Eland
The cowlike eland is the world's largest antelope
and is the animal most often depicted in the early rock art of East
Africa. Even today, it still holds an important place in the mythology
of some southern African tribes.
Physical Characteristic
Elands belong to the same group as kudus, nyalas,
bongos and bushbucks. Most of these antelopes have stripes and spots
on the body, a white chevron on the forehead and a short mane on the
neck and shoulder that continues along the spine. The males have twisted
horns. The eland's horns are thick and tightly spiraled, growing up
to 25 inches in females and to 50 inches in males.
The two types of eland in Africa include the giant eland (Taurotragus
derbianus) of western and Central Africa and the smaller Cape eland
(Taurotragus oryx) in East Africa. The giant eland, now in grave
danger of extinction, can weigh up to a ton. The Cape eland is not
as heavy but is massive and bovine in appearance. In spite of their
size, elands are extraordinary jumpers, leaping up to 8 feet from
a near standing start.
A tuft of black hair grows out of the eland's prominent dewlap,
the loose fold of skin that hangs down from the neck. Usually fawn
or tawny-colored, elands turn to gray or bluish-gray as they get
older; the oldest animals become almost black. Most animals have
several light-colored lateral stripes starting behind the shoulders,
and various black markings occur on the legs and other parts of
the body. Adult males have a mat or brush of brown hair on the forehead
that grows longer and denser as an animal ages. It also becomes
smellier, as the males like to rub it in mud and urine.
Habitat
Elands are found in grassland, mountain, subdesert,
acacia savanna and miombo woodland areas. They distance themselves
from deserts, forests and swamps.
Behavior
The social organization of elands is somewhat
different from that of other antelopes. Usually older, dominant
males are solitary, while other adult males form small groups of
three or four. Adult females associate in much larger groups, whose
size and membership vary from day to day. Several hundred eland
sometimes gather, and males may spend a few hours or even weeks
with a female group before becoming solitary again.
Female elands move around a great deal in all seasons, especially
in dry season, traveling over a 500-square-mile area. Males usually
are more sedentary and prefer to stay year round in a small home
range where food and water is available. They do not establish territories.
Stronger, more dominant males have first access to estrus females.
As they walk, they make a loud "clicking" sound that can
be heard more than a mile away. Once thought to come from their
joints or hooves, researchers now say it is made by the tendons
in the front legs. A male that clicks doesn't have to be seen, for
he asserts his dominance by sound. Younger males will even leave
an area to avoid confrontations with him.
Diet
Although the eland is often considered a plains-dwelling
animal, the major part of its diet is not grass. The animals are
browsers, feeding in areas where shrubs and bushes provide the leaves
they prefer and using their horns to bring twigs and branches into
reach. They also consume certain fruits, large bulbs and tuberous
roots.
Caring for the Young
Eland young are born year round. Females with
young calves come together in nursery groups, where the young spend
a lot of time grooming and licking each other and developing bonds
even stronger than those of a calf with its mother. After the young
are weaned at about 3 months, the mothers rejoin the female herds
and the calves remain together in the nursery group. With year-round
births, some adult females are always present in a nursery group
and they defend all juveniles present, not just their own. Juveniles
usually remain in the nursery groups until they are almost 2 years
old, when they begin to wander off and join other loose groupings
of their own sex.
Predators
Elands mostly fear humans as predators; however,
they are also preyed upon by spotted hyenas and lions.
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