Overview
The most distinct of the defassa waterbuck group. Overall color is light reddish to grayish brown, with darker flanks that are sharply demarcated from the white rump patch. There is much less white on the face than in the East African defassa waterbuck.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammal
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Bovidae
- Genus
- Kobus
- Species
- Kobus ellipsiprymnus
Habitat
Woodlands, forests, and grasslands with nearby water sources. Distribution- Central African Republic, southern Chad, and from central and northern Cameroon westward to Senegal.
Diet
Their habitat furnishes them with a year-round source of food. Mainly grazers, they consume types of coarse grass seldom eaten by other grazing animals and occasionally browse leaves from certain trees and bushes.
Behavior
Although males do compete for and hold territories, the waterbuck is generally a quiet, sedentary animal. Like some other antelopes, the male does not mark his territory with dung or urine, as his presence and smell are apparently sufficient. He tries to retain females that wander into his area, but is seldom successful for long, since the females have large home ranges and, in herds of 5 to 25, are constantly crossing in and out of males territories. Waterbucks do not migrate or move great distances, so territories are usually held year round.
Hunting
Good glass will is essential, as they can be spotted from quite some distance on the open grasslands and flood plains where they are most often found. While having excellent eyesight and hearing, the waterbuck is not the hardest African plains game to approach.
Conservation Status
Listed as Near Threatened by IUCN.