Overview
The Swayne hartebeest is sometimes confused with the tora hartebeest, but should not be, as its coloration is very different and its distribution range well separated. The Swayne is somewhat smaller than the tora, but has a similar shorter head and lower frontal pedicel. It appears black at a distance, but is actually a deep chocolate brown above, finely speckled with white due to the white tips of the hairs. The shoulders and lower half of tail are black. The hips and legs are lighter than the upperparts. The face is black except for a chocolate band below the eyes. Shoulders, upper legs and lower half of tail are black. The horns (both sexes) are bracket-shaped and slender, growing outward from the pedicel, then upward and backward. They are similar to those of the tora hartebeest, but slightly shorter and very slightly heavier.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammal
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Bovidae
- Genus
- Alcelaphus
- Species
- Alcelaphus buselaphus
Habitat
Open plains and scrublands. Distribution- Once common throughout the Rift Valley in Ethiopia, and eastward to northwestern Somalia, where it was extremely numerous, but exterminated in most areas before 1930. Now reduced to about 200 individuals in several isolated populations in the southern Rift Valley in Ethiopia.
Diet
Primarily a grazer.
Behavior
Hartebeests have an excellent sense of hearing and smell, although their sense of sight is poor. When alarmed, hartebeests elude confusion before running, by which they can reach a maximum speed of 34 mph (55 kmh). Their evasion tactic is to run in a zigzag pattern, making it difficult for predators to catch them.
Conservation Status
Listed as Endangered by IUCN, as with a very small isolated range, this animal faces significant threats.