I bet you haven't seen or heard of this one before!!!
Look like any other typical antelope to you? What if I tell you, it's not just any normal antelope?
This creature is a gerenuk, also called the ‘giraffe gazelle’. It is a long-necked antelope found in parts of East Africa.
Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Antilopinae
Tribe: Antilopini
Genus: Litocranius
Species: L. walleri
Gerenuks are the only species of the genus Litocranius.
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
Gerenuk means "giraffe-necked" in Somali, given it is an exceptionally long-necked antelope. Their head is small for their size, but they have well-equipped and large, eyes, and ears, to go with them.
Like most other antelopes, only the males have horns. The horns are stout and heavily ringed, and the males have heavier, more muscular necks than the females.
Their coat is brown on the upper back and gets lighter as it goes towards the sides. They have a short tail that ends in a tuft of black hair, giving the illusion of a ‘long tail’.
Like many gazelles, gerenuks have preorbital glands in front of the eyes that secrete a tar-like, scent-bearing substance, which they deposit on twigs and bushes to mark their territories, i.e., these large antelopes are quite territorial! The knee region is also equipped with scent glands, covered by tufts of hair.
Behaviour
They live in small groups.
Gerenuk social groups may consist of related females and their young, or bachelor groups of males. Sometimes, males are solitary and territorial. Female groups wander over a home range of 1-2 sq. mi., passing in and out of male territories.
Gerenuk fawns are kept hidden from sight.
When ready to give birth, a female leaves the group and goes to a secluded spot (which is very common animal behaviour). However, unlike many other browsing animals, gerenuks bear young at any time of the year, instead of just before the rainy season. During the first few weeks of life, the baby spends time hidden in the bush while its mother feeds.
They are very vocal.
Gerenuks use several vocalizations, including a buzzing sound when alarmed, a whistle when annoyed (imagine you whistling when annoyed!), a loud bleat when in extreme danger, and a soft bleat when females communicate with their young. Fascinating, aren’t they?
Diet
The gerenuk eats standing on two legs.
They feed at higher reaches than most species of gazelle and antelope. They stand erect on their hind legs, with their long necks extended, to browse on tall bushes. Using their front legs to pull down higher branches, they can reach leaves six to eight feet off the ground. They are one of the most exclusive browsers and largely prefer succulent plants. Although approximately 80 different species of plants make up their diet; including tender leaves and shoots of prickly bushes along with a nutritious mix of buds, flowers, fruit, and climbing plants, they do not eat grass and do not require water. They get enough moisture from the plant life they eat and can survive in dry thorn-bush countries, and even in the desert.
Conservation Challenges
Habitat loss and fragmentation are the biggest threats to gerenuk populations.
Gerenuks are able to withstand hunting pressure to some degree, which is what has enabled them to survive widely in unprotected regions. The loss or segmentation of habitat makes it more difficult for them to find food and shelter themselves from predators. Due to these threats, populations have declined by 25% over the last 14 years and are now estimated to be close to meeting the threshold for being classified as a vulnerable species.
There is not much that we can do to protect this species or most species in general, other than working alongside governments and helping raise anti-poaching awareness. Preserving their habitats, which are crucial for daily life, from anthropogenic activities, while learning and educating the locals, are the foundational steps.
That brings us to the end of today's blog! I really hope that this read was fun!
We all were introduced to a new member of the Mighty Animal Kingdom today.
Don't forget to tell me how it was!
Have a great week ahead!