Antelopes of Serengeti National Park : What other antelopes can be observed on a safari in Serengeti National Park besides the famous wildebeests of the Great Migration. All of the antelopes, including some startling individuals you probably haven’t heard of before, are introduced to you. These are the stunning antelopes that you should not miss out spotting on the Tanzania safari.
- Blue wildebeest.
There are around 1.5 million blue wildebeests in the Serengeti. Numerous names that can be used interchangeably to refer to the blue wildebeest include blue wildebeest, common wildebeest, white-bearded wildebeest, white-bearded gnu, and brindled gnu. Simply choose the option that suits you.
As herbivores, they eat grass. They have small faces and a lengthy mane on the ridge of their backs. Both sexes have curving horns, however the bulls (males) in the group can be distinguished because they are larger and darker.
A Serengeti safari is not complete without seeing the blue wildebeest, the star of The Great Wildlife Migration. This endless migration of over 1.5 million wildebeests through the Serengeti region is joined by over a million zebras, elands, impalas, and gazelles. The Great Migration is a unique sight and the biggest land-based migration in history.
- Southern eland.
The eland is the world’s largest antelope. Large antelopes, elands are. Bulls can reach adult weights of 940 kg (2,070 lb) Oomph. Their dewlaps and spiral horns serve as useful identification features.
The elands that can be found in Serengeti National Park are southern elands, also known as common elands or eland antelopes (taurotragus oryx). Many of you might not be aware that they are actually raised on farms in various regions of Africa because they have delicious meat and very rich milk.
- Greater kudu.
Kudus have a very distinct regal quality. The larger antelope known as the greater kudu (tragelaphus strepsiceros) has enormous ears and conspicuous white stripes that run parallel down its flanks. A highly useful identification sign is the thin white line that connects the eyes.
Greater kudus have long, gorgeous horns with prominent twists. Every two years, the horns grow a twist, with a maximum of 2.5 twists. If stretched out, the horns of a greater kudu can reach 1.8 metres. The female bulls will occasionally, but not always, develop short horns as well.
Small horns are present on this female kudu, although not all elands have them.
- Lesser kudu.
The timid lesser kudu (tragelaphus imberbis) spends most of its time in dense foliage. In addition, its range in East Africa is quite constrained. Finding one is thus a success that merits some social media boasting. The white beneath the tail is what you’re most likely to see because it occasionally emits a flash of colour among the foliage that hides it.
Bulls have a more reddish-brown torso and no horns, but bulls have spiralled horns and are deeper brown overall. Long stripes extending down the spine and roughly perpendicular stripes on either side are present in both sexes. You can distinguish them from greater kudus because to the orange tint on the legs and horns. Additionally, lesser kudus are substantially smaller than larger kudus.
Be aware that Tarangire National Park has a higher probability of seeing a lesser kudu than the Serengeti. Greater kudus are very easy to locate in Tarangire on a Tanzania safari.
The males go forward with their heads tilted back so that their horns are aligned with their backs in order to prevent getting them tangled in foliage.
- Bohor reedbuck.
The Bohor reedbuck (redunca redunca) is a medium-sized, long-limbed antelope that lives throughout Tanzania, always close to water. In the Serengeti, you have a high chance of seeing several of these adorable antelopes.
The air that comes out of the nostrils of a bohor reedbuck when it whistles, which it performs to identify its territory, is so powerful that the entire body vibrates.
Horns are only present on male rams. Additionally, they are built differently from the ewes (females) and have thicker necks.
- Fringe-eared Oryx.
African safari, antelope, fringe-eared oryx, subspecies of the East African oryx
Grass makes up to 80% of a fringe-eared oryx’s diet. Fringe-eared oryxes can only be found in NE Tanzania and SE Kenya.
The fringe-eared Oryx (oryx beisa callotis), a subspecies of oryx, is the kind of oryx that can be found in the Serengeti. (However, some contend that it ought to be considered a distinct species.)
It is simple to identify because of its extraordinarily large, straight, ringed horns, as you can see above. Its colouring is fawn, and it has useful black bars and stripes as well as white patches on its face. A casual observer might mistake a bull for a cow.
- Coke’s hartebeest.
The hartebeest is not the most beautiful of all things, and there is no simple way to explain that. Even so, like the majority of us, a good soak in angled sunlight works wonders.
The faces and backs of all hartebeests slope downward. However, the Coke’s hartebeest can be distinguished by its wide-swept horns (other subspecies have horns that are more parallel to each other). Bulls have horns as well, although they are much more delicate.
Alcelaphus buselaphus cokii, sometimes known as the kongoni, is a type of hartebeest that is restricted to two areas of Kenya and northeastern Tanzania. So, on your Serengeti safari, you’ll be on the lookout for a rare subspecies.
- Topi.
Due to the fact that they both belong to the same subfamily, the topi (also known as nyamera) resembles the hartebeest in appearance. You can see that the long faces, short necks, and long legs of topis and hartebeests are the same. Topis are extremely quick and social. The Serengeti is the primary ecosystem for topis.
The darker colouring of the topi (damaliscus lunatus jimela), especially on the upper legs, is the most obvious distinction between it and the hartebeest.
- Thomson’s gazelle.
Eudorcas thomsonii, often known as the Thomson’s gazelle, can be recognized by its lateral black stripe on either side of the torso. Thomson’s gazelle might simply be referred to as “tommies” if the whole name bothers you.
The eastern Thomson’s gazelle and the Serengeti Thomson’s gazelle are the two subspecies of the Thomson’s gazelle. No points will be awarded for predicting which you will see on a Serengeti trip. Compared to the eastern form, the Serengeti Thomson’s gazelle has a whiter face. It also has a distinct black stripe going from the inner eye to the mouth.
Around 500,000 gazelles can be seen in Serengeti National Park. There are both Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelles in this population.
- Grant’s gazelle.
The Grant’s gazelle, also known as a gazella granti or a nanger granti, is a stunning animal. These gregarious herbivores, which inhabit in East Africa, form herds of 20 to 200 animals.
When it’s hot, the Grant’s gazelle can increase its body temperature to reduce sweating and save water. Grant’s gazelles have the ability to continue for extended periods without drinking, which enables them to move to locations where more water-dependent grazers are hesitant to venture.
They are comparable to Thomson’s gazelles, with the main differences being that they are larger and lack the black side stripes. They also live about 12 years in the wild, which is a little longer than Tommies.
You have every reason to expect to observe some herds while on a safari in the Serengeti because these gorgeous antelopes are common there and take part in the Great Migration.
- Common waterbuck.
The waterbuck (kobus ellipsiprymnus), as its name suggests, must remain near water to prevent dehydration. In order to graze, it also needs grass. Thus, it lives in specific zones, and your Serengeti driver will be familiar with the parts of the park to take you to see this antelope. The common waterbuck subspecies is the one you’ll see in the Serengeti.
Common waterbucks can be easily distinguished because of the long, unkempt hair on their necks. On the rump, they also have a white ring. Horns on bulls are long, sweeping, and barely ringed.
- Imbabala bushbuck.
The bushbuck, which has an average lifespan of 12 years, is the smallest of the spiral-horned antelopes. The rams are the only non-territorial, solitary species of African antelope. Even ewes find it uncomfortable to spend the entire day with other bushbuck, including their young.
The sexual dimorphism of the bushbuck. This indicates that ewes and rams have many morphological differences. The most noticeable difference is that ewes don’t often have horns (though they occasionally do). The rams have darker, thicker, and larger pelage (fur). Ewes have pelage that is reddish-brown. Additionally, their ears, chin, neck, legs, and tail have more obvious white spots and patches.
You’ll be seeking for the Imbabala bushbuck (tragelephus sylvaticus) species in the Serengeti.
For your information, mid-sized and smaller antelopes typically refer to the two sexes as rams and ewes while really large antelopes refer to them as bulls and cows.
- Klipspringer.
Any safari-goer with a taste for cute and little things will undoubtedly have the klipspringer (oreotragus oreotragus) on their wish list. It’s unlikely that you’ll see one, though, as they prefer rugged, steep areas and are nocturnal. Klipspringers have lifelong partners. Each pair has their own territory, and while the other browses, the sentry will patrol it.
Typically, klipspringers only weigh 8–18 kg (18–40 lb). The ear canals have a lovely two-tone appearance. If you zoom closer, you can see that each hoof is made up of two cylinder-like sections and that they walk on the tips. They can move quickly through their rocky terrain because of this.
- Steenbok.
The steenbok, also known as steinbuck or steinbok, is a tiny antelope with a fawn coat that has an orange tint, a white underside, and big ears. Rams have horns that are small, straight, and have menacingly pointed tips.
Steenboks consume roots and tubers in addition to low-level plants, and their diet provides nearly all of the moisture they need.
Steenboks can move far from water sources and are diminutive in stature, making them difficult to identify. They tend to relax in areas that are shaded during the warmest times of the day.
Steenboks will hide in foliage and flee in a zigzag pattern from predators (of which there are many). They’ve even been known to take shelter in aardvark burrows when the chance arises!
- Dik-dik.
Dik-diks are one of the smallest antelopes. Dik-dik antelopes are cute animals. In actuality, they are the second-smallest antelope after the royal antelope of West Africa. They are primarily sedentary and lonesome species. They primarily reside around kopjes and in dense brush. They can run at a speed of up to 42 km/h, which helps them avoid predators.
It’s interesting to note that dik-dik females are bigger than males. And just like penguins, dik-diks form a lifelong attachment with a single mate.
The Serengeti is home to a type of small antelope known as the Naivasha dik-dik (madoqua cavandishi). Ugogo dik-diks are able to travel here as well.
- Common impala.
A juvenile common impala and a red-billed oxpecker. Oxpeckers frequently perch atop impalas to consume their fleas, ticks, and lice. All of this is an aspect of mutualism, a constructive partnership. Aepyceros melampus, also known as the impala, is an elegant, medium-sized antelope that resembles the gazelle and oribi in appearance.
Ewe impalas lack horns, whereas ram impalas have long, ringed, lyre-shaped horns. Other than that, the two sexes resemble one other quite closely. Ewes are also slightly smaller.
Impalas have a unique defence mechanism that entails two leaps to avoid predators. They can run quickly as well. We really adore their prodigious leaps.
- Oribi.
A small, thin antelope with a reddish-brown coat, the oribi (Ourebia ourebi). It looks similar to the steenbok but is bigger. The ewes have no horns, while ram oribis have short, pointed, straight horns. Ewe oribis have four teats, just like many other antelopes.
For a month, oribis hide their young, bringing them out periodically to nurse them.
- Gerenuk.
Because of their long, thin necks, gerenuks are easily recognized. The gerenuk (Litocranius walleri) is an unusual-looking antelope; it reminds you of a giraffe because of its long neck. In actuality, the Somali word for giraffe-necked is gerenuk.
The gazelle family includes this wiry animal with the large eyes and ears. Only Tanzania, Kenya, southern Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea are home to it.
The ewes have no horns, whereas the ram gerenuks have rather short, curving horns. The neck of the male gerenuk is significantly thicker.
- Common duiker.
One of the prettiest duikers, without a doubt, is the common (or grey) duiker (sylvicapra grimmia), which stands around 50 cm tall at the shoulder. The rams have horns that are only 11 cm long on average. In addition to its small size, its dark face markings make it simple to recognise.
Infrequent sightings of common duikers are possible in the Serengeti. And the fact that duikers are nocturnal doesn’t help. Therefore, crossing it off your sightseeing list will take some effort.
However, it is helpful to know that common duikers are widespread throughout sub-Saharan Africa, so if you frequently go on safari, your chances of spotting one improve significantly.
