Tragelaphus buxtoni
mountain nyala

Tragelaphus buxtoni is found in the highland mountains of Ethiopia. At one time, these animals ranged all over the southeastern mountains of Ethiopia. Currently, the range of T. buxtoni is limited to the Bale massif.

(Kingdon, 1997; Haltenorth et. al., 1977)

Mountain nyalas live in woodland, bush, heath, and moorland areas at high altitudes, ranging from 3000 to 4200 meters. During the dry season, T. buxtoni spends time in woodlands, heath, and bush. During the rainy seasons, time is spent at lower elevations in grassland areas.

(Kingdon, 1997)

T. buxtoni is a large bovid, weighing between 200-225 kg. The head and body length of these animals is 190 to 260 cm.

T. buxtoni has a grey-brown coat with two to five white strips down the flanks, and six to ten body spots. The coats of males darken with age, and have longer hair on the shoulders, neck, and back of thighs than do the coats of females. The coats of females are short and glossy all over. During the cold season, the coat can become shaggy. Calves are yellowish-brown without body strips. Horns, borne only by males, have 1.5 to 2 spirals, and the record length of horns is 188 cm. Ears are large and the tail is bushy and reaches down to the heels.

(Haltenorth, 1977; Kingdon, 1997; Nowak, 1999)

T. buxtoni is estimated to live in the wild for 15 to 20 years.

(Huffman, 2001)

Groups of mountain nyalas are led by females accompanied by their offspring and tend to consist of up to 13 individuals. Males are solitary, especially older males. Young males band together at times in groups of 2 or 3. Males often have horn wrestling matches or circling displays. Males have a range of up to 20 square kilometers. Females have a range of 5 square kilometers. Borth males and females show some dominance heirarchies.

Mountain nyalas are active during the day, and feed mostly during the morning and evening.

(Kingdon, 1997)

T. buxtoni generally feeds in the evenings and mornings. Mountain nyalas are browsers, and consume many species of grasses, herbs, and woody plants. They are known to eat shrubs, herbs, St. John's wort, lady's mantle, goosegrass, and plants in the tomato family.

(Massicot, 2001)

The main predator on T. buxtoni is the leopard. However, poaching is another problem they face.

Newborn mountian nyalas use crypsis to evade predation. They lie alonein deep cover until they are large enough to travel with their mother's social unit. (Huffman, 2003)

Leopards, the principle predators of T. buxtoni are active at night, so it is likely that anything else these animals do to evade this predator occurs after dark. The species may have particular sleeping practices, such as sleeping in groups or in protected locations, that help reduce their vulnerability to predation.

As generalized browsers, mountain nyalas affect many plant populations. They make nutrients from plants available to large carnivores, providing a critical link in food webs.

There are no adverse effects of this species on humans.

Humans have been known to poach these animals. There is therefore some benefit to humans imparted by these animals, in the form of food and trophies.

Humans have limited the habitat of T. buxtoni. There are currently only some 3000 total in the world, most of them confined to the Bale National Park.

(Nowak, 1999)

This species was not discovered until 1909 by Ivor Buxton. It was described by Lydekker in 1910. Its name is misleading in that mountian nyalas are more closely related to kudus than to nyalas.

(Huffman, 2001)