Antelopes Of The Serengeti
Antelopes Of The Serengeti – Tanzania Safari Guide. People who visit the Serengeti will know a lot of the antelopes from books, TV shows, and movies.
There are, however, many deer that are not as well known or well-known, but are just as important to the ecosystem of the area.
We looking at the Serengeti’s antelopes as part of our tour guide to Tanzania. We also make a list of all the other great animals you should see while you’re there.
Different kinds of antelopes in Serengeti
More than 14,750 square kilometers of Serengeti National Park are home to more than 300 kinds of mammals. In fact, the park is best known for its big groups of plains animals.
There are different kinds of deer that live in different parts of the Serengeti.
These sixteen different kinds of animal live in this part of Africa. They range in size from the big wildebeest and eland to the small dik-dik and klipspringer.
Some are really pretty, while others are just plain tough. Even so, all of these very different kinds of antelope live in the same area, which is pretty big.
Now, let’s look at these beautiful Serengeti antelopes.
A wildebeest.
The Serengeti’s wildebeest are probably the most well-known antelope. It is one of the biggest antelopes and is also called the gnu, the blue wildebeest, or the brindled gnu.
They are best known for the huge numbers of them that take part in the Great Migration. This is when a lot of big animals move around in a big circle looking for food and water.
Even though wildebeest are a big part of this movement, they are not the only ones who take part.
These big deer are herbivores, which means they eat plants like grass and leaves.
Their head is long and square, and their mane goes down the ridge on their back.
There are long, bent horns on both male and female wildebeest, but the males tend to be bigger and have darker fur.
They range in color from slate gray to dark brown.
Eland
It is possible for an eland to weigh up to 2,000 pounds and stand about 4.9 feet tall at the shoulder. Males are usually bigger than girls.
The eland’s twisting horns are one of the things that make them stand out.
They also have a big black stripe that goes down the middle of their back and ends under their neck. In dry places, these help keep the temperature stable.
It is said that elands walk “track on track.”
This means that the back foot will land in the same place as the front foot so that they make less noise when going in the bush.
In the desert, mountains, or the bush, they can live and jump more than three meters high. During the dry season, elands can be found in the Serengeti’s northern forests.
They are more likely to be found in the park’s southern or eastern fields when it rains.
Little Kudu
This Serengeti antelope is a beautiful animal that is easy to spot. Even so, it might be hard to find them because they are shy and spend most of their time in thick plants.
The males are usually bigger than the females and have spiral horns.
Long, thin white lines run down their backs and across their bodies. Two wider white stripes run across their throats and necks. Boys have dark brown fur, and girls have light brown fur.
The woods in the southwestern Serengeti are where lesser kudu spend most of their time.
You’re more likely to see a flash of white from under their tail as they move away from you because they are hard to see.
The legs and horns of the lesser kudu are orange, which helps you tell them apart from the greater kudu.
The Bohor Reedbuck
In the Serengeti, bohor reedbuck are often seen near watering holes, where they hide in tall grass. These antelopes are about the size of a horse and have long legs.
The heads and bodies of rams are bigger than those of goats. They also have small horns that face forward, while females don’t have any.
The outside is a yellow to grayish brown color, and the inside is white. Each front foreleg has a dark line running across it.
Males can weigh up to 133 pounds, while females weigh only 77 to 100 pounds.
Bohor reedbuck usually live in pairs or small groups, and they’re most active at night, when they can feed.
After being pregnant for more than 7 months, females give birth to a single baby.
For the first two to three months of their lives, the babies hide and only come out to nurse for ten to thirty minutes at a time.
The East African Oryx
East African oryx, also called beisa, are an endangered species in the Serengeti because their numbers are going down.
Hunters have broken the law to get these animals because they think their blood and flesh can heal sicknesses or make people very strong.
The type of oryx that lives in the Serengeti is the fringe-eared types.
This type of Serengeti antelope is very easy to spot. It is fawn-colored with black bands and white lines on its face. There is a black line on the body where the brown color changes to white below.
The boys and females look pretty much the same. They both have long, straight horns that look like rings.
This animal is very protective and will use its speed to protect itself from danger.
Gazelle of Grant
A lot of people mistake this beautiful animal for the more well-known Thomson’s gazelle.
The Grant’s gazelle, on the other hand, is bigger and doesn’t have the black stripe on its side. They have a white spot on their tail that goes all the way up their back.
They live in big groups called herds in the Serengeti and each year they join the Great Migration. They don’t need water for a long time.
They can do this because they can raise their body temperature, which makes them sweat less when they’re hot and saves water.
Girls Grant’s gazelles weigh between 77 and 100 pounds, and boys 121 to 176 pounds.
The male and female both have horns that look like rings and are shaped like lyres. They can be anywhere from 18 to 30 inches long.
Girls have one calf after being pregnant for seven months. The mother gazelle hides the calf in long grass and goes off to feed. She comes back several times a day to nurse the baby gazelle.
The Thomson’s Gazelle
This is one of the more well-known antelopes that lives in the Serengeti.
The Grant’s gazelle is bigger than this one, and there is a unique stripe on its belly that helps you tell them apart.
There are two types of Thomson’s gazelles: the eastern and the Serengeti species.
The Serengeti gazelle has a whiter face than the eastern gazelle and a black stripe that goes from the inside of the eye to the mouth.
Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelles make up about half of the 500,000 animals that live in the Serengeti.
These animals are now second only to wildebeest in terms of number in the park.
The horns of female Thomson’s gazelles are shorter than those of males.
A calf is born after being inside them for 6 months. At calving time, young Thomson’s gazelles are often eaten by animals that want to eat them.
Water Bucket
Because its name suggests, the waterbuck likes to stay near water and needs a lot of grass to eat.
Just because of this, it only lives in certain parts of the Serengeti, like the forests in the middle of the park.
They are easy to spot in the Serengeti because they have a white ring on their back and long, shaggy hair on their neck.
A layer of oil on their fur keeps it from getting wet, and the males’ long, sweeping horns have thin rings around them. The horn can be up to 40 inches long.
Many big animals don’t eat waterbuck, which may be because they have a thick coat. This may be why they are only killed by lions that are really hungry.
The male waterbuck is generally about 25% bigger than the female.
The breeding season can happen at different times of the year, and many young animals die because they are eaten by big cats and other animals.
Horned possum
The name for a hartebeest is also kongoni or kaama.
Hartebeests are one of the fastest animals, and they can reach 43 miles per hour, even though they look big and awkward. Also, for such a big animal, they are surprisingly beautiful.
The long faces and steeply sloping backs of these Serengeti antelope make them easy to spot.
Also, their horns are wide and sweep outward, unlike most antelopes whose horns are straight and equal.
If you translate their name, it means “tough ox,” and they are tough.
Hartebeests don’t pick the food they eat; they’ll eat anything that’s around. However, females will only give birth when there is food around.
Hares are about 3 to 5 feet tall at the shoulder and weigh about 165 to 440 pounds. They live in groups that are organized and can have more than 300 animals.
The Klipspringer
These little animals are cute, and most people will love them for both their looks and how they act.
Even though they look weak, these animals are very tough. They live in the Serengeti mountains and often have to deal with high temperatures.
You can find a lot of different kinds of grass and plants that Klipspringers eat (and drink).
Along with other dwarf antelopes, like the dik-dik, they form pairs that only mate and protect their area together.
Males are especially alert and stand guard for long amounts of time to keep the pair’s territory and young safe. The female is now in charge of taking care of the one calf.
Kippofers hide their young for two to three months to keep them safe from birds of prey like eagles. When they are a year old, they leave their parents.
Wild Boar
The bushbuck is a shy and hard to find antelope in the Serengeti that spends most of its time in thick vegetation.
It does, however, have white spots on its ears, legs, tail, chin, and neck, which are the parts of its body that move the most. If you’re lucky, you might catch a glimpse of one.
The males have big horns that curve and can be 10 to 20 inches long. They don’t defend their territory and like to be alone.
Women don’t have horns, and their fur is very different from guys’. Men have dark gray fur, but women have reddish brown fur with more white spots all over their bodies.
The bushbuck’s biggest danger is losing its environment because people build roads, farms, and towns in places where it lives.
Impala
There are a lot of impala in the Serengeti, and they are another well-known animal that lives there.
They are about the size of a person and have a very graceful, familiar face with a white spot above their eyes. They also have a black line down the middle of their tail.
Males have horns that look like lyres and have rings around them; females don’t have horns. Impala can run very fast and jump very high, which they use to avoid being caught by animals that are trying to eat them.
Most people are between 28 and 36 inches tall and weigh between 88 and 165 pounds. They move around in groups of females led by a male who is protective of his territory.
Female impala give birth to a single calf, which hides for a few days before joining the other babies in the creche.
Oribi
The oribi is a small, thin animal that lives in the northern parts of the Serengeti. Its fur or pelage is reddish brown on top and white on the bottom.
The dark spot or sweat gland under its ears makes it easy to spot.
For male oribis, the horns are short, sharp, and straight. Female oribis do not have horns. They are a type of tiny antelope, but their long neck and legs make them look like gazelles.
They usually live in pairs or small groups, but they are not found very often in the Serengeti, so if you see one, consider yourself lucky.
The females are about 20 to 30 inches tall, a little taller than the boys. Most people weigh about 31 pounds.
A Steenbok
One more small animal that you might see in the southwestern Serengeti and some parts of the north is the stenbok.
They are a very pretty animal with big ears and eyes.
They have a fawn-colored body with an orange tint, and a black patch above their nose that looks like a teardrop.
Steenboks can go a long way from water sources and eat green plants, leaves, and foliage.
Teenboks will run in a zigzag manner when they are being chased by a predator to try to confuse or throw off the animal. Most of the time, you can find them in the shade when it’s hot outside.
The male steenbok has horns that are very sharp and scary. The females don’t have any, but they are bigger than the boys.
Dik-Dik
In the Serengeti, you can find these cute little animals all over the place. They often hide in thick plants, making it hard to see them because they are so small.
They are the tiniest antelopes in the Serengeti, standing only 12 to 16 inches tall.
Dik-dik don’t move around much, but they can run up to 26 miles per hour if they need to.
The female makes a warning call that sounds like “dik-dik” when a predator is close. This is where they got their name. Pairs stay together for life.
Some males have small horns that are hidden by a small tuft of hair on their head. There is a ring of white fur around their big eyes that makes them stand out.
Each eye has a smell gland below it.
Topi
They are very similar to each other because they are both sub-species of the hartebeest.
Both of them have short bodies, long legs, and long faces. The topi’s legs are darker on top. It is about the size of a cat and has a reddish brown hair.
A lot of these antelopes can be seen on the fields in the eastern Serengeti. They are good with other animals.
There are a lot of different ways that the guys can organize their social groups.
Their breeding habits are also very open. They only give birth once a year on average, but if there is lots of food, they will do it more than once. If a woman feels threatened, she can put off going into labor.
Gerenuk
The gerenuk is a tall, beautiful animal that looks a lot like a gazelle. Its neck and arms are long and thin. Because of these traits, it is also known as the giraffe gazelle.
This Serengeti antelope is very pretty. It has a flat wedge-shaped head and big, round eyes.
Most male gerenuks are between 35 and 41 inches tall, while most females are between 31 and 39 inches tall.
Males can weigh anywhere from 68 to 115 pounds, and females are usually between 62 and 99 pounds.
The gerenuk’s back is a dark brown color, and its sides are a lighter fawn to buff color. The inside of the legs and the bottom of the belly are cream colored, and there is white fur around the eyes and mouth.
On the female gerenuk’s head, there is a dark spot that makes it stand out. The males have horns that look like lyres. The gerenuk is mostly busy during the day, and you might see it hiding from the sun or eating leaves.
This guide to the antelopes of the Serengeti is part of a safari guide to Tanzania. We hope you liked it.
