Waterbuck

Fascinating facts about the Waterbuck

• Waterbucks rely on water more than any other antelope; they cannot tolerate dehydration in hot weather and therefore stay close to rivers, lakes or valleys. This dependence drives their distribution, limiting them to grasslands with reliable water sources and shaping the ecology of African savannas where they graze up to 95 % of their diet on grasses.
• Across sub-Saharan Africa, waterbuck numbers are slipping: the IUCN lists the common form as Least Concern but notes a downward trend, while the defassa subspecies is Near Threatened. Poaching and human disturbance have erased large populations from key habitats.
• Waterbucks sport massive, backward-then-forward spiraled horns, with measurements ranging from 55 cm to 99 cm (22 in to 39 in). These horns grow longer as the bull ages, making horn length a rough age indicator.
• A newborn waterbuck weighs about 13.6 kg (30 lb) and can stand on its legs within half an hour of birth. Calves stay hidden for two to three weeks, then follow their mothers after three to four weeks.
• Male waterbucks claim territories as small as 4 ha and as large as 146 ha (0.015-0.564 sq mi), defending them from rivals between ages five and nine. After ten years they lose this drive and are pushed out by younger bulls.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Waterbuck

In the golden light of savannah dawn, the waterbuck emerges, its large, dark eyes watchful as it moves with quiet purpose through the tall grasses, its shaggy coat a deep, burnished brown that seems to absorb the shadows. With each step, its slender legs carry it effortlessly across the landscape, a testament to the elegant, unassuming beauty of this most adaptable of antelopes. As it pauses to drink from a tranquil pool, its distinctive horns, lyre-shaped and imposing, rise like a crown from its forehead, a symbol of its rugged, unyielding spirit.

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