An Assortment of Antelope

Because I like antelope…in no particular order.

Lesser Kudu (Tragelaphus imberbis): The lesser kudu, although not nearly as famous as their “greater” cousins, are still pretty cool. They are slightly smaller than the greater kudu, standing at about 35 to 43 inches tall at the shoulder. Males are grey-brown in color while females are more reddish. Both sexes have white stripes going down their backs. Both lesser and greater kudu males have spiral horns. Lesser kudu can be found in East Africa eating leaves, playing badminton, and trying not to let their population dip below 118,000 individuals. Although considered the less-interesting accountant cousin to the greater kudu, the lesser kudu are one of the fastest antelope. So take that greater kudu.

Sable Antelope (Hippotragus niger): Another inhabitant of the woodland of East Africa is the sable antelope, so named because the male of the species is sable (a fancy way of saying “really dark brown”). Females are slightly less dark and roam in herds led by a single bull. More progressive than other antelope, the sable antelope exhibits horns in both sexes, although those of the male tend to be longer (insert joke here:____________________________). Their scimitar-shaped horns make the sable antelope quite formidable, and are used to fight off predator attack. Unfortunately, other creatures, notably human hunters, have found those horns useful too (for wall decorating), and sable antelope numbers are in a slight decline. Sad day.

Gerenuk (Litocranius walleri): If E.T. and Janice Dickenson had a baby, and that baby was also an antelope, it would be a gerenuk. These creatures are the freaks of the antelope world, but they are awesome freaks. Gerenuk are a long-necked antelope found in East African scrubland. The male and female look similar, although only the male have horns. They are the only member of the genus Litocranius, which is sad. As their long necks suggest, gerenuk eat leaves from bushes and trees that are high up. The look super cute when they eat. They stand on their little skinny legs and lift their little skinny necks and stretch out their little skinny tongues and eat leaves. They also tend to go up on their hind legs if the leaves are too high. If I ever become a crazy multi-billionaire with a menagerie, I want some gerenuk in that menagerie.

Well, that’s enough antelope for now. A few more may show up on this blog eventually, but antelope information is best acquired in manageable batches.