Reedbuck usually live in pairs or family parties, although temporary aggregations of 15 - 20 individuals are sometimes seen during the very dry months. They are almost entirely grazers. Veld fires often sound the death knell for this elegant antelope. Deprived of its natural camouflage, it often doesn't have the ability to outrun its enemies, and is easily brought down by leopards, cheetah and wild dogs. A single calf, born at any time of year, is hidden by its mother for two to three months; she returns once a day to suckle it. Similarly to many other antelope, the calf re-hides itself after its mother has left to prevent scent-trailing by predators. The mother-calf bond breaks down when the mother is due to calve again, but if she loses the new calf, the bond may be re-established.
The Reedbuck is a graceful, whistling antelope of the grasslands, and particularly of the thickly grown patches of reed and vleis near rivers, which has earned them their name.