Bluebuck
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 Drawing of a Bluebuck from 1801.
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| Hippotragus leucophaeus Pallas, 1766 |
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 Former range (in red)
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The Bluebuck or Blue Antelope (Hippotragus leucophaeus) is an extinct species of antelope, the first large African mammal to disappear in historic times. It is related to the Roan Antelope and Sable Antelope, but slightly smaller than either. It lived in the southwestern coastal region of South Africa savannahs, but was more widespread during the last Ice Age. It was probably a selective feeder, preferring high-quality grasses.
Europeans encountered the Bluebuck in the 17th century, but it was already uncommon by then. European settlers hunted it avidly, despite its flesh being distasteful, while converting its habitat to agriculture. The Bluebuck became extinct around 1800. There are only four mounted specimens – in museums in Vienna, Stockholm, Paris, and Leiden – along with some bones and horns elsewhere. None of the museum specimens show a blue colour, which may have derived from a mixture of black and yellow hairs.
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[edit] Characteristics
Total length: 250-300 cm (bull); 230-280 cm (cow)
Shoulder height: 100-120 cm
Skull length: 396 mm
Horn length: 50-61 cm
Body mass: 160 kg
Eighteenth century travellers provided contradictory descriptions of this species, perhaps because some were embellishing, while others had not actually seen it and were simply repeating hearsay - Peter Kolb in 1719 incorrectly described it as having a long goat-like beard and tail, straight horns like an oryx, and short ears[1][2]. They did send some skulls and skins back to Europe. In 1967, Erna Mohr reported that the four existing mounted blue antelopes vary from 102 to 116 cm at the shoulder. Adult bluebuck probably rarely exceeded 160 kg. None of the four museum specimens shows any sheen of blue. The dark skin showing through the thinning fur of older animals may have caused the blue colours described by several authors or the mix of black and yellow hears. Like most antelopes, the bluebuck had six teeth along the cheek in each half of the upper and lower jaws. These formed two distinct series three premolars immediately followed by three molars. Its remains can be distinguished from those of the roan by smaller molars and premolars, and from the sable by larger premolars, and a higher ratio of premolar row length to molar row length.
The bluebuck was a large, horse-like antelope, as heavy as a Javan or English horse, but smaller than the roan or sable. The proportions of its body was similar to that of the southern reedbuck[3].
It had a relatively long, strong neck with a very short, underdeveloped mane[4], long white legs with dark bands on the anterior, and a long tail, up to the hock, with a dark, horse-like whisk. It had a long muzzle. Its ears were long and donkey-like, rufous and narrow-pointed, without the black tufts of hair found in the roan.
The long, scimitar-shaped horns inserted directly above the orbits, extending upwards at almost right angles to the skull , and then curving back gently, without any torsion, towards the shoulders[5]. These horns were heavily ridged, with 20-35 rings up to the tip of the horn, comparable to the roan (20-50 rings). Its horns were however more lightly built than those of the roan and sable, and slightly transversely compressed to the inside.
Its hair was short and glossy, and of a delicate light blue to grey - which quickly faded to a bluish grey after death. Its belly was pale white, and didn't actually contrast with the colour of the flanks. Its forehead and the upper muzzle was brown, becoming lighter towards the cheeks and upper lips. It had distinct white patches in front of the eyes not reaching the white muzzle.
The bulls resembled the cows up to the age of three years, after which they became paler (almost white) and developed large, more curved horns; the horns of the cows where more or less of the same length, although thinner and 10-20% smaller. The calves younger than 2 months were light tan, with no or very indistinct markings.
The back-curved horns reminded Jan van Riebeeck of the European ibex, and he called it the 'steinbok'. It remains uncertain how long this name was used, or when it was changed to 'blaauwbok' or bluebuck.
[edit] Range
When the Europeans settled in the Cape Colony in the 17th and 18th century, they found the Bluebuck on the coastal plains of the southwestern Cape Province[6], east of the Hottentot Holland mountains. It was never very common, and was probably restricted to an grassland area of less than 4 000 km2 in the triangle formed by the towns of Caledon, Swellendam and Bredasdorp, South Africa. Lieutenant W.J. St. John also recorded 'roans' of a bluish grey colour at Liebenbergsvlei (28º15’S, 28º29’O) near Bethlehem in the Free State Province on 28-29 July 1853, and it is now thought that he actually saw the last remnants of a relict populations of bluebuck.
From archaeological and palaeontological evidence it is known that the bluebuck had a wider distribution, and was more common, during the early Holocene Epoch 10 000 years ago. At one time it could be found on the coastal plain of the Cape Province from Elands Bay in the northwest to Uniondale in the east. Researchers of the National Museum in Bloemfontein have found San (Bushman) rock paintings near Ficksburg and Golden Gate Highlands National Park[7][8], while Pleistocene deposits (100 000 to 10 000 years ago) confirm its existence at Rose Cottage cave near Ladybrand[9].
[edit] Habitat
The early travellers found the bluebuck only in rolling grassland with extensive marshes and open areas with medium to long (0,5-1,5 m), perennial tuft grass and little hillside shrub. It was also at home at higher elevations, up to 2 400 m above sea-level. It was susceptible to droughts, and water was a necessary habitat requirement.
They avoided areas with short grass, and woodland where trees formed a thick canopy or thickets. Habitat change, due to overgrazing of grassland by other species, like sheep, thus threathened this species.
[edit] Food
Like the roan and sable, it had to drink daily. Many other antelopes can obtain the moisture they need from the plants they eat and they can go for long periods without drinking. The bluebuck was a selective grazer of medium to long (0,5-1,5 m), perennial tuft grasses, like high-quality red grass (Themeda triandra), spear grass (Heteropogon contortus), buffalo grass (Panicum spp.) and love grass (Eragrostis spp.). Unlike most other antelope, it was not particularly attracted to fresh grass, except during the dry season, when it would graze for short periods along drainage-lines and on floodplains on the fresh growth following the yearly fires. However, like most grazers, it would probably browse during the dry season.
[edit] Behaviour
Most of its activities took place during the day, especially early in the morning and late in the afternoon.
Bluebucks followed the conventional territorial system among the Hippotragini or 'horse antelopes': territorial bulls, herds of cows and calves, and bachelor herds which were kept segregate by the territorial bulls.
Bluebuck cows and calves lived in small to medium-sized herds of 5 to 20 individuals, although herds of 35 to 80 was not unusual. They normally occurred at a low density of about 4/km2. Cows shared a traditional home range, which included the territories of several bulls and occupied it for up to 30 years. At very low densities in substandard habitat the cows ranged across larger areas, and were accompanied by the same bull, which in the abscence of resistance by territorial neighbours, defended a movable space around his own private harem.
Because they were equipped with long, dangerous horns, cows tended to be more aggressive than those antelope whose females are hornless. Dominance hierarchies based on age and individual prowess were vigorously maintained by both sexes. Maternal herds, comprising of animals that shared the same home range, were closed to outsiders. Herd members kept out of range of each other's horns, by increasing the individual space between them.
Herd composition changed daily and seasonally; members split into small groups during the rainy season, and concentrated into larger groups on the best available grazing near water during the dry season. The most cohesive groups were maintained by calves of different ages, which clustered around the youngest calf and usually lagged behind the herd.
Bulls were accepted in the natal herd up to the age of 15-18 months, which was unusually long. Until then, their similarity to cows suppressed the aggression of the territorial bulls. Subadult bulls were driven from the herd, and if these juveniles didn't escape quickly enough, they were killed. They then joined bachelor herds, where they stayed until they reached five or six years of age, when they would be strong enough to defend their own territory.
The adult bull would advertise his presence and high social status by standing or lying alone or away from the herd, at a conspicuous place. The bull stood in an erect manner, which was a sign of high status, and it was self-advertising if it was not directed. When another bull approached his herd, the dominant bull would stand with his neck arched, head high, and ears turned sideways. Unless the intruder showed submission by lowering his head, the bull kept his ears erect, and waved his tail or tucked it between his legs, and a clash of horns and head-butting would take place. Its sound was a blowing snort.
[edit] Reproduction
One calf, with a birth mass of 12-14 kg, was dropped after a gestation period of 268-281 days at any time of the year, with a peak during late summer. Bluebuck are thought to have lived for up to 18 years.
[edit] Predators
The calves were vulnerable to attacks from spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), leopards (Panthera pardus) and wild dogs (Lycaon pictus). The adults were large and formidable, and resistant to predation in areas with low predator densities. They did sometimes fall prey to lions (Panthera leo), but were attacked with caution. Normally they would flee from predators, but when wounded, a bluebuck would lay down, preferably in a marsh, and defended itself with its razor-sharp horns - the angle-horn threat display indicating that it intended to stab sideways or over its shoulder.
[edit] History & Population
The Bluebuck or Blue Antelope was the first large African mammal to become extinct in historical times.
Shortly after the last Ice Age, about 10 000 years ago, the bluebuck must have been common in the far south of Africa, which was largely covered with grassy plains. Numerous finds of subfossil bones indicate a former distribution area from Elands Bay in the present Cape Colony to about 25° E at Uniondale, as well as in the Eastern Free State. Bluebuck numbers dropped about 3 200-2 000 years ago, due to the change of grassland into bush and forest when the climate became warmer.
They showed a sharp decline around 400 A.D., which coincided with the introduction of livestock, particularly sheep, by man at about that time. Competition for grazing with sheep, the resulting habitat degradation due to overgrazing, and diseases may all have contributed to a decline in bluebuck. Subsistence hunting could also have played a role - it is known that the Late Stone Age inhabitants of Rose Cottage cave hunted several game species, including bluebuck. To the San or Bushman the bluebuck was an important animal, since rock art indicates that these animals contained supernatural power.
Jan van Riebeeck mentioned a "steinbok" or ibex with back-curved horns near Cape Town, while the German Peter Kolb was the first to write about the existence of a "blaauwbok" or bluebuck in 1719. The bluebuck was clearly on its way to extinction, when European naturalists and hunters finally discovered it. Its range was already small when Europeans who settled in the Cape Colony in the 17th and 18th century first saw this antelope. The Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg noted in 1774 that these animals were becoming rare. European hunters and farmers hunted it mainly for its skin. Its meat was not fatty, and generally fed to the dogs, although it was just as tasty as that of deer. According to the German zoologist Martin Lichtenstein, the last bluebuck in the Cape Province was killed in 1799/1800 in the Swellendam district[10]. However, there is good evidence to suggest that an isolated remnant population still existed further north in the 18th century, and that the last bluebuck died in the Eastern Free State more than fifty years later.
[edit] Extinction Information
Cultivation of the Cape Colony and hunting with firearms made short work of the last small herds and the blue antelopes were gone before the early natural history cabinets and museum had a chance to obtain a fair number of specimens. In fact, it is a miracle that any were preserved at all.
[edit] Museum Specimens
There are four mounted Bluebuck skins: in the National Museum of Natural History “Naturalis” in Leiden (the Netherlands), and in the natural history museums of Stockholm (Sweden), Paris (France) and Vienna (Austria). Not counting the many bones excavated throughout the species' former range, there are two skulls, in Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and Glasgow (United Kingdom), and three pairs of horns, in Uppsala (Sweden), London (United Kingdom) and Cape Town (South Africa). None of these specimens is properly documented.
[edit] Relatives
Two close relatives of the bluebuck are the roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus) and the sable antelope (Hippotragus niger). Although some naturalists in the past classified the bluebuck merely as a subspecies of the roan, it is now generally accepted as a separate species. This is based on the fact that bluebuck and roan occurred in sympatry on the coastal plain of the southwestern Cape from Oakhurst to Uniondale during the early Holocene.
There were a lot of speculations that the Giant or Giant Sable Antelope (Hippotragus niger variani) had become extinct. There had been unconfirmed sightings in recent years, but no confirmed sightings for 20 years. This subspecies of the Sable Antelope did only occur in Angola, and there are none in zoos anywhere. An expedition headed to Angola on 14 August 2002 to search for the giant sable antelope. Scientists and others hope that this majestic antelope has survived the southwest African nation's decades-long civil war. The expedition had tried hunting for the antelope by helicopter, but the animals avoid sound at all costs. Interviews with tribal chiefs revealed that locals often sighted the animals in the Luando reserve so the expedition changed tactics and carried out ground surveys on foot. They recorded five separate sightings but were not able to take any photographs. These five animals, whose spectacular scimitar horns sweep back more than five feet over their heads, were spotted in Cangandala National Park in Malanje province in north-central Angola by a team led by Professor Wouter van Hoven of the University of Pretoria.
[edit] References
^ Smithers, R.H.N. 1983. Die soogdiere van die Suider-Afrikaanse substreek. Universiteit van Pretoria, Pretoria.
^ Stuart, C. & Stuart, T. 1996. Africa’s vanishing wildlife. Southern Book Publishers, Halfway House.
^ Loubser, J., Brink, J. & Laurens, G. 1990. Paintings of the extinct blue antelope, Hippotragus leucophaeus, in the Eastern Orange Free State. The South African Archaeological Bulletin 45 (152): 106-111.
^ Zaloumis, E.A. & Cross, R. 1987. A field guide to the antelope of Southern Africa. Natal Branch of the Wildlife Society of Southern Africa, Durban.
^ Colahan, B.D. 1990. Did the last blue antelope Hippotragus leucophaeus die in the Eastern Orange Free State, South Africa? Mirafra 7 (2): 51-52.
^ Comrie-Greig, J. 1992. Vrae en antwoorde - Bedreigde natuurlewe van Suider-Afrika. Struik Uitgewers, Kaapstad.
^ Smith, M. 10 Januarie 2001. Boesmantekeninge van uitgestorwe kwagga gekry. Volksblad: 5.
^ Woodhouse, B. 1996. The rock art of the Golden Gate and Clarens districts. William Waterman Publications, Rivonia.
^ De la Harpe, R. 2002. Puik vakansieplekke in Suid-Afrika. Sunbird Publishing, Kaapstad.
^ Skead, C.J. 1987. Historical mammal incidence in the Cape Province. Volume 1 – The Western and Northern Cape. The Department of Nature and Environmental Conservation of the Provincial Administration of the Cape of Goof Hope, Cape Town.
[edit] Other references
- Antelope Specialist Group (1996). Hippotragus leucophaeus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 06 May 2006. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is listed as extinct.
- Klein, R.G. 1974. On the taxonomic status, distribution and ecology of the blue antelope (Hippotragus leucophaeus). The Annals of the South African Museum 65 (4).
- Klein, R.G. 1987. The extinct blue antelope. Sagittarius 2 (3).
