| |
|
|
| |
| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
|
| COMMON
NAME: |
sitatunga
antelope |
| KINGDOM: |
|
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Mammalia |
| ORDER: |
Artiodactyla |
| FAMILY: |
Bovidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Tragelaphus
(goat like deer) spekii (African explorer
Speke) |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| DESCRIPTION: |
Medium-sized
antelope of brownish color; males are darker, usually
gray to dark brown, while the females are more typically
reddish to chocolate brown; have white spots on
cheeks, thighs, throat, and between eyes; males
also have an erect spinal crest along the entire
length of the neck and back; only males possess
horns; both sexes have 6 to 8 white vertical stripes
which are important for camouflage |
| MALE |
|
| FEMALE |
|
|
| SIZE: |
|
| MALE |
88-125
cm (35-50 in) |
| FEMALE |
75-90
cm (30-36 in) |
|
| WEIGHT: |
|
| MALE |
70-124
kg (154-275 lbs) |
| FEMALE |
50-57
kg (110-124 lbs) |
|
| DIET: |
Swamp
vegetation; will occasionally eat fallen fruit and
chew the bark of trees and shrubs; also browse on
shrubs and trees, and graze on fresh grasses |
|
| GESTATION: |
About
7.5-8 months |
| ESTRAL
PERIOD |
|
| NURSING
DURATION |
|
|
| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
|
| MALE |
1.5-2
years |
| FEMALE |
1-1.5 years |
|
| LIFE
SPAN: |
Up
to 19 years observed in zoos; unknown in natural
environment |
| MALE |
|
| FEMALE |
|
|
| RANGE: |
Western
central Africa into parts of southern savanna |
|
| HABITAT: |
Most
aquatic of all antelope species; thickly vegetated,
deep swamps, wetlands, and forest areas near lake
and river systems |
|
|
|
| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Listed
as low risk |
| CITES |
Appendix
III |
| USFWS |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| 1. |
Sitatungas
are one of the most aquatic antelope species and
have many adaptations that allow them to spend time
in water. |
| |
|
| 2. |
Sitatunga coats are shaggy and several inches long.
Their thin hair is also coated with an oily, water-repellent
secretion. |
| |
|
| 3. |
Their hooves are often referred to as being banana-like
because they are elongated and will splay widely
apart to keep them from sinking into soft soil.
These hooves make them awkward and clumsy on dry
ground but allow them to stand and walk on floating
islands of vegetation in the swamp. |
| |
|
| 4. |
These antelope use regular, tunneled pathways through
tall reeds and papyrus to navigate through the swamps. |
| |
|
| 5. |
Sitatungas are excellent swimmers, able to paddle
slowly for several miles, often coming to rest on
dry mounds or floating vegetation. |
| |
|
| 6. |
Normally standing only half-submerged in the water,
sitatungas will dive deep enough to submerge their
entire body when escaping and hiding from predators,
leaving only their nose exposed at the surface. |
| |
|
| 7. |
Sitatunga males are much larger than females, and
only the males possess horns, which are twisted
and may grow up to 25 inches long. |
| |
|
| 8. |
Sitatungas will wait until dark to leave the swamp
and graze at the edge of nearby forests. |
| |
|
| 9. |
They are known to rear up in order to reach the
flowers of tall reeds and foliage; males will break
branches with their horns. |
| |
|
| 10. |
Sitatungas will form their own platforms of vegetation
in the water by repeatedly circling and trampling
on swamp reeds and grass. |
| |
|
| 11. |
Since the swamp provides an adequate supply of food
year-round, sitatungas have very small home ranges.
Although considered generally solitary, their small
home ranges incur frequent social interactions along
the edge of their territory, during which sitatunga
will call to one another with a variety of vocalizations,
including short barks, loud sneezes, and squeaks. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| As
grazers they are important to the habitats they
live in by keeping vegetation from becoming overgrown.
Lions, leopards, hyenas, and wild dogs all prey
upon sitatungas, but like most animals the biggest
threat to their populations are the actions of man.
Sought after for both their meat and skin, hunters
capture these semi-aquatic antelope by setting snares
along their well-traveled paths, or driving them
into open water where they are easily overtaken.
Since these animals are so dependent on dense vegetation,
habitat destruction due to swamp drainage is their
greatest threat. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| Estes,
Richard D. The Behavior Guide to African Mammals:
Including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores, Primates.
Berkeley: University of California Press. 1991.
|
| |
| Estes,
Richard D. The Safari Companion. Vermont:
Chelsea Green Publishing Company. 1993. |
| |
| Kingdom,
Jonathan. East African Mammals. Vol. IIIC.
Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. 1982. |
| |
| Nowak,
Ronald M. Walker's Mammals of the World Fifth
Ed. Vol. II. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
Press. 1991. |
| |
| Spinage,
C.A. The Natural History of Antelopes. New
York: Facts on File Publications. 1986. |
| |
| http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu |
|
|
|
