One of the 2 elands on WAnimals
Mammals · Artiodactyla · Bovidae
Derby Eland
Taurotragus derbianus
It faces a high risk of extinction in the wild over the medium term. See full glossary
The giant eland, or Lord Derby eland, is the largest antelope in the world, with bulls that can exceed a tonne. It has a reddish coat crossed by up to fifteen vertical white stripes, a prominent dewlap and spiral horns that can be more than a metre long. It lives in miombo woodland and wooded savanna, and browses leaves and branches that it reaches by bending the branches down with its horns. The western subspecies, in Senegal, is one of the most threatened in Africa, with a few hundred animals left.
Weight
300 kg – 1 t
Size
2.2 m – 3.5 m
Lifespan
20 years
Diet
Herbivore
Feeds mainly on plants.
Activity
Crepuscular
Active above all at dawn and dusk.
Social structure
Herd
Lives in large groups as a strategy against predators.
Sighting difficulty
Moderate
Fun facts
- GeneralThe largest antelope in the world, with spiral horns up to 1.2 m long.
- It is the largest antelope in the world: an adult bull can exceed a tonne, more than many buffalo.
- It uses its horns as a tool: it hooks high branches and bends them down to reach the leaves, behaviour it shares with very few ungulates.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
- Habitat & environment
- Miombo woodland and wooded savannah of West and Central Africa
- Size at birth
- Precocial: on its feet within half an hour, although it stays hidden for the first few weeks
- Sexual maturity
- 3 years
- Gestation / incubation
- 8.7 months
- Litter / clutch size
- 1
Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taurotragus_derbianus
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: The dry season, from February to May, at Niokolo-Koba (Senegal) and in the savannahs of Cameroon and Chad, when the vegetation is thinnest.
Where to watch it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Derby Eland — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Waterbuck
Kobus ellipsiprymnus
Kob
Kobus kob
Hartebeest
Alcelaphus buselaphus
Common Duiker
Sylvicapra grimmia
Least ConcernOribi
Ourebia ourebi
Roan Antelope
Hippotragus equinus
How to help
The derby eland is classified as vulnerable. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 2 real protected areas — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about derby eland.
Comments
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