Nile Lechwe
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| Kobus megaceros (Fitzinger, 1855) |
The Nile Lechwe (Kobus megaceros) is an antelope found in floodplains in Southern Sudan.
Nile Lechwe stand 90 to 100 centimetres at the shoulder and weigh from 70 to 110 kilograms. Females are golden-brown with a white underbelly and no horns. Males are chocolate brown to russet with a white 'hood' over the shoulders and small white patches over the eyes. They have long ridge structured horns which are vaguely 's' shaped in profile.
Nile Lechwe are found in marshy areas where they eat aquatic plants. Nile Lechwe are crepuscular, they are active in the early morning and late afternoon. They gather in herds of up to fifty females and one male or in smaller all male herds.
During mating season, young males bend their horns to the ground as if to poke the earth. Then they urinate onto their long throat and cheek hair. Males fight in the water, their heads submerging in horn-to-horn combat. These contests are usually short and violent. Females are quite loud, making a toad-like croaking when moving.
[edit] References
- Antelope Specialist Group (1996). Kobus megaceros. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 10 May 2006.
