Cape hartebeest
The red hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus caama ) or Cape hartebeest is a subspecies of the hartebeest found in Southern Africa. More than 130,000 individuals live in the wild. The red hartebeest is closely related to the tsessebe and the topi.
Alcelaphus buselaphus caama is a large African antelope of the family Bovidae, one of ten subspecies; it is sometimes treated as a separate species, A. caama. Commonly known as the red hartebeest, it is the most colorful hartebeest, with black markings contrasting against its white abdomen and behind. It has a longer face that other subspecies, with complex curving horns joined at the base. The average weight of a male is about 150 kg, and female is 120 kg. Their average shoulder height is 135 cm, and horns are 60 cm long. The life expectancy of a red hartebeest is around 19 years. Little sexual dimorphism is noted between males and females, showing no distinct identifiable physical features, but body size is slightly affected. Horn size, however, expresses more dimorphism between males and females, as males fight and defend themselves for sexual selection. Thus, male skull weight and circumference is slightly greater than that of the female.Hartebeests have an excellent sense of hearing and smell, although their sense of sight is poor. When alarmed, hartebeests flee, reaching a maximum speed of 55 km/h. Their evasion tactic is to induce confusion by running in a zigzag pattern, making it difficult for predators to catch them.
A carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Among animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
Nomadic animals regularly move to and from the same areas within a well-defined range. Most animals travel in groups in search of better territorie...
A herd is a social grouping of certain animals of the same species, either wild or domestic. The form of collective animal behavior associated with...
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The red hartebeest is primarily found in southwestern Africa. Southern Africa's dissected topography, geologic diversity, climate oscillations, and mosaic of distinct vegetation types has been the primary means for radiation and diversification amidst hartebeest species, which has led red hartebeests to vary slightly in their capacity to consume the diets they do. Most ungulates in Africa are nomadic, as they are dependent on food sources that become depleted if they stay in one place. A. buselaphus lives in herds in open plains and scrublands in the sub-Saharan African climate.
Red hartebeests are grass feeders, which is evidenced by their long snouts, which give the advantage of an improved cropping ability to acquire and masticate grasses more efficiently. During the rainy season in southern Africa, the grass species Andropogon is in abundance and is the main source of dietary consumption. As grazers, their diets fluctuate seasonally, as they consume higher-quality, green primary production in wet seasons, and lower-quality sheath material in the dry seasons. Hartebeests are considered less water-dependent than most alcelaphines, only needing to drink water when melons and tubers are inaccessible.
A. buselaphus subspecies have a gestation period of eight months, and they give birth to single calves. They typically give birth in a seasonal pattern before the summer rain begins. After birth, calves are hidden in dense vegetation before joining a group to increase their chances of survival from predators, since they are weak.Most females begin breeding after the age of two, and can conceive again 9 or 10 months after giving birth.
Hunting is always an issue to consider in rural areas, since little enforcement of animal protection laws is possible, or there can be no established regulations at all. Hunting hartebeests for survival is an ancient practice: persistence hunting in the hottest part of the day was most common, when hunters could catch the animal at its weakest point. Over the past 20 years, however, one of the only places where persistence hunting still occurs is in central Kalahari.
