Page 102 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - South Africa

100  WILD SOUTH AFRIC A

Antelopes Family

A constant of South Africa’s wild places, antelopes thrive in Antelopes split into two
groups. The eland, greater
every habitat from rainforest to desert. They range from the kudu, nyala and bushbuck
tiny blue duiker, which weighs about the same as a domestic belong to the tribe Tragel-
cat, to the cattle-sized eland. Otherwise similar in appearance aphini, more closely related
to deer, antelopes sport permanent horns rather than seasonal to buffaloes than to other
antelopes, which are split
antlers. The family has its very own photogenic “Big Five”: across six bovid subfamilies.
eland, kudu, gemsbok, sable antelope and roan antelope.
Common Eland
Species: Taurotragus oryx • Best Seen: uKhahlamba-
Drakensberg, Pilanesberg, Kgalagadi
LC
Also known as the Cape eland, Africa’s largest
antelope has a maximum shoulder height
of 1.8 m (6 ft) and can weigh almost 950 kg
(2,094 lb). The most overtly cow-like of the
spiral-horned antelope, it is light tan in colour,
with faint white vertical stripes, small unisex
horns and a hefty dewlap. It moves in groups of
about 10 animals, but larger parties are also seen.
The eland was revered by the San – hunter-
gatherers who once inhab ited South Africa –
and is the animal most common ly depicted in
their rock paintings. The common eland – both sexes have spiral horns

The male greater kudu is Gemsbok (Common Oryx)
unique in having horns
that go into a full Species: Oryx gazella • Best Seen: Kgalagadi, Augrabies
double spiral. Falls, Pilanesberg
LC
This handsome dry-country antelope has
a shoulder height of 1.2 m (4 ft), a cleanly marked
grey, black and white coat, a long black tail and
long straight horns that sweep back from the
skull at the same angle as the forehead and
muzzle. Seen in nomadic herds of up to
10 animals, it can survive without water for
almost as long as a camel, obtaining all its
needs from the plants it eats. It is naturally
An adult male kudu sporting well-developed horns restricted to the more arid northwest of
South Africa, but has also been introduced
Greater Kudu to the Pilanesberg National Park and other
Species: Tragelaphus strepsiceros • Best Seen: Kruger, reserves outside that range.
Pilanesberg, Mapungubwe
LC
The most magnificent of African antelopes, the
greater kudu is second in stature only to the
eland. It stands up to 1.5 m (5 ft) high and
has a greyish coat with up to 10 vertical white
stripes on each side. Males have massive double-
spiralled horns. Small family parties are seen in
dense woodland along dry-country watercourses.
An accomplished jumper, the greater kudu can
clear fences twice its shoulder height. It is the
most common large antelope in unprotected
parts of South Africa. The gemsbok, with its long straight horns
IUCN status VU: Vulnerable; LC: Least Concern

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