The
sitatunga is East Africa’s only true amphibious antelope.It is distinguished
by its long, splayed hooves. These hooves make the sitatunga clumsy and
vulnerable on firm terrain, but well adapted for walking through muddy,
vegetated swamplands. The sitatunga's shaggy, oily coat is another adaptation
to an aquatic habitat.
The males' coats are grayish-brown, while the females'
are a reddish-chocolate brown, with six to eight vertical white strip on the
body. Males are also considerably larger than females and have long, twisting
horns. The sitatunga lives in thickly vegetated, muddy swamps, and marshes.
Sitatungas
are still found in small numbers in Saiwa Swamp National Park in western Kenya,
as well as in larger populations around Lake Victoria and the Selous Game
Reserve in Tanzania and in several river basins in Uganda.Sitatungas use
regular, tunneled pathways through tall reeds and papyrus.
As a swamp provides
a year-round supply of rich food, sitatungas have exceptionally small home
ranges. They are good but slow swimmers capable of paddling several miles.
Usually half-submerged, they can dive deeper if in danger, staying hidden with
only part of the head out of water. They will rest on dry mounds or floating
islands in the swamp, turning circles on the spot until the grass is trampled
into a springy mat. Young are also placed on these mats, raised out of the
water.
However, young sitatungas are more independent of their mothers than are
most antelopes. Half-grown sitatungas are often seen foraging on their own.
Although essentially solitary animals, pairs associate for short periods of
time for mating and small, temporary mixed groups are occasionally formed.
The young
are born on a dry, trampled mat in the swamp. The newborn lies out for as long
as a month, with only short visits from its mother for suckling. Although
nursed from 4 to 6 months, it is more independent of its mother than are most
other antelopes. The ties between mother and young do not last for long, for
half-grown sitatungas are often on their own.
Sitatungas eat bullrushes, sedges
and the leaves of bushes in the swamps, as well as grass in adjacent riverine
forests. They will also eat fallen fruit and chew the bark of some trees and
bushes.Sitatungas are easily caught by setting snares in their well-traveled
paths in swamps. Because of this, overhunting outside protected areas is causing
a rapid decline in their numbers. People are also destroying sitatunga
habit by draining swamps.
Source:www.awf.org
Source:www.awf.org
