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Nilgai
"The Nilgai mainly eats grass, but also shrubs, flowers, seeds and leaves. They live mostly on open grasslands, with low trees and bushes."
Discover in real lifeFood
grass, leaves and branches
Lifetime
20 years
Weight
120 to 240 pounds
Number of youngsters
1 to 2 youngsters
Wear time
8 to 9 months
IUCN Status
safe
EEP?
no
Seasonal greens
Nilgai eat a lot of different plants. In a study in the wild, researchers saw nilgai eat from 123 species of trees, herbs, grasses and shrubs. The nilgai’s diet varies per season. During the monsoon season there is a lot of fresh grass and nilgai will eat almost nothing else. In the middle of the summer and in winter they eat more leaves, flowers and fruit.
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Theme area: A Matter of Taste
You can see the Alpine ibex in the ‘A Matter of Taste’ theme area. Here, you can delve into the world of food: how animals find food, hunt, or avoid being eaten.
Out of balance
In the past nilgai had to watch out for predators. Tigers, Asian lions, leopards and dholes used to be present in high numbers in the same areas as nilgai. Those predators have now disappeared from most places. That means that nilgai are being eaten by predators a lot less than before. As a result, there are now too many nilgai. They go to places where people live and eat the crops from the fields.