Dama Gazelle

Dama Gazelle

Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Artiodactyla
Family : Bovidae
Genus : Nanger
Species : N. dama

Height : 40in (1m)
Weight : Up to 180lbs (81kg)

IUCN Status : Critically Endangered

The Dama Gazelle is both the world's largest, and the world's rarest gazelle. They once had a range that spread across all of northern Africa, but now they are restricted to only a few isolated pockets in Niger, Mali, and Chad.

Dama Gazelle

Dama Gazelles live either solitary lifestyles, or in very small groups that number up to around 15 individuals. They feed off of scrubs and acacia trees, and are able to stand on their hind legs in order to feed off higher leaves. They are can get most of their water needs right from the food they eat.

A number of factors have contributed to the population decline of the Dama Gazelle. They are illegally hunted, they have lost their habitat, they have been horribly affected by drought, and they are forced to compete for food with grazing livestock. There are only a few hundred left in the wild, though recently some have also been released into enclosures and reserves in Morocco, Tunisia, and Senegal.

Dama Gazelle

Dama Gazelle

Phylum : Chordata

Class : Mammalia

Order : Artiodactyla

Family : Bovidae

Genus : Nanger

Species : N. dama



Height : 40in (1m)

Weight : Up to 180lbs (81kg)



IUCN Status : Critically Endangered



The Dama Gazelle is both the world's largest, and the world's rarest gazelle. They once had a range that spread across all of northern Africa, but now they are restricted to only a few isolated pockets in Niger, Mali, and Chad.

Dama Gazelle

Dama Gazelles live either solitary lifestyles, or in very small groups that number up to around 15 individuals. They feed off of scrubs and acacia trees, and are able to stand on their hind legs in order to feed off higher leaves. They are can get most of their water needs right from the food they eat.



A number of factors have contributed to the population decline of the Dama Gazelle. They are illegally hunted, they have lost their habitat, they have been horribly affected by drought, and they are forced to compete for food with grazing livestock. There are only a few hundred left in the wild, though recently some have also been released into enclosures and reserves in Morocco, Tunisia, and Senegal.

Bluebuck

18th Century Illustration of a Bluebuck

Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Artiodactyla
Family : Bovidae
Genus : Hippotragus
Species : leucophaeus

Height : 4ft (1.2m)
Weight : 350lbs (160kg)

Status : Extinct since around 1800

The Bluebuck is a notable species because it was the first large African mammal to go extinct in historic times. What is so interesting is that they were already quite rare in their native South Africa when Europeans first described them in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is believed that their decline began as far back as 2,000 years ago, when the climate began to shift and when the first human farmers came to the region with sheep that competed with the Bluebucks for food and space.

During the Ice Age, Bluebucks probably had a range that spread across Africa, but by modern times they had become restricted to areas in the South and East. They were very selective grazers, and only fed on high-quality grasses. They also needed to drink water directly, which makes them different from some other antelope species that obtain most of their moisture through the plants that they eat.

There are four preserved Bluebucks specimens in European museums, along with a handful of horns and skeletons. Interestingly, none of the museum specimens show any hint of bluish hair. It  is thought by some that the name comes from the sheen given off by the mix of black and yellow hairs found in adults.

Bluebucks are related to our modern Sable and Roan Antelopes, though they were smaller in size.

Zebra Duiker

Zebra Duiker

Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Artiodactyla
Family : Bovidae
Genus : Cephalophus
Species : zebra

Height : 18in (45cm)
Weight : 45lbs (20kg)

IUCN Status : Vulnerable

Did you know that US President Calvin Coolidge had a wide assortment of strange pets? On top of nine dogs, four cats, and about half a dozen birds he also had a raccoon, two lions, a pygmy hippopotamus, and a bear. Coolidge also had a Duiker, a small African antelope that is todays featured animal!

I have been unable to figure out what specific type of Duiker he had, so I selected one that I thought looked pretty cool, the Zebra Duiker. These little guys are found in the Ivory Coast, Seirra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia. They inhabit forested areas.

Zebra Duikers are solitary animals that eat various types of fruit and foliage. They have a very distinctive striped pattern that helps them to blend in with their environment and protect them from predators.

Even though they spend most of their time alone, it is believed that mated pairs remain monogamous season after season, and that the pair will defend a territory together. Both males and females have horns, and interestingly, the females are often a tad larger than the males are.

Impala

Male Impala

Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Artiodactyla
Family : Bovidae
Subfamily : Aepycerotinae
Genus : Aepyceros
Species : melampus

Height : 29-36in (73-92cm)
Weight : 99-132lbs (45-60kg)

IUCN Status : Least Concern, but Aepyceros melampus petersi (Black Faced Impala) is listed as vulnerable

Impalas are found in Eastern Africa in light woodland and grassland areas. The species exhibits sexual dimorphism, with the males growing slightly larger than the females. Males are also the only sex to have horns, which grow in a S-shape to a size of up to 35in (90cm).

Impalas have a really interesting social structure, living in specific group types during different parts of the year. During the wet season young males whoa re non-territorial will form bachelor herds, and females and juveniles form herds that can number over 100 individuals. They will enter territories that are controlled by breeding-age males, and will remain in that territory throughout the season. At the end of the wet season, breeding (rutting) season occurs, and lasts about three weeks.

After rutting the dry season happens, and herds move more frequently and males are less territorial. Adult males will even travel with the female and juvenile herds in search of food and water. Female Impalas give birth in isolation, and will return to the herd after a day or two. Her calf will join a nursery group along with other young Impalas and will return to its mother to feed.

Female Impala, taken at MCZ

One rather interesting fact about the Impala is that it has a varied, adaptable diet. They are able to both graze and browse, and feed on numerous types of grasses, leaves, and seeds. This allows them to obtain a  nutritious diet throughout the wet and dry seasons, and keeps them from having to undergo the migrations that many other African mammals do.

Overall, Impalas are abundant and have a stable population trend. However, one subspecies, the Black-Faced Impala, is in pretty bad shape. Most are found in Namibia's Etosha National Park, where they are protected. Their numbers have been steadily growing, but interbreeding with Common Impalas has impacted their gene pool.

Common Eland

Taurotragus oryx is the largest species of antelope in Africa. They are sexually dimorphic, with males capable of weighing over 900kg, and females topping out at 600kg. However, the females win out in horn length. Both sexes have horns, but the females' are longer and more slender, while the males' are short and thick. Common Eland are found in Southern Africa, and are capable of living in a pretty wide variety of environments.

Image from Wikimedia Commons

Interestingly, the trade-off for being the largest antelope is to be the slowest antelope as well. They rarely reach speeds greater than 25mph. However, they do have some remarkable jumping skills (especially for their weight) and can leap 10 feet from a standing start. In other interesting features related to legs, Common Elands have strange joints and tendons in their front legs. When they walk there is a clicking sound. This feature has not been widely researched, but it is suspected that it may have something to do with male territoriality.

Eland live in large herds, usually numbering around 60-75 individuals, though herds in the hundreds have also been witnessed. They have a pretty complex social structure, with three separate group types observed. There are Female Groups, which are predictably full of females. These groups travel large distances. The Male Groups, in contrast, are sedentary. Lastly, there are Nursery Groups, which are made up of females with offspring, calves, and not quite mature adults. As calves age, their mothers leave to rejoin Female Groups. Eventually, the young Eland will be old enough to move on to a different group as well. Eland can live 15-25 years in the wild.

Elands have

Topi

Image from Wikimedia Commons

Male Topis are tricky little guys. According to some new findings reported by National Geographic, the males deliberately trick females into sticking around by issuing warning signals. The entire mating system is lek based, which I mentioned in the feature on Kakapo parrots. Males have a small section of land that they fight for a defend, and the females come and go throughout them to decide whom to mate with. If a female in heat appears to be wandering off, the male will begin to snort and stare and act as if a predator is near so that the female will want to stay by him. Tricky indeed!

So beyond that tomfoolery, what is a Topi? A Topi is a mid-sized antelope that lives in Savannah and floodplain areas of Africa. Females and their young live in small groups, while males are mostly solitary, though they sometimes form small bachelor herds when young. Migratory herds with members int he thousands are also seen. Topis consume grasses as their primary food source, can go for days without water, and can run at speeds of up to 44mph, making it one of the fastest mammals in the world!

Topis have several predators in the wild, including lions, leopards and hyenas. Young calves can also fall victim to smaller predators, including eagles!

The term Topi is actually a blanket term for a handful of subspecies of  Damaliscus korrigum. Korrigum is also a common name for one of the subspecies - Damaliscus korrigum korrigum.

Bongo

Does anyone remember a game called Sim Safari? Circa 1998? I sure do! That game taught me all about the wide wide world of African antelopes. And ever since I picked up that game so many years ago, the Bongo has been one of my all time favorites.

Why the Bongo? Well, I'd be lying if I didn't mention their striking looks. That reddish brown coat! Those stripes! Those fabulous twisted horns! Their absolutely adorable calves! Plus, an anonymous source thinks they look like Cinnabons.

But they are also the largest of all mountain antelopes, and one of the largest antelope species overall, with males capable of reaching 900lbs despite being only about 4 feet tall. They are also fairly unique in that both that males and females of the species sport those snazzy horns. And speaking of those horns, when Bongo's run (they are actually pretty darn fast) they flatten their head and horns back, which can cause bald patches on their backs from all the rubbing. The distinctive run is even seen in the young ones, as this video clearly shows.

There are actually two different subspecies of Bongo, the western/lowland Tragelaphus eurycerus eurycerus, and the eastern/mountain, Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci. They are pretty similar to one another, the major differences being the location of the habitat and the coat vibrancy. (mountain Bongo's win that prize) They are very solitary creatures overall, males live alone while females might be found in small bands of less than ten.

The western/mountain fellows are actually really endangered, with only about 100 estimated in the wild. But organizations like the Saint Louis Zoo are working to get them reintroduced. Recently they, and 12 other zoos worldwide, released some captive born specimens in hope to bring the wild numbers back up.

And rolling back to the topic of animal simulation games... Zoo Tycoon 2 rocks faces. (Bongos are in it too)
picture from National Geographic