World.

Here I talk about my work, along with curating the most interesting ideas on the internet. I confine them to topics like Nature, Culture, Photography, and Art but often fall prey to other genres.

I would greatly appreciate it if you shared my newsletter and work with your friends. It really helps me out :)