Overview
A medium-sized antelope. The back is hunched, the coat is long and shaggy, the legs are long and thin, the hoofs are elongated with widespread tips and greatly enlarged false hoofs, and the tail is tufted. Coloration is gray to brown, with white markings on cheeks and throat and an incomplete white facial chevron. Females are a darker color brown than their male counterparts. White stripes and spots may be present or absent, varying with the race and location. Only the males grow horns, which are long and smooth, carry two keels and form 1-1/2 to 2 spiral turns on mature specimens. Females are smaller, without horns, reddish-brown in color, and are more likely than males to have conspicuous white markings. The body is without stripes and without spots on the hindquarters.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammal
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Bovidae
- Genus
- Tragelaphus
- Species
- Tragelaphus spekei
Habitat
This species is Africa's only true amphibious antelope. The sitatunga is confined to swampy and marshy habitats. Here they occur in tall and dense vegetation as well as seasonal swamps, marshy clearings in forests, riparian thickets and mangrove swamps. They move along clearly marked tracks in their swampy habitat, often leading to reed beds or nearby riverine forests. In savannas, they are typically found in stands of papyrus and reeds (Phragmites species and Echinochloa pyramidalis).
Diet
Sitatunga are selective and mixed feeders. They feed mainly on new foliage, fresh grasses, sedges and browse. Preferred plants include: bullrushes (Typha), sedges (Cyperus), aquatic grasses (Vossia, Echinochloa, Pennisetum, Leersia, Acroceras and Panicum). They feed mostly in the wetland fringes. Diet preferences may vary seasonally in swamps where water levels change notably. Like the gerenuk, the sitatunga may stand on its hindlegs to reach higher branches of trees, or even use its horns to pull down the branches. A study recorded forty major species eaten by the animal, the majority of which were herbs. Sweet potato was the most preferred crop. The study predicted an increase in preference for crops due to seasonal food variations. Another study showed that annual floods affect the seasonal movement and diet of the species.
Behavior
Active mainly during the early hours after dawn, the last one or two hours before dusk, and at night, and spend a large part of this time feeding. Basically sedentary, they rest in flat areas and reed beds, especially during the hotter part of the day. They seldom leave their swamp habitat during the daytime. Though sitatunga commonly form pairs or remain solitary, larger groups have also been observed. A study recorded a herd of as many as nine individuals, comprising an adult male, four females and four juveniles. Loose groups may be formed but interaction among individuals is very low. Individuals generally associate only with their own sex.The sitatunga is not territorial. Males may engage in locking horns with other males and attacking vegetation using their horns. They may perform feinting by raising their forelegs with the hindlegs rooted in the ground as a threat display. Sitatunga interact with each other by first touching their noses, which may be followed by licking each other and nibbling. Alarmed animals may stand motionless, with the head held high and one leg raised. They are good swimmers, but limit themselves to water with profuse vegetation in order to escape crocodiles. In some cases, for instance when troubled by flies or pursued by predators, the sitatunga might fully submerge themselves in the water except for the nose and the eyes, which they keep slightly above the water surface. Due to its close association with water, the sitatunga are often described as aquatic antelopes, like the waterbuck. They often dry themselves under the sun after feeding in water.
Hunting
Expect to get very wet and muddy when sitatunga hunting in a swamp. As sitatungas use regular, tunnelled pathways through the tall reeds and papyrus of swamps, they are often hunted from blinds, rickety high platforms or boats. Sitatunga horns are similar to those of an nyala. If you actually get to see the horns before shooting, look for a deep 'bell' that extends past the ears on the outer curve and then flare out.
Conservation Status
Listed as Least Concern by IUCN, and under Appendix III (Ghana) of the Washington Convention (CITES). A population has been introduced in the Abuko Nature Reserve in Gambia. Statuses have not been assigned for the subspecies but the Appendix lll assesment from CITES is regarding the Forest sitatunga based on the location of this population. Human development of swamp land is this species main threat. Currently, income from regulated hunting gives a value to this species and its habitat. This is a species that has a much harder time having a value through photographic safaris due to the nature of its swampy habitat that is not ideal for non-hunting tourism. Areas where the population is stable are a product of low human population densities rather than active conservation.