Overview
This little antelope has a long, slender neck and legs. Ears are oval. The coat is rufous-brown with white under parts. The tail of the oribi is black. Situated close to the inner corners of the eyes are two large pre-orbital glands. Only the rams have short, straight horns of 3.15-7 inches (8-18 cm), which are ringed at the base. Their hindquarters slightly higher than their forequarters.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammal
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Bovidae
- Genus
- Ourebia
- Species
- Ourebia ourebi
Habitat
Found in grasslands and floodplains. Distribution- Throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
Diet
Primarily grazes but will browse when necessary.
Behavior
The oribi is diurnal (active mainly during the day), though some activity may also be observed at night. The animal rests in cover during rain events. Unlike all other small antelopes, oribi can exhibit three types of mating systems, depending on the habitat – polyandry, polygyny and polygynandry; polygyny tends to prevail as the female-to-male ratio increases. A study suggested that polygyny is preferred in areas of high predator risk, as it leads to formation of groups as an anti-predator measure. Small herds of up to four members are also common. They display a distinctive stotting action when alarmed, which entails vertical leaps with straight legs.
Hunting
The oribi prefers to graze when it is cool, so hunting oribi will probably be best during the early morning and late afternoon. Laying up during the heat of the day, when alarmed, the oribi will jump up and run away in a bouncing fashion. Being inquisitive, they often stop after a suitable distance and turn to look back or even walk back; there is your shot. When hunting oribi, you will not need a 'lot of gun'. Because this little antelope is another of the plains dwellers, shots may be taken at some distance. One of the flat-shooters will be the ticket here. Choose a caliber firing a bullet of at least 120 grains at a muzzle velocity in excess of 2600 fps. The 257 Roberts, 25-06 Remington, various 6.5mm's, and the 264 WinMag would all be excellent choices. The .270 and 7mm's will also work quite well. Consider a scope of 6X or better, as the shots can be quite long.
Conservation Status
Listed as Least Concern by IUCN. Populations outside parks and hunting reserves are consistently declining.