Eland - Taurotragus oryx
The largest antelope in Africa, eland
live in mixed herds, although like buffalo, the males may wander
off to form all male herds. Males grow to be much larger than the
females.
Despite their large size they are agile
creatures and good jumpers. They can clear each other's backs from
a standing start and can leap a good three metres off the ground.
Eland rub their foreheads in mud as
part of the bull's courtship display. The bulls have a patch of
glandular skin underneath the dark curly hair on the forehead from
which a sweet smelling secretion oozes. In the presence of a female
on heat, a bull will rub his forehead and horns in the mud, where
the female had urinated, often getting his forehead caked with smelly
mud that he rubs off again when he horns the ground and bushes as
part of the mating show.
Both sexes have a dewlap which
is a large flap of skin on the chest and which in males continues
to grow throughout their lives to eventually reach to below their
knees in old age. The purpose of the dewlap is unclear but it may
well be to assist cooling by increasing the surface area of the
skin. In the dry regions of Botswana eland can produce more meat
than cattle, particularly under drought conditions. A number of
farmers have introduced eland to their farms or changed completely
from cattle to eland farming. |
