Overview
Coke's Hartebeest is a medium-sized hartebeest with a shorter head and relatively lower frontal pedicel. The general color is reddish tawny on the upper body, with hips and legs lighter. The tail is relatively long, with a crest of black hairs extending over three-fourths of its length. The horns (both sexes) are short, rather thick, and bracket-shaped, growing outward from the pedicel, then upward and backward.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammal
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Bovidae
- Genus
- Alcelaphus
- Species
- Alcelaphus buselaphus
Habitat
Hartebeest inhabit dry savannas and wooded grasslands, often moving into more arid places after rainfall. Distribution- Southern Kenya and northeastern Tanzania.
Diet
Primarily grazers, their diets consist mainly of grasses, with small amounts of Hyparrhenia grasses and legumes throughout the year.
Behavior
Hartebeest are gregarious animals, forming herds of 20 to 30 individuals. They are very alert and non-aggressive.
Hunting
Mainly spot and stalk methods. Once alerted they may run for miles. They can be wary of vehicles which can be difficult when trying to make a stalk after spotting them from a safari vehicle. If crop fields are in the hunting area they are many times found in and around agriculture.
Conservation Status
Listed as Least Concern by IUCN.