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Kobus lechelechwe

By Toni Lynn Newell

Ge­o­graphic Range

Lechwe are found in the south­ern sa­vanna in Africa. The pop­u­la­tion is cen­tered in Zam­bia, but small pop­u­la­tions of lechwe are found along rivers in Zam­bia, An­gola, and Botswana (Estes, 1991).

Habi­tat

Lechwe pre­fer areas of the flood plains that bor­der swamps be­cause they are close to water and food. The largest pop­u­la­tions can be found on flat plains where the wet meadow is main­tained through­out the flood cycle. When there is ex­treme flood­ing, lechwe take refuse in the wood­lands (Estes, 1991).

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

Lechwe are medium-sized an­telopes, with heights rang­ing from 90 - 112 cm. The color of the lechwe is chest­nut with white un­der­parts, throat, and fa­cial mark­ings. Males darken with age. Lechwe have dark leg and body mark­ings, and these mark­ings vary in color, from black to red, and are no­tice­able be­tween the dif­fer­ent sub­species. The horns of the lechwe range in length from 45 - 92 cm and are rel­a­tively thin. Their hooves are adapted for swampy ter­rain. While lechwe do not have scent glands, their coats are greasy and have a dis­tinct odor (Estes, 1991).

  • Range mass
    61.6 to 128 kg
    135.68 to 281.94 lb

Re­pro­duc­tion

Lechwe breed in a two and a half month pe­riod dur­ing the rains, which is usu­ally be­tween No­vem­ber and Feb­ru­ary. Fe­males are able to breed as early as one and a half years of age but males are not ma­ture until five years of age. The ges­ta­tion pe­riod is seven to eight months, and two thirds of the calves are born in a two month peak, from mid-July to mid-Sep­tem­ber on the Kafue Flats. When the moth­ers give birth, they ei­ther do so singly or in small groups. Calves are born in cov­ered and dry areas and re­main con­cealed for two to three weeks. Moth­ers suckle their young both early and late in the day. Once they are done hid­ing, young calves form groups of up to 50 young, which are mainly in­de­pen­dent of their moth­ers. Calves are weaned in five to six months (Estes, 1991).

  • Key Reproductive Features
  • gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
  • sexual
  • Range number of offspring
    1 to 1
  • Average number of offspring
    1
    AnAge
  • Range gestation period
    7.17 to 8.27 months
  • Range weaning age
    5 to 6 months
  • Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
    Sex: female
    898 days
    AnAge
  • Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
    Sex: male
    1050 days
    AnAge
  • Parental Investment
  • extended period of juvenile learning

Lifes­pan/Longevity

Be­hav­ior

Male and fe­male lechwe re­main sep­a­rated from each other most of the year. Some males are strongly ter­ri­to­r­ial for part of the year. Fe­males and calves de­pend on water and are com­monly found near wet areas, while males do not re­quire as much water and are found at greater dis­tances from water sources. Males com­pete for their ter­ri­to­ries dur­ing the rut. The rest of the year they re­main in bach­e­lor herds. Fe­male herds are very open and are al­ways chang­ing. There is no def­i­nite leader in the fe­male groups. Within these groups, there is not any con­nec­tion be­tween in­di­vid­u­als ex­cept for moth­ers and calves that are in their first year. Lechwe are ac­tive in the hours be­fore sun­rise and for sev­eral hours af­ter­wards. Dur­ing the breed­ing sea­son, breed­ing areas known as leks are formed. These are not fixed in the same place from year to year be­cause of the in­con­sis­tency of the flood­ing cycle. The breed­ing peak is in the early rains. Fe­males enter the lek on their first day of es­trus and mate with one or more males. A few males dom­i­nate the mat­ing but lose sta­mina and are re­placed (Estes, 1991).

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

Food Habits

Lechwe eat nu­tri­tious grasses that are found in flooded mead­ows. In order to get to their food, lechwe will feed in water up to their bel­lies. Dur­ing the cool dry weather, they do not have to drink, but in the dry hot weather, they may need to drink up to three times a day (Estes, 1991).

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

Lechwe have been hunted and poached by hu­mans for profit (Estes, 1991). Also, lechwe are one of many African mam­mals that are a tourist at­trac­tion (Stu­art and Stu­art, 1995).

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

Lechwe are listed under the fol­low­ing: CITES - Ap­pen­dix II; US ESA - Threat­ened; and IUCN - Vul­ner­a­ble (Wil­son, 1993). A cen­tury ago, the lechwe poplu­la­tion may have num­bered half a mil­lion, but it has been drop­ping ever since then. The great­est change was be­tween 1971 - 1987. This was due to the build­ing of hy­dro­elec­tric dams that changed the nat­ural flood­ing cycle. Even poach­ing of these an­i­mals did not cause con­sid­er­able dam­age to the pop­u­la­tion (Estes, 1991).

Con­trib­u­tors

Toni Lynn Newell (au­thor), Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan-Ann Arbor.

Glossary

Ethiopian

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

World Map

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.

forest

forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.

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.

tactile

uses touch to communicate

threatened

The term is used in the 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals to refer collectively to species categorized as Endangered (E), Vulnerable (V), Rare (R), Indeterminate (I), or Insufficiently Known (K) and in the 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals to refer collectively to species categorized as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), or Vulnerable (VU).

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

Estes, R. 1991. The Be­hav­ior Guide of African Mam­mals. The Uni­ver­sity of Cal­i­for­nia Press. Berke­ley, Los An­ge­les, and Lon­don.

Stu­art, C.T. and M.D. Stu­art. 1995. Field Guide to the Mam­mals of South­ern Africa. Strurk Pub­lish­ers (Pty) Ltd. Cape Town.

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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 Kobus kob, lechwes, puku, and waterbuck
  • Species Kobus leche lechwe