Unique Characteristics And Interesting Facts Of A Gerenuk : A gerenuk is an incredible animal specie that is one of the lesser-known antelope species. Plan and prepare a Kenya safari and get into the country’s beautiful jungles to sight the exceptionally long-necked antelope. Gerenuk is such attractive animal specie, with the brown coat on the upper back and lighter on the sides, with the sort tail looks as it ends in a tuft of black hair. Compared to other gazelles, the gerenuk is large with the preorbital glands in front of the eyes that emit atar-like scent-bearing substance they deposit on twigs and bushes to mark their territory, with other glands on their knees that are covered by tufts of hair and between their slipt hooves.
Unique characteristics and interesting facts of a gerenuk.
A Gerenuk looks like a cross between an antelope and a giraffe.
Gerenuk can be identified easily according to the physical appearance that is its long, slender neck and thin legs. They have wedge shaped skulls and the short nose compared to other antelope species which makes them to be called the giraffes at times.
Gerenuks are browsers these their diet consist of the plant matters mainly from the trees, bushes and among many other plants. Gerenuk’s being a unique animal specie with the unique structures in their spine allows them to stand upright on their hind legs so as to reach the high food of about 2 meters that is about 6 feet in the air.
Gerenuks never need drinking water. These animal species do depend on the succulent feeds where they get the moisture that they need from the plants that they feed on. This is according to research from the scientists that study about the Gerenuks they say that they observed these animal species for weeks without even seeing them drinking water.
Every animal specie is preyed upon. That is a gerenuk is a prey of various number of animal species the African carnivores like the hyenas, cheetahs, lions and others. But the gerenuks to escape from these predators these animal species are very fast animals they can run up to 64 kilometers (about 40 miles) per hour.
Among the gerenuks they are only the males that have horns. Gerenuks have got the horns that are ridged, curving horns that help the gerenuks their distinct appearance though this is found in the males. For the case of the female gerenuks these have got small, smooth bumps on their skulls instead. This is the best way that easily differentiate a male gerenuk from a female gerenuk.
Gerenuks mark their territories with tar and urine. That is the male gerenuks secrete a thick, tarry substance from ducts near their eyes, after they wipe this fluid on the trunks and the branches to communicate other males of their territorial boundaries. The male gerenuks do urinate to mark these boundaries.
Gerenuks have got the natural defence against thorns. The gerenuks do forage through the spiny bushed to find the leaves that make up the bulk of their diet. Gerenuks have large eyes that are vulnerable to scratches or other wounds from the sharp thorns. As their long eyelashes do protect their delicate eyes from the immediate injuries as they are getting their feeds.
Gerenuks have got the unique behaviors in terms of mating. These prepare to mate, the female raises its nose and pull her ears close to her head. As the male will present its long neck in the hopes that the female select to mate with him. And before these two mate the male will wipe the female with the scent glands near their eyes and sometimes tap and as well the female gerenuk in the stomach with its foreleg.
The female gerenuks live together and the males live alone. On your Kenya safari in Samburu National Reserve if you are a clear observant in the wild. The male’s gerenuks leave their maternal groups when they reach sexual maturity. From that point they remain solitary, interacting only to defend their territory from other males or breed with females. Though the females live together.
Gerenuks have scent glands in unusual places. As many animals use scent to mark their territories. Compared to other animal species the scent glands of a gerenuk are situated behind their knees and inside their hooves, and these glands play role in reproduction, as they produce pheromones that can help gerenuks attract a mate.
Gerenuks their name means ‘’giraffe-necked’’.Gerenuks look so similar to giraffes that they were given the name garanuug, that means ‘’giraffe-necked’’ in Somali.
