Nepal, Oct. 6 -- The population of blackbuck, one of Nepal's rare wild animals, is declining even inside the country's only blackbuck conservation area in Khairapur, Bardiya.

Thirty-four blackbuck have died, and 20 have gone missing from the conservation area over the past 15 months, with leopard attacks accounting for most of the deaths.

The fate of the 20 missing blackbuck remains unknown. Bhojraj Pantha, chief of the Blackbuck Conservation Area in Khairapur, said the animals may have been killed by leopards and carried away and eaten outside the conservation area.

Even if the blackbuck were killed outside the area, no remains or body parts have been found, Pantha said.

The latest count puts the blackbuck population at 210, down fro...