Texas Location: Brackettville Ranch
Country of Origin: India, Pakistan, Nepal
Name Variations: Blue Bull, Niglai, Nilgau
The Nilgai Antelope is native to countries of the Himalayan Mountains and most common in India, Pakistan and Nepal. They were first introduced to Texas in the 1920s as a zoo animal, later added to private animal collections on ranches in the 30s and 40s, but escaped and have flourished with the estimated population being between 15,000 and 18,000 animals today.
The Nilgai Antelope, which is also nicknamed the Blue Bull, can get to be big. In their native land the bulls rarely get over 550 pounds but in Texas, where there is an abundance of food and the food takes a lot less work to get to, there have been reports of bulls well over 800 pounds. Their horns commonly grow to 8 inches. Horns 9 inches and over are considered a trophy to hunters. There have been Nilgai harvested in Texas with 11-inch horns. This would be an exceptional trophy from a really big bull.
The Nilgai Antelope is a challenge to hunt. This is an animal, which is genetically built for the mountains. They have a very muscular front to their body and are designed for running up mountains and jumping from rock to rock. They have incredible sense of smell and eyesight. Hunters need to be very stealthy to harvest these magnificent creatures. Good marksmanship is also important when hunting the Nilgai Antelope because the shot will most likely be taken from some distance.
Their meat taste just like venison so the finer cuts should be prepared just like venison. The rest can be ground and made into sausage and pepperoni, which is very popular.
We have an excellent population of Blue Bulls on our ranch. Our hunting guests, while tracking other game, have seen outstanding trophy bulls. Please call us for availability and more information on this awesome hunting opportunity.
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