Berhampur, July 25: The endangered blackbuck, which is found in Ganjam district, is unsafe at Bhetanoi area.

A four-year-old female blackbuck was run over and killed by an unidentified vehicle near Bhetanoi Community Health Centre on Wednesday night. The forest officials seized the carcass of a blackbuck near Bhetanoi when the stray dogs were eating it on July 13.

A poacher killed another female blackbuck near Ghatakuri village on May 6. On May 27, another blackbuck was killed when two antelopes had a fierce fight. “If such incidents continue, blackbucks will soon become part of history,” said Amulya Kumar Upadhyay, president of the Ganjam District Blackbuck Protection Committee.

The forest officials took the carcass to the veterinary hospital at Aska where the postmortem was conducted on Thursday. The vehicle had crushed the head of the blackbuck, which was four feet in length and three feet in height, according to forest officials.

“Blackbucks generally cross a 3km stretch at Bhetanoi and the speed of all the vehicles there should be restricted. The only display board to make the people aware about the protection of these animals in front of the Community Health Centre is not visible as it is placed under a tree,” said Upadhyay. There is no streetlight on the 3km stretch near Bhetanoi. Several display flex boards from Bhetanoi to Aska Sugar Factory Square have been damaged. One can see only iron frames, but not the writings on flex.

A rescue centre worth Rs 12 lakh at Charimile Chak in Bhetanoi sanctioned by United Nations Development Programme is yet to start, as there is unavailability of land.