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Taurotragus oryxeland

By Bridget Fahey

Ge­o­graphic Range

Con­fined to Africa from Ethiopia and south­ern Zaire to South Africa.

Habi­tat

Elands live in both steppe and sparse forests. They are also found in semi­desert areas and at el­e­va­tions up to 14400 ft. Dur­ing the heat of the day, they are often found in shaded areas.

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

Eland males are much larger than fe­males, weigh­ing 400-1000 kg com­pared to 300-600 kg for fe­males. Hides are a uni­form fawn color with some ver­ti­cal white strip­ing on the upper parts. A dewlap, thought to be an adap­ta­tion for heat dis­s­ap­a­tion, hangs from the throat and neck. Heavy horns are twisted in a corkscrew fash­ion and grow up to 4 ft. long on males, 2.2 ft. long on fe­males. A short mane oc­curs on the nape, and males have long hairs on the throat.

  • Range mass
    300 to 1000 kg
    660.79 to 2202.64 lb
  • Average basal metabolic rate
    190.209 W
    AnAge

Re­pro­duc­tion

Dom­i­nant males mate with mul­ti­ple fe­males. In some areas, there are dis­tinct breed­ing sea­sons--in Zam­bia, for ex­am­ple, young are born in July and Au­gust. Ges­ta­tion lasts from 8.5-9 months and only sin­gle young are born. Male young weigh be­tween 28-35 kg, while fe­male young weight be­tween 23-31 kg. Small calves lie in con­ceal­ment rather than re­main­ing with their moth­ers. Wean­ing oc­curs after 6 months, and sex­ual ma­tu­rity oc­curs at about 3 years. Max­i­mum lifes­pan is 25 years. Young often as­so­ci­ate in groups of their peers.

  • Key Reproductive Features
  • gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
  • sexual
  • Range number of offspring
    1 to 2
  • Average number of offspring
    1.02
  • Average number of offspring
    1
    AnAge
  • Range gestation period
    8.8 to 9.27 months
  • Average gestation period
    9.1 months
  • Average weaning age
    6 months
  • Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
    Sex: female
    589 days
    AnAge
  • Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
    Sex: male
    571 days
    AnAge

Lifes­pan/Longevity

Be­hav­ior

Herds usu­ally num­ber up to 25 in­di­vid­u­als, al­though larger tem­po­rary ag­gre­ga­tions of fe­males and calves occur dur­ing the wet sea­son. There may be more than one adult male in a herd, but there is a strict dom­i­nance hi­er­ar­chy that con­trols ac­cess to breed­ing fe­males. Home ranges of fe­males, which make ex­ten­sive move­ments dur­ing the wet sea­son, are much than those of males, . Male ter­ri­to­ries occur pri­mar­ily in wooded areas. Fight­ing be­tween males is done with horns. Males feel out each oth­ers' horns, and then push with all their might.

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

Food Habits

The diet of elands con­sist of grasses, herbs, tree leaves, bushes, and suc­cu­lent fruits. They gen­er­ally for­age in open areas. Water is con­sumed vo­ra­ciously when avail­able, but elands can ab­stain from drink­ing in dry sea­sons.

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

Elands pro­vide large amount of ten­der meat, as well as high-qual­ity hides. There has been ef­forts to do­mes­ti­cate them for both their meat and their milk, which has much higher pro­tein con­tent and milk­fat than the milk of cows. To date, only one of these do­mes­ti­ca­tion at­tempts has been suc­cess­ful.

  • Positive Impacts
  • food
  • body parts are source of valuable material

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

None

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

Eland pop­u­la­tions have de­clined or have been ex­tir­pated in many parts of their range, but over­all are still rel­a­tively com­mon. Over­hunt­ing has been one cause of the de­clin­ing num­bers.

Other Com­ments

Nat­ural en­e­mies in­clude lions and African hunt­ing dogs. Al­though elands are mas­sive, they are ex­cel­lent jumpers and can clear heights of 1.5 me­ters.

Con­trib­u­tors

Brid­get Fahey (au­thor), Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan-Ann Arbor.

Glossary

Ethiopian

living in sub-Saharan Africa (south of 30 degrees north) and Madagascar.

World Map

altricial

young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

dominance hierarchies

ranking system or pecking order among members of a long-term social group, where dominance status affects access to resources or mates

endothermic

animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.

food

A substance that provides both nutrients and energy to a living thing.

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

scrub forest

scrub forests develop in areas that experience dry seasons.

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

social

associates with others of its species; forms social groups.

solitary

lives alone

tactile

uses touch to communicate

tropical savanna and grassland

A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.

savanna

A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.

temperate grassland

A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.

Ref­er­ences

Nowak, R.M. Walker's Mam­mals of the World, 5th Edi­tion. Johns Hop­kins Uni­ver­sity Press.

Grize­mek's En­cy­clo­pe­dia of Mam­mals. Mc­Graw-Hill Pub­lish­ing Co.

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Classification

Classification

  • Kingdom Animalia animals
  • Phylum Chordata chordates
  • Subphylum Vertebrata vertebrates
  • Class Mammalia mammals
  • Order Artiodactyla even-toed ungulates
  • Family Bovidae antelopes, cattle, gazelles, goats, sheep, and relatives
  • Genus Taurotragus elands
  • Species Taurotragus oryx eland