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Mountain Reedbuck - Redunca fulvorufula |
SIZE: Shoulder height (m) 0,8 m, (f) 0,7 m; mass
(m) 30 kg, (f) 28 kg. Only males have the short, ridged,
forward-curving horns.
COLOUR: The soft, woolly coat is reddish grey or grey
fawn. Undersides, including underside of short brown
bushy tail, are white. Black gland patches under ears.
POTENTIAL LONGEVITY: 8 years
RECORD LENGTH OF HORNS: 23 cm
MOST LIKE: Reedbuck, but slightly smaller, much lighter
and male has shorter horns. Mountain Reedbuck also
lack the black or dark brown stripes found on the
front of the forelegs of Reedbuck.
HABITAT: Dry, grassy hill-slopes and lower mountain-slopes,
usually near water.
Mountain Reedbuck are medium-sized antelope, usually
with greyish upperparts and pure white underparts.
They have black glandular patches under the ears,
which play a role in scent marking. Mountain Reedbuck
inhabit the dry, grass-covered, stony slopes of hills
and mountains, particularly where there is cover such
as bushes or scattered trees.
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They
are almost exclusively grazers, and are adapted to digesting
a low quality diet of coarse grasses, particularly in the
dry, winter months. They are dependant upon drinking water.Mountain
Reedbuck are closely related to Reedbuck, but, unlike the
Reedbuck which is a grassland species, the Mountain Reedbuck
is found on or near mountains or rocky hills. Another difference
between the two species is that Mountain Reedbuck are gregarious,
and are normally found in small family parties of three
to five individuals, although they are often seen in herds
numbering up to a few dozen, sunning themselves on the slopes
of mountains: Reedbuck are solitary.
If alarmed, the Mountain Reedbuck, like the grey rhebok,
will bound away with its tail fanned out. While the grey
rhebok tends to escape upwards to the mountain's higher
slopes, the Mountain Reedbuck, with the same rocking horse
motion, runs across the slope, or obliquely downhill. Nervous
and timid, Mountain Reedbuck lie up closely together when
resting, and if danger threatens, one or more of them will
utter a shrill whistle of alarm which sends the herd bolting
for safety.
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DISTRIBUTION
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Mountain
Reedbuck have their own answer to bad weather: they merely
turn their hindquarters to the direction of heavy wind and
rain; alternatively, they lie down on a sheltered slope until
the bad weather is over. The social
organisation consists of territorial males, non-territorial
males, herds of females with young and bachelor groups. Some
males occupy their territory throughout the year, only moving
off either when their territory is burned, or to establish
contact with other males: they tend to be particularly nervous
when they stray outside their territory limits.
Female herds are loose associations, with
the females and their young moving from one male territory
to another. A single calf is born, and is hidden by the mother
for two to three months. The mother approaches the calf once
or twice a day to clean and suckle it; after she leaves the
calf moves to a new hiding place to prevent scent marking:
this helps protect it from predators. The bond between mother
and calf is strong, but is broken when she has a new calf:
if this new calf dies, the bond may continue for longer. When
the calves are strong enough to follow their mother, they
join the herd. |
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WILDLIFE
PARKS
AND
RESERVES
WHERE
THIS SPECIES
IS FOUND: |
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