Ourebia ourebi
oribi

The distribution of Ourebia ourebi is patchy and discontinuous throughout the grasslands of central and southern Africa. It is found in the moist areas of Northern and Southern savanna, across Guinea Savanna to Ethiopia and south through western East Africa to Tanzania (Estes, 1991).

Ourebia ourebi live in open grasslands. They prefer short grasses with patchy areas of tall grasses to provide hiding places. They like grasslands that are not extremely tall or dense and with some bushes. They avoid steep slopes.

The oribi has silky, yellow to reddish-brown coat with white fur on underparts of body and rump. Also, it has a distinctive white line of fur over its eye and a bare, dark patch beneath each ear. Ourebia ourebi also has a tuft of long hair on each "knee" and a short black tail (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2004). It has very distinct preorbital glands that fill most of the space between the eye and mouth. These glands appear as vertical folds on the side of the face. The oribi stands about 50-66cm to the shoulder and has a body length ranging from 92-110cm. It has very long legs and neck. Males have small, spike like horns that range from 8-19cm in length (Smith, 1985). (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2004; Smith, Stephen J., 1985)

Ourebia ourebi breeds throughout the year, with its peak season in October and November (Openshaw, 1993). The oribi has a monogomous to polygynous mating system with the males maintaining the territory and sharing it with one to two or more females. Females are able to conceive as early as ten months and males are sexually active by fourteen months (Estes, 1991). Their gestation period lasts from six to seven months and one young is borne at a time. (Estes, 1991; Openshaw, 1993)

Ourebia ourebi are solitary mammals or live in pairs. Occasionally they travel in small groups with up to six members. They are active mostly during the day. Ourebia ourebi is one of the few mammals that benefits from wild fires. Once a fire is finished the oribi return to the area and eat the fresh green grass.

Adult males mark their territory with secretions from their preorbital glands. They patrol their area, marking the grass with combinations of black secretions from the preorbital glands and urination and defecation.

The oribi is both a grazer and browser. It grazes during the wet season when fresh grass is readily available, and it browses when drought occurs and fresh grass is less common. This herbivorous mammal consumes at least eleven different herbs and eats the foliage from seven different trees. It has also been known to visit mineral licks every one to three days (Kingdon, 1982).

Natural enemies of the oribi include leopards, caracals and pythons. Young oribi also are threatened by jackals, the Libyan wildcat, ratels, baboons, eagles and monitors.

Ourebia ourebi is hunted for food and by recreational hunters.

Ourebia ourebi occasionally cause damage to field crops such as wheat and oats because these foods resemble their natural diet (Kingdon, 1982).

The combination of continued agricultural and urban development, bush encroachment and increased vulnerability to poachers threatens the persistance Ourebia ourebi.

Protected areas (parks, wildlife refuges) exist to provide a safe environment for this species. The IUCN has listed the species as "Lower Risk, but Conservation Dependent." This means that if current conservation efforts were ended, the species would be in greater danger of extinction.