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Classification
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Pelea
capreolus
Vaal rhebuck, Gray rhebok
Taxonomy
General Characteristics
Body Length: 105-125 cm / 3.5-4.1 ft.
Shoulder Height: 70-80 cm / 2.3-2.6 ft.
Tail Length: 10-20 cm / 4-8 in.
Weight: 18-30 kg / 40-66 lb.The thick, wooly coat is greyish brown above and lighter below, with the inner thighs and underside of the bushy tail white. The fronts of the lower legs are darker. The body is small, with long, graceful limbs and a slender neck. The long ears are slender and pointed. There is a dark facial blaze, and the nostils are bulbous and black. A white eye ring contrasts sharply with the black-lidded eyes. The stiletto-like horns are found only in males, and rise directly above the eyes. Bent forward slightly, they grow 15-29 cm / 6-11.6 inches long.
Ontogeny and Reproduction
Gestation Period: 8.5-9 months.
Young per Birth: 1.
Sexual Maturity: At 1-1.5 years.
Life span: 8-10 years.Mating occurs in April, with births taking place in late November and December. The young lie hidden away from their mothers for as little as a few days to 6 weeks after birth.
Ecology and Behavior
Active during the day in sporadic bouts of grazing and resting, the rhebuck generally rests in shade during the noon hours. While the rest of the herd forages or rests, an appointed 'sentinel' watches for signs of danger. If a threat appears, this guard makes a cough-like grunt to alert the rest of the family, and then leads the group to less accessible ground. The rhebuck has a jerky, rocking gait, and when in flight holds it tail erect, displaying the white underside. An agile climber, the rhebuck is also a good jumper. The dominant male in a harem herd is territorial, defending a central home range from intrusion by other males. This home territory is generally 15-80 hectares un size, smaller in the summer and larger and at lower altitudes in the winter. Males are extremely aggressive during the breeding season, with conflicts quickly escalating from posturing and vocalizing to serious fighting, where it is not uncommon for one of the contestants to be killed.Family group: Small harem herds about 12 animals in size consisting of one male, a few females, and their offspring. Adult males who are not able to control a herd are solitary.
Diet: Grasses, leaves.
Main Predators: Lion, leopard, hyena, Cape hunting dog, python, jackal.
Distribution
Slope and plateau grasslands and scrub above 1,000 m / 3,300 ft. in South Africa.
Range Map (Redrawn from Kingdon, 1997)
Conservation Status
The rhebuck is classified as a low risk, conservation dependent species by the IUCN (1996).
Remarks
Great controversy surrounds the relationships between this 'antelope' and the rest of the Bovidae - different authors have grouped the rhebuck with reedbucks, dwarf antelope, and goats. To prevent complete confusion, it is generally given its own subfamily - Peleinae. On a more commercial note, it is said that the popular sneaker "Reebok" is named after the rhebuck. Pelea is a corruption of phele, this antelope's Tswana name. Caper (latin) a goat; -olus (Latin) diminutive suffix.
Literature Cited
Kingdon, J. 1997. The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals. Academic Press, London and New York: NaturalWorld.Nowak, R. M. [editor]. 1991. Walker's Mammals of the World (Fifth Edition). Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Walther, F. R. 1990. Reedbucks, waterbucks, and impalas. In Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals. Edited by S. P. Parker. New York: McGraw-Hill. Volume 5, pp. 448-461.
Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder [editors]. 1993. Mammal Species of the World (Second Edition). Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. Available online at http://nmnhwww.si.edu/msw/
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© Brent Huffman, www.ultimateungulate.com |
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