Lichtenstein's hartebeest (''Alcelaphus buselaphus lichtensteinii'') is a subspecies of the

hartebeest The hartebeest (; ''Alcelaphus buselaphus''), also known as kongoni or kaama, is an Fauna of Africa, African antelope. It is the Monotypic taxon, only member of the genus ''Alcelaphus''. Eight subspecies have been described, including two som ...

antelope The term antelope refers to numerous extant or recently extinct species of the ruminant artiodactyl family Bovidae that are indigenous to most of Africa, India, the Middle East, Central Asia, and a small area of Eastern Europe. Antelopes do ...

that dwells in

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

s and

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...

s of Southeastern-

Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...

. It is sometimes classified as a unique species, ''Sigmoceros lichtensteinii''. It derives its name from zoologist

Martin Lichtenstein Martin H nrich Carl Lichtenstein (10 January 1780 – 2 September 1857) was a German physician, List of explorers, explorer, botanist and zoologist. He explored parts of southern Africa and collected natural history specimens extensively and ...

Description

It typically stands about at the shoulder and have a mass of around . It has a red-brown colour, which is lighter on the underbelly. The horns found on both sexes appear from the side to be shaped like the letter 'S', and appear from the front to be shaped like the letter 'O' with its upper portions missing. The horns are slightly ridged and reach over in length.

Behavior

They live on areas where they eat

grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...

es. They are diurnal (active in the day). They gather in herds of five to 15 females and calves with a single male, which leads them. The male stands sentry duty on

termite Termites are a group of detritivore, detritophagous Eusociality, eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of Detritus, decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, Plant litter, leaf litter, and Humus, soil humus. They are dist ...

mounds and the like. Males hold large territories, which they mark by digging up soil with their horns around the borders. Lichtenstein's hartebeest have good eyesight but a poor sense of smell. Their main sounds are a bellow and a sneeze-snort sound. They travel in herds. Herds are mainly kept between 1 and 10 individuals (89% of all LH in Tanzania have been within 1–10 animals. The herd may be composed of more than 10 individuals but it is seldom. (Booth 1985). It is noted that the highest number of Lichtenstein's Hartebeest congregating together occur in August/September. The exact reason is unknown however this is primarily when most calves are born. Add in local migration from other herds and it may a form of anti predator grouping to protect newborn calves. However, Bachelor males are often found alone countering the herd mentality (Dowsett 1966; Wilson 1966; Rodgers 1977). Bachelor bulls do not establish territories while solitary bulls will exclude others from their domain (Dowsett 1966). The ratio of male to female LH is 1:2.37. Lichtenstein's Hartebeest are very territorial mammals and there is no overlap in territories between bulls. The rutting period (breeding season) runs typically from mid October to January, although slight variations exist between different locations (Dowsett 1966). Bachelor bulls will often challenge alpha bulls until the point of complete exhaustion to take over the related female LHs. There are numerous stereotyped behaviour patterns in the repertoire of the genus Alcephalus that are directly associated with territorial defence (von Richter 1972). Amongst these, pawing and horning the earth are the most conspicuous. In Zimbabwe the most conspicuous body movements were the "head-to-flank", in which the head is rubbed against the shoulder, and a "head-flagging" movement in which the hartebeest shook its head up and down vigorously when alarmed. Hartebeests mark their territory by forming dung piles in their respective territories.

References

{{Authority control Lichtenstein's hartebeest Mammals of South Africa Mammals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mammals of Zambia Mammals of Angola Mammals of Mozambique Mammals of Malawi Mammals of Zimbabwe Mammals of Southern Africa Lichtenstein's hartebeest Lichtenstein's hartebeest Bovids of Africa