Three blackbucks were found dead with suspected gunshot injuries in Karnataka’s Kadur taluk, raising fresh concerns over wildlife poaching near protected areas, official sources said on Wednesday.

The bodies were discovered on private farmland close to the Basur Amrit Mahal Kaval, a blackbuck conservation reserve, on Tuesday. The carcasses included two females and one male, all believed to be under two years of age.

Following information from locals, Forest Department officials visited the spot and found evidence of gunfire, along with signs of vehicular movement nearby, sources said. A case has been registered and further investigation is under way to identify and nab those responsible.

The blackbuck, an antelope native mainly to India, is now locally extinct in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Once widespread, the species is today confined to small, scattered herds largely within protected areas.

In India, hunting of blackbuck is prohibited under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Until Independence in 1947, blackbuck and chinkara were hunted in several princely states using specially trained captive Asiatic cheetahs. By the 1970s, the species had become locally extinct in several regions due to sustained hunting and habitat loss.

Post-mortem has been conducted and samples have been collected for further examination, they said, amid suspicion by some locals and environmentalists about the involvement of poachers.