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Tsessebe
Damaliscus lunatus
-23.2683, 30.9906
Field Notes
Description:
Adult tsessebe can be anywhere between 150 cm and 230 cm in height. They are quite large animals with males weighing 137 kg and females weighing 120 kg on average. Their horns are anywhere from 37 cm for females to 40 cm for males. For male Tsessebes horn size plays an important role in territory defense and mate attraction although horn size is not positively correlated with territorial factors of mate selection. Their body's are chestnut-brown. The front of their face and tail tuft are black, the forelimbs and thigh are greyish or bluish-black. Their hindlimbs are brownish-yellow to yellow and their belly's are white. In the wild tsessebe usually live to become a maximum of fifteen years of age. However, in some areas their average life-span is drastically decreased due to over-hunting and the destruction of habitat.
Habitat:
Tsessebe can travel up to 5 kilometers to reach a viable water source. In order to avoid encounters with territorial males or females, tsessebe usually travel along territorial borders even though it leaves them open to attacks by lions and leopards
Notes:
There are several behaviors that strike scientists as peculiar. One such behavior is the habit of sleeping tsessebe to rest their heads mouth down on the ground with their horns sticking straight up into the air. Male tsessebe have also been observed standing in parallel ranks with their eyes closed bobbing their heads back and forth. These habits are peculiar because scientists have yet to find a proper explanation for their purposes or function.
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