AnimalsThe nilgai is the largest antelope of Asia. The name means "blue cow": adult males are blue-grey, while females and young are tawny. Nilgai are common on farmland in northern India.
Quick facts
- Scientific name
- Boselaphus tragocamelus
- Group
- Mammals
- Diet
- Herbivore (eats plants)
- Lives in
- India, Nepal and Pakistan
- Habitat
- Scrub, open forest and farmland
- A young one is called
- calf
- A group is called
- herd
- Conservation status
- Least Concern
How it is classified
Scientists sort living things into groups within groups. Reading down, each step is a smaller group, ending with the species itself.
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Chordata
- Class Mammalia
- Order Artiodactyla
- Family Bovidae
- Genus Boselaphus
- Species Boselaphus tragocamelus
Other members of the family Bovidae on this site: blackbuck, cow, gaur, goat, sheep, water buffalo, yak.
More distant relatives in the order Artiodactyla: Bactrian camel, chital, dromedary camel, giraffe, hippopotamus, moose, pig, reindeer, sambar, wild boar.
Classification follows the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Other reference works arrange some groups differently. How classification works.
Is it in danger?
The nilgai is listed as Least Concern. The species is widespread or numerous enough that it is not considered at risk of extinction at present.
This is the IUCN Red List category as recorded in Wikidata on 11 November 2026. The IUCN Red List itself is the authority and may carry a newer assessment. What the categories mean.