In February, the third blackbuck census was carried out in Abohar Wildlife Sanctuary in Punjab. The first two censuses were held in 1978 and 1986. Says chief wildlife warden of Punjab, Gurmit Singh, "The state government sanctioned the Rs 25,000 we had applied for, so we decided to carry it out now."

Volunteers from the National Cadet Corps and the National Service Scheme and students from the local DAV college, besides officials of the state I s wildlife department, took part in the count. The students were asked to list not only blackbuck, but also nilgai, stray dogs and cattle.

So far, only preliminary estimates are ready. Abohar wildlife inspector Gurcharan Singh Seligal expects the number of blackbuck to increase from 3,500 in 1986 to about 4,500.