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Hoofed mammals
Sitatunga
Sitatunga · Tragelaphus spekii
Semi-aquatic antelope with long, splayed hooves that lives in dense reed beds and other well-vegetated wetland areas.
Fact file
- Size
- Males reach a length of 1.72–1.95 m, a shoulder height of 88–125 cm and a weight of 75–115 kg, females 1.55–1.8 m in length, 75–90 cm in height and 28–55 kg in weight.
- Males and females
- Adult males are larger than females and have long, slightly spiralled horns, while females are hornless and altogether paler to more reddish in colour.
- Diet
- Sitatungas feed mainly on papyrus, other reeds and water, dryland and floodplain grasses, and they also occasionally browse leaves as an important food source.
- Offspring
- After a gestation period of about 220 days the female usually gives birth to a single calf weighing around 4–5 kg, which remains hidden for several weeks; in some areas there are pronounced birth seasons, in others not.
How to identify Sitatunga
Sitatungas are antelopes with a hindquarters that is higher than the shoulders and rather long, shaggy fur, especially in the males. The colour of the males ranges depending on the subspecies from dark brown to grey-brown with variable white markings, while the females are reddish to bright chestnut brown.
Both sexes have a conspicuous white V-shaped marking between the eyes and usually white spots on the cheeks; the tail is dark on top and white underneath. Characteristic are the very long, narrow hooves that splay widely and make it possible to walk on mud and floating vegetation. Only the males have long, slightly spiralled horns.
Where Sitatunga live
Namibia
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