A Valentine Blessing
by Cassie Peterson, Animal Care Specialist

His mother died, we don't know why, but luckily, he laid down in the middle of a staff road, where he was found - very hungry, but otherwise fine. Based on his size, MaryJo, the neonate expert, determined he was at least a week old, and therefore did not need any extra colostrum (aka 'first milk' that provides newborns with antibodies to ward off sickness, and is only absorbable in about the first 24 hrs of life anyway). We fed him a milk substitute from a bottle several times a day for 3 months, and then he was weaned onto solid foods - pellets and alfalfa.

At about 4 months, he was castrated, as hand-reared males usually are, to prevent testosterone levels from increasing as they normally would as males reach sexual maturity. This is because high testosterone levels in this situation can mean aggression towards humans, and since he doesn't have the natural fear of us that normal animals have, this could be very dangerous! Along with this behavior change, low testosterone levels also affected his appearance. Valentino will never turn black or have spiraled horns that other male blackbucks have. Instead, he will remain a tan color, like the females or juvenile males and his horns grow in thinner and straighter. We have 3 other hand-reared castrated blackbuck males in the front pasture, which look similar to Valentino, but they all have slightly different horns.

Even with his being hand-raised, today he is just one of the herd. Being hand reared for the first 4 months of his life did not seem to affect his ability to properly socialize with his own kind. When he was being hand reared though, I took him for walks in order to see other antelope, so he'd be familiar with 4 legged animals, like himself. He still seems to recognize me - he'll come up to me looking for food, but once he realizes I don't have any, he doesn't stay around for very long! Raising Valentino was sometimes a challenge, but a wonderful experience I'll never forget. It is very rewarding to see an animal, not only given a second chance at life, but also to later thrive amongst his own kind.