Hartebeest
What is a hartebeest?
The hartebeest is a large, fawn-colored antelope. Their most distinctive characteristics are a steeply sloping back, long legs, and elongated snout. Despite their ungainly appearance, they are as elegant, if not more than, other antelopes. They are one of the most recent and highly evolved ungulates and are far from clumsy. In fact, they are one of the fastest antelopes and most enduring runners — capable of reaching speeds of up to 70 km/h. These qualities gave rise to their name, which means “tough ox.” Their sedentary lifestyle seems to inhibit the mixing of populations and gene flow, and as a result, there are several subspecies of hartebeest.
Challenges
The hartebeest is competing with cattle for food.
As human populations are growing and cattle raising expands, hartebeests have found themselves competing for the grasses they love to eat.
Hartebeests are easily hunted.
Humans are hunting the hartebeest. These large antelopes are fairly sedentary and, as such, are easy hunting targets.
Solutions
Our solutions to protecting the hartebeest:
