Even Faster Web Sites

Colophon

The animal on the cover of Even Faster Web Sites is a blackbuck antelope (Antilope cervicapra), an endangered species found mainly in India, also known as the Indian antelope. The V-shaped horns of the male blackbuck are ringed with several spiral twists and can be as long as 28 inches. The male’s upper body is black or dark brown, and its belly and the rings around its eyes are white. The female is light brown and does not normally have a horn. Blackbucks roam the plains in herds of 15 to 20, feeding on grasses, flowers, and fruits. On the open plain, the blackbuck is one of the fastest animals on earth, able to reach speeds of 45 mph and outrun most predators over long distances.

From the 18th through the early 20th centuries, the blackbuck antelope was the most hunted wild animal in India. In 1932, several species of Indian deer and antelope, including the blackbuck, were introduced to Texas for hunting and breeding. Today, these species live on private hunting ranches and roam the surrounding hill country. They are so plentiful—having multiplied to 19,000 throughout the state—that many have been shipped to India to repopulate the native habitat.

Now protected in India by the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, the blackbuck population is steady at 50,000 native animals, plus 43,000 descended from Texas and other populations. Although poaching is still a problem and humans have encroached on its land, its protected status gained attention in 2006 when Indian film star Salman ...