Where does the waterbuck live?
The waterbuck is a large antelope found widely in sub-Saharan Africa, notably in South Africa, Benin, Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It inhabits scrub and savanna along rivers, lakes and valleys. It cannot tolerate dehydration in hot weather, and so lives close to sources of water. It is rather sedentary in nature.
What does the waterbuck eat?
It is predominantly a grazer, mostly found on grassland. It is gregarious: herds number six to thirty individuals, either nursery herds with females and their offspring, or bachelor herds. Males start showing territorial behaviour from the age of five years, but are most dominant from six to nine. Only males have the long, spiral horns, which curve backward, then forward, and are 55 to 99 cm long.
Is the waterbuck endangered?
No: the IUCN lists it as Least Concern. Because of its requirement for grasslands and water, it has a sparse distribution. Its 13 subspecies are grouped under two varieties: the common waterbuck and the defassa waterbuck. It stands 100 to 136 cm at the shoulder and weighs 160 to 240 kg.
