Bhubaneswar: Blackbucks will be released in the Chandaka forest on city outskirts this year.

The forest and environment department has decided to release blackbucks on experimental basis into the wild to increase their numbers in the state.

"After assessment, we have found out the environment in the forest is conducive for blackbucks," principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) Sandeep Tripathi said. According to the last census in 2014-15, there were 3,806 blackbucks in the Balipadar-Bhetnoi area of Ganjam district. Their number currently stands at 4,080.

"More blackbucks will be relocated to Chandaka if the experiment is successful," Tripathi said. With the blackbuck population increasingly, the authorities are planning to introduce them in various forests to further increase their population. Blackbucks were widely spread in Balasore and Puri districts but scarcely seen in Balangir, Kalahandi and in coastal sand dunes of Bhitarkanika and Kujang. Until the 1960s, the blackbuck population hovererd around 1,300.

Sources said some would also be shifted to the Puri-Konark Balukhand Wildlife Sanctuary.

Tripathi said relocation of the blackbucks would be a challenge. "Blackbucks mostly roam around farm lands and not inside forests. So, the co-operation of local people is essential," he said.

Indian Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) is one of the three species of antelopes found in Odisha.