Blackbuck
A blackbuck in central India
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Bovidae
Genus:	Antilope
Species:	A. cervicapra
Binomial name
Antilope cervicapra (Linnaeus, 1758)
Subspecies
Antilope cervicapra centralis Antilope cervicapra cervicapra Antilope cervicapra rajputanae Antilope cervicapra rupicapra

The blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) is an antelope species native to the Indian subcontinent that has been classified as endangered by IUCN since 2003, as the blackbuck range has decreased sharply during the 20th century.^[1]

The blackbuck is the only living species of the genus Antilope.^[2] Its generic name 'Antilope' stems from the Latin word antalopus, a horned animal.^[3] The binomial 'cervicapra' is composed of the Latin words capra, she-goat and cervus, deer.^[4]

Characteristics[link]

Male and female blackbuck

Males and females have distinctive coloration. Male blackbucks are dark brown, black, and white and have long twisted horns, while females are fawn coloured with no horns. Blackbucks closely resemble Kobs.^[5] Body Length: 100–150 cm (3.3–4.9 ft)
Shoulder Height: 60–85 cm (2.0–2.79 ft)
Tail Length: 10–17 cm (3.9–6.7 in)
Weight: 25–35 kg (55–77 lb)^[6]

The horns of the blackbuck are ringed with 1 to 4 spiral turns, rarely more than 4 turns, and can be as long as 79 cm (31 in). A trophy blackbuck is greater than 46 cm (18 in). In the male, the upper body is black (dark brown), and the belly and eye rings are white. The light-brown female is usually hornless.^[5]

Albinism in blackbuck is rare and caused by the lack of the pigment melanin. The animal looks fully white due to the lack of melanin in their skin. Wildlife experts say that the biggest problem with these Albinos is that they are singled out by predators and hunted.

Distribution and habitat[link]

Antelope Jumping in Hyderabad

Blackbucks originally ranged over large tracts of India except in north-eastern India. Today the blackbuck population is confined to areas in Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka with a few small pockets in Central India.^[7][8]

In Nepal, the last surviving population of blackbuck is found in the Blackbuck Conservation Area south of the Bardia National Park. In 2008, the population was estimated to comprise 184 individuals.^[9]

There are four subspecies or geographic races

• Antilope cervicapra cervicapra
• Antilope cervicapra rajputanae
• Antilope cervicapra centralis
• Antilope cervicapra rupicapra

Ecology and behaviour[link]

Blackbuck fleeing at Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu, India

Blackbucks generally live on open plains in herds of 15 to 20 animals with one dominant male.

Blackbucks are very fast. Speeds of more than 80 km/h (50 mph) have been recorded.^[2]

Its chief predator was the now extinct Indian cheetah. It is now sometimes preyed upon by wolves and feral dogs.^{[citation needed]}

The diet of the blackbuck consists mostly of grasses, although it will eat pods, flowers and fruits to supplement its diet. The maximum life span recorded is 16 years and the average is 12 years.^{[citation needed]}

Threats[link]

Royalty hunting blackbuck with Asiatic Cheetah in South Gujarat, 1812

Akbar Hunting Black Buck-Akbarnama

The main threats to the species are poaching, predation, habitat destruction, overgrazing, diseases, inbreeding and sanctuary visitors.

Large herds once roamed freely on the plains of North India, where they thrived best. During the 18th, 19teenth and the first half of the 20th centuries, blackbuck was the most hunted wild animal all over India. Until India's independence, many princely states used to hunt this antelope and Indian gazelle, the Chinkara with specially trained pet Asiatic Cheetah. It used to be one of the most abundant hoofed mammal in the Indian subcontinent, so much so that as late as early 1900s, naturalist Richard Lydekker mentions herds of hundreds in his writings, though today only small herds are seen that too inside reserves, chief reason of their decline being excessive hunting.^[5] Till Indian independence in 1947, many princely states used to hunt the Indian Antelope and gazelle with cheetahs, which became extinct in 1960s. Though the royal sport had ended, growing cultivation saw it as crop-raider, further leading to its decline. Eventually, when in the 1970s several areas reported their extinction, it was enlisted as a protected animal under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.^[10] The blackbuck is hunted for its flesh and its skin. Although Indian law strictly prohibits the hunting of these endangered animals, there are still occasional incidents of poaching. The remaining populations are under threat from inbreeding. The natural habitat of the Blackbuck is being encroached upon by man's need for arable land and grazing ground for domesticated cattle. Exposure to domesticated cattle also renders the Blackbuck exposed to bovine diseases.

Its protected status has gained publicity through a widely reported court case, in which one of India's leading film stars, Salman Khan, was sentenced to five years imprisonment for killing two blackbucks and several endangered chinkaras. The arrest was prompted by intense protests from the Bishnoi ethnic group, which holds animals and trees sacred, and on whose land the hunting had taken place.

In another notorious incident of criminal poaching, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi also killed a blackbuck -[1], and then absconded as a fugitive. He finally surrendered only when the case was transferred from the criminal court to a Special Environment court, where he would face lighter sentencing.The Founder Chairman PFA Haryana Naresh Kadyan, whistle blower in this case also booked by Jhajjar Police for no reasons but he moved public interest litigation before High Court, Chandigarh and get transferred this case from Jhajjar to Faridabad.

Conservation[link]

Male and female in Tamil Nadu, India.

Like most wild animals, the blackbuck is in principle protected in India by the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. The blackbuck population is stable with 50,000 native individuals, plus an additional 43,000 descended from individuals introduced to Texas and Argentina. The species can be seen in zoos.

Blackbucks are protected in several protected areas of India and in Pakistan including:

• Abohar Wildlife Sanctuary, Punjab
• Bagdara Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh
• Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, Rajasthan
• Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar, Gujarat
• Tal Chhapar Sanctuary, Rajasthan
• Gir Forest National Park, Gujarat
• Guindy National Park, Tamil Nadu
• Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, Gujarat
• Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh
• Kirthar National Park, Pakistan (kept in enclosures for possible reintroduction)
• Lal Suhanra National Park, Pakistan (kept in enclosures for possible reintroduction)
• Jayamangali Blackbuck Reserve, Karnataka
• Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park, Andhra Pradesh
• Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu
• Ranebennur Blackbuck Sanctuary, Karnataka
• Ranthambhore National Park, Rajasthan
• Rehakuri Sanctuary, Maharashtra
• Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu
• Vallanad Blackbuck Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu^[11]

They are also found in an open area near Dindori, Madhya Pradesh at Karopani Black Buck Conservation Area, which is located approximately 15 km from Dindori.

In culture[link]

The blackbuck is the provincial animal of India and known as Krishna Mriga in Kannada. Also known as Krishna Jinka in Telugu, it has been declared as the state animal of Andhra Pradesh. Other local names for the species include Krishnasar in Bengali, Kala Hiran, Sasin, Iralai Maan, and Kalveet in Marathi.^[12] It is often simply called Indian antelope though this term might also be used for other Antilopinae from the region.

The skin of Krishna Mrigam plays an important role in Hinduism, and Brahmin boys are traditionally required to wear a strip of unleathered hide after performing Upanayanam.

According to the Hindu mythology Blackbuck or Krishna Jinka is considered as the vehicle (vahana) of the Moon-god Chandrama.

According to the Garuda Purana of Hindu Mythology, Krishna Jinka bestows prosperity in the areas where they live.

A blackbuck is featured in the 2010 film Prince of Persia.

References[link]

• Fact file of Blackbuck

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Antilope cervicapra

Wikispecies has information related to: Antilope cervicapra

• Images of Blackbuck

lez:Гарна

Andre Louis Hicks (July 5, 1970 – November 1, 2004), better known by his stage name Mac Dre, was an American rapper, and the initial founder of Thizz Entertainment, and the now defunct Romp Productions.^[1][2]

Biography[link]

Andre Hicks was born in Oakland, California and moved to Vallejo at a young age. In the early 1980s, Hicks began his rap career under the stage name "Mac Dre", and by the middle of the 1990s his music had gained widespread popularity throughout the Bay Area thanks in part to the independent music distributor: .^[1] He started robing pizza parlors in vallejo California at the age of 25

Mac Dre recorded his first three albums between 1989 and 1991.^[1] In 1992 Mac Dre was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery.^[1] At the time Hicks owned the record label, Romp Productions.^[1] His many references to "Romper Room" in his songs, bore a similarity the "Romper Room Gang", a group of robbers who had been victimizing banks and pizza parlors in Vallejo.^{[citation needed]} Following allegations by authorities about his membership in the gang, Hicks was sentenced to five years in prison.^[1][3] He refused a deal offered by law enforcement authorities that would have required him to inform on other gang members.

Romper Room Gang[link]

Growing up near the Crest, Dre was subject to the crime and poverty that comes with living in a low-income area that had been destroyed by crack cocaine. Dre’s inventive lyrics and ability to articulate life in the Crest gave him instant credibility with his underground audience. However, before he could reach that audience, Mac Dre needed money, which is where his gang, the Romper Room, came in.

According to Detective McGraw of the Vallejo Police Department (VPD), in a Black Entertainment Television (BET) documentary entitled American Gangster: Romper Room Gang, the Romper Room gang was a tightly knit band from the Crest. Two of these boys, Jamal Diggs and Simon “Kilo Curt” Curtis, would later mature into the main players in the Romper Room gang. Within the documentary’s narrative, Diggs states that the Romper Room gang’s name came from a kid’s show, and also due to the younger boys pulling pranks on the older “homeboys” from the gangs in the area. Soon, the gang’s criminal activities would evolve from drug dealing to bank robbery while Dre began to evolve from a neighborhood kid to an underground rap star.

According to Diggs, Dre’s first appearance as a rapper was at a local Boys Club. By the late 1980s, Dre had released his first song, “Too Hard For the Fucking Radio.” It was on a cassette tape, and was passed around until it became an “underground sensation.” Based on the success of “Too Hard For the Fucking Radio,” Dre released his first album, Young Black Brother, which coincided with the time the Romper Room gang began committing robberies, which police believed were financing Dre’s music.

During the early 1990s, the Romper Room gang needed a more lucrative way to earn money, and began doing “licks,” or robberies, of pizza parlors. According to Diggs, it was “easy money” if you picked the right pizza parlor, and robbed it at the right time. Diggs articulated that the robberies would be conducted in “takeover style” in which the robbers would quickly enter, secure any patrons and employees, demand money, and leave quickly. Diggs states that everything was always done in the same fashion, quick and methodical.

The VPD had received several leads that made them believe that those responsible were tied to the Crest, began surveilling the Crest, and following those who came out of it. Since there were only two ways in and out, it was a naturally “insulated” community, which made surveilling it easier in some aspects, and harder in others. According to Diggs, they all knew they were being watched, and they were being stopped constantly. Curtis claimed “they aren’t even calling us by our government names;” instead they referred to all three by the names they rapped under. Curtis also claimed that due to the “harassment” from the VPD, Dre wrote Punk Police, which taunted the VPD’s inability to arrest the criminals responsible for the robberies, and detailed the harassment Dre faced.

All three believed that they were still safe, since there was no way that law enforcement linked them to any specific crimes. That would change when the FBI and VPD found an informant. According to FBI Agent Michael Repucci, during the trial of Diggs, Dre, and Curtis, the FBI and VPD’s informant, Cory DeAndre Dunn, was used by the three men to steal getaway cars used in the robberies. The FBI rented a car for Dunn to claim that he had stolen it, and used a “trustee” at the jail to make the car appear as if it had been stolen by altering the steering column. Dunn was then given the car, and was supposed to give it to Dre, Diggs, and Curtis to use in a robbery in Fresno. According to Detective Becker of VPD, Dunn was “wired for sound,” and that during the drive from Vallejo to a hotel in Fresno, Diggs, Dre, and Curtis discussed the robbery, which was scheduled to take place March 26.

According to FBI Agent Lindsay Gentry, who worked the surveillance on March 26, there were three people in the car, Dre, Diggs, and Curtis, along with the informant. Gentry observed the car enter downtown Fresno where it made numerous circles, first going past the Bank of America, then the First Interstate Bank. According to Gentry, there were numerous vehicles and an airplane involved in the surveillance, which were necessary since Diggs, Curtis, and Dre engaged in counter surveillance techniques that consisted of rapid lane changes and erratic driving including excessive speeding, and slowing down unnecessarily.

According to Fresno Police Department Detective Frank Rose, once the suspect felt safe enough, they went to the bank intending to rob it. However, once they arrived at the Bank of America, Diggs observed a news van, just as he was exiting the vehicle to commit the robbery. Diggs, not sure what was taking place, immediately got back into the car and sped off. All three men were arrested shortly there after.^[4]

While awaiting trial, Dre spent a year in the Fresno County Jail, where he recorded, via telephone, most of Back In Da Hood. Dre also gave an interview via phone to 106 KMEL, a Bay Area based radio station, to inform people of the circumstances of his arrest. During the interview, Dre mentioned that Dunn was an FBI informant. KMEL broadcasted the entire interview, including the portion labeling Dunn a snitch. The next day the FBI showed up and spoke with the owners of the station, warning them of the consequences if the informant’s name was broadcast again.

During his trial, Dre explained his song, “Punk Police,” which was played during opening statements. According to Dre, his song was a way for him to express how he was being treated by the VPD, and the criminal justice system. Dre claimed that he was innocent in the song: “I’m not criminal minded, punk police. I’m a dope rhyme dealer, not a money stealer.” Dre went on to make fun of the VPD’s efforts, as they were “steady accusing, but these cases you losin,” which Dre said meant they were constantly filing charges but could prove nothing. Dre even went so far to call out a specific member of the VPD, “Ima dedicate this to Detective McGraw,” because Dre felt McGraw was the one pushing for the arrest of the Romper Room gang members.^[4]

Dre felt the police brought a case against him because they had to accuse someone and because he was black, rapping:

During questioning, Dre stated that there was a Romper Room gang; however, Dre claimed he was not a member. Dre stated that the Romper Room Gang came into existence when he was sixteen. When I first started hanging out in the Crest, the older generation, the older guys used to call the younger people in the Crest the Romper Room because they used to ride around happy-go-lucky. They named them after the kids TV show “The Romper Room.”

Dre also stated that there were requirements to join, two of which was growing up and living in the Crest, neither of which he met. While Dre claimed he was not a part of these robberies, law enforcement’s primary suspects were financing his music, and that information coupled with an informant’s testimony was enough to send him to prison. In the end, VPD Detective Nichelman stated that the task force believed there were forty-seven robberies that could be attributed to the Romper Room Gang. By 1992, the FBI and the Vallejo Gang Suppression Task Force had enough evidence to prosecute, and convicted Mac Dre of conspiracy to rob a bank, while Diggs was convicted of attempting to rob a bank. According to Diggs, Dre was convicted because Dre refused to “snitch.” After the convictions, the FBI called 106 KMEL, and dedicated a song to Dre, “I Fought the Law, and the Law Won.” Dre was sentenced to five years in a federal institution.^[5]

In prison, Hicks gained some notoriety by recording the lyrics to songs directly over the Fresno County Jail and Lompoc United States Penitentiary inmate telephone. His album, Young Black Brotha, was a result of such efforts, as well as guest appearances on fellow artists' songs, all while Hicks was still imprisoned. A later album, Back 'N Da Hood, was also made up of these prison-recorded songs.^[3] Upon his release in 1996, Mac Dre was a changed man. According to Diggs, instead of wanting to continue his hard-core gang lifestyle, Dre realized that the lifestyle he yearned for was one that included a non-stop party.

Post prison[link]

After his release from prison in 1997, he released Mac Dre Presents the Rompalation. In late 1997 and early 1998 he recorded his second album Stupid Doo Doo Dumb. It was released April 28, 1998. Following those albums, Hicks met with Executive Producer Bernard Gourley and recorded the album Rapper Gone Bad with production help from Tone Cappone, Lev Berlak, and Warren G. This started a new beginning for Mac Dre as he began to release albums steadily, building a huge catalog of music recorded at The Grill Studios in Oakland. In 2000. Mac Dre's audience was growing, and mainstream hip-hop stations were beginning to give Hicks' music more airtime. Hicks relocated to Sacramento, California in 2001, where he began a label, Thizz Entertainment.^[3]

He worked with well-known artists such as Keak da Sneak, E-40, B-Legit, Brotha Lynch Hung, Dubee,^[6] Mistah F.A.B.,^[7] Rydah J. Klyde,^[8] Richie Rich,^[9] Lil Ric^[10] San Quinn, Mars, Yukmouth, PSD, Andre Nickatina, Mac Mall, Smoov-E (aka Eli Meltzer), Messy Marv, and Too Short. He also provided an uncredited hook to the track "Gotta Survive" from Young Lay's Black 'N Dangerous album that featured 2Pac.^[11]

Death[link]

On November 1, 2004, Hicks was a passenger in a vehicle driving on a freeway in Kansas City, Missouri when a gunman shot at his vehicle. The driver crashed and was able to get to a phone to call 911 but Hicks was pronounced dead at the scene from a bullet wound. It was announced in December 2011 that a tipster had came forward with information regarding Mac Dre's death.^[12]

Discography[link]

Main article: Mac Dre discography

Solo albums[link]

• 1993: Young Black Brotha: The Album
• 1998: Stupid Doo Doo Dumb
• 1999: Rapper Gone Bad (Re-Issued in 2004)
• 2000: Heart of a Gangsta, Mind of a Hustla, Tongue of a Pimp (Re-Issued in 2003)
• 2001: Mac Dre's the Name
• 2001: It's Not What You Say... It's How You Say It
• 2002: Thizzelle Washington
• 2003: Al Boo Boo
• 2004: Ronald Dregan: Dreganomics
• 2004: The Genie of the Lamp
• 2004: The Game Is Thick, Vol. 2
• 2007: Pill Clinton
• 2008: Dre Day: July 5th 1970
• 2008: Mac Dre Presents Starters in the Game

Compilation albums & remix albums[link]

• 1996: Mac Dre Presents the Rompalation
• 1999: Mac Dre Presents the Rompalation Volume 2
• 2002: Mac Dre Presents the Rompalation Volume 3
• 2002: Do You Remember?
• 2006: 16 wit Dre (with DJ Backside)
• 2006: 16 wit Dre, Vol. 2 (with DJ Backside)
• 2006: Uncut
• 2007: Starters in the Game
• 2008: The Dre Area
• 2008: What Iz Thizz
• 2008: For the Streets (14 Unreleased Tracks)
• 2012: Da Treasure (EP with unreleased Tracks and Bonus DVD with new footage)

Extended plays & cassettes[link]

• 1989: Young Black Brotha
• 1991: California Livin'
• 1992: Back n da Hood

Best Of albums[link]

• 2002: The Best of Mac Dre
• 2004: The Best of Mac Dre II
• 2006: The Best of Mac Dre Vol. 3
• 2008: The Best of Mac Dre Vol. 4
• 2010: The Best of Mac Dre Vol. 5

Collaboration albums[link]

• 2001: Turf Buccaneers (with Cutthroat Committee)
• 2005: Money iz Motive (with Cutthroat Committee)
• 2005: Da U.S. Open (with Mac Mall)
• 2005: 15 Years Deep (with Da'unda'dogg)
• 2007: DreDiggs: Me & My Cuddie (with J-Diggs)
• 2007: Everybody Ain't Able (with Jay Tee)
• 2008: A Tale of Two Andres (with Andre Nickatina)
• 2009: Maccin' & Doggin' (with Da'unda'dogg)
• 2010: Tha Furly Ghost Vol. 2 (with Dubee)
• 2010: Tha Furly Ghost Vol. 3 (with Husalah)

References[link]

	California portal
	Biography portal
	Hip hop portal

Salman Khan
Salman Khan walking the ramp for Sanjana John
Born	Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (1965-12-27) 27 December 1965 (age 46) Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
Residence	Bandra, Mumbai
Other names	Sallu
Occupation	Film actor, television presenter and philanthropist
Years active	1988–present
Parents	Salim Khan Salma Khan
Relatives	Arbaaz Khan (brother) Sohail Khan (brother) Helen Richardson (step-mother)

Salman Khan (pronunciation : [səlˈmaːn ˈxaːn]; born Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan on 27 December 1965)^[1] is an Indian film actor. He has starred in more than 80 Hindi films.

Khan, who made his acting debut with a minor role in the drama Biwi Ho To Aisi (1988), had his first commercial success with the blockbuster Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), for which he won a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. He went on to star in some successful Hindi films of those times, such as Saajan (1991), Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994), Karan Arjun (1995), Judwaa (1997), Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya (1998) and Biwi No.1 (1999), having appeared in the highest earning films of seven separate years during his career.^[2]

In 1999, Khan won a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his extended appearance in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), and since then has starred in several critical and commercial successes, including Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Tere Naam (2003), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004), No Entry (2005), Partner (2007), Wanted (2009), Dabangg (2010), Ready (2011) and Bodyguard (2011), which has become the second highest-grossing Bollywood film of all-time. Khan has thus established himself as one of the most successful actors of Hindi cinema.^[3][4][5]