Hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus) lives in open savanna across Sub-Saharan Africa. It feeds on grasses and leaves. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
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Standing just over 1 m (3 ft 3 in) at the shoulder and stretching up to 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) long, the hartebeest yet weighs only 100-200 kg (220-440 lb). Its horns can grow 45-70 cm (18-28 in), with the longest recorded at 74.9 cm (29½ in) on a Namibian red male.
Both sexes become sexually mature at just one to two years old, but hartebeest don't hit full adult weight until about four years. After a gestation of eight to nine months, a single calf is born, usually in the dry season, and stays hidden in scrub for weeks before the mother returns to nurse.
Once roaming from Morocco to Tanzania, the hartebeest now survives only in fragments of Botswana, Namibia, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya. The northern Bubal subspecies vanished completely, declared extinct by the IUCN in 1994, and the species has disappeared from Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Somalia and Tunisia. This collapse shows how hunting, habitat loss and livestock competition have erased a once-continent-wide grazer.
Hartebeest herds can swell from 20 individuals to massive gatherings of up to 10 000, but typical groups number 20-300. Within these herds, they can sprint 70-80 kph, and can execute a 90° turn after just one or two strides.
Hartebeest can live up to 15 years in the wild and have been recorded at altitudes as high as 4 000 m (13 000 ft) on Mount Kenya.
Sources
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Across the sun-baked savannah, the hartebeest moves with a lithe, athletic grace, its long legs devouring the distance as it strides effortlessly in search of grazing grounds. With its distinctive pair of lyre-shaped horns and tawny coat, this striking antelope navigates the grasslands with a quiet confidence, its large eyes ever-vigilant for the presence of predators lurking in the shadows. As it runs, its hooves pound out a rhythmic beat on the dry earth, a testament to the unbridled energy and freedom of this wild and beautiful creature.
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