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Mountain Reedbuck

Scientific name: Redunca fulvorufula.
Common name: Mountain Reedbuck
Afrikaans: Rooiribbok

Description

Description. Greyish upperparts, yellower on the neck with white underparts. The tail is bushy, grey on top and white underneath. The coat is thick and woolly. Only males have horns rising from the top of the head almost straight back with tips hooked sharply forward. Females have two pairs of mammae in their hindlegs. Total length 1.3m (1.2 – 1.4m); head and body 1.15m (1- 1.25m); shoulder height males 75cm and females 70cm. Weight males 30kg (22-38kg); females 28kg (14.5-35kg).

Habitat

Dry, stony 20-30 slopes of hills and mountains, with grass cover and scattered bushes and trees. Up to 2 200m in Drakensberg. Dependent on water. May make seasonal movements.

Diet

Grazer, 99% of the diet is grass, select for species and leaves. Prefer short grass burned within the past year.

Behaviour

Most active in the early morning, late afternoon and at night. Rest during the day in the cover of bushes and trees. Herd members lie close together. Move down from slopes to feed and reach water at night. Spend longer feeding in winter to compensate for the poorer quality of the grass. Live singly or in small herds of 3-6, exceptionally in aggregations of up to 30. Mature rams hold territories of 8-30 ha. Males without territories live alone or in bachelor groups. Female herds have unstable membership and home ranges that overlap several male territories. Territorial rams chase young males out of breeding herds at 9-15 months.

Conservation status

IUCN Red List: Least concern. SA Red Data Book: Least Concern.

References

  • Peter Apps, Mammals of Southern Africa, A Field Guide (2012) Page 258-260
  • Madelein J Grundlingh, Africa’s Mammals, Discovering 101 Species (2010) Page 138-139