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            Common Eland

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            Common eland (Taurotragus oryx) in uganda

            The common eland (Taurotragus oryx), aka southern eland or eland antelope, is the world’s second-largest savannah and plains antelope. It is found in Lake Mburo National Park, Kidepo Valley, and Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve in Uganda.

            • Animals

            Common Eland

            June 9, 2020

            The common eland (Taurotragus oryx), aka southern eland or eland antelope, is the world’s second-largest savannah and plains antelope found in East and Southern Africa.

            In Uganda, the common eland is found in Lake Mburo National Park, Kidepo Valley, and Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve.

            It is slightly smaller than the giant eland, which measures over 1.8 metres and can be bulkier than a buffalo.

            Common eland males are much larger than females, weighing 200-400 kilos more than females.

            It has a rather bovine appearance: fawn-brown, with a large dewlap and short, spiralled horns, and in some cases, light white stripes on its sides. Its hide is a uniform fawn colour with some vertical white striping on the upper parts.

            A dewlap, thought to be an adaptation for heat dissipation, hangs from the throat and neck. Heavy horns are twisted in a corkscrew fashion and grow up to 4 ft. long on males and 2.2 ft. on females. It has a short mane on the nape, and males have long hairs on the throat.

            Common eland (Taurotragus oryx) in Uganda
            Common eland herds in Uganda usually reach 25 individuals

            Common Eland Behaviour

            Common eland herds in Uganda usually reach 25 individuals, although larger temporary herds of females and calves occur during the wet season. They may have more than one adult male in a flock, but a strict dominance hierarchy controls access to breeding females.

            Home ranges of females, which make extensive movements during the wet season, are much more populated than male territories, which occur primarily in wooded areas.

            Common elands fight with horns; they feel out each others’ horns and then push with all their might.

            Male Common Eland. Males are much larger than females, weighing 200-400 kilos more than females.

            Their Diet

            The common eland is a browser, utilizing a wide diversity of plant species consisting of grasses, herbs, tree leaves, bushes, and succulent fruits.

            They generally forage in open areas. They can exist for long periods without open water but rely on the fruits of Tsamas and Gemsbok Cucumbers to meet their water requirements.

            Eland Reproduction

            Dominant males mate with multiple females. Gestation lasts from 8.5-9 months, and only single young are born.

            Small calves lie in concealment rather than remaining with their mothers and wean their young after six months. Eland is sexually mature at three and can live to 25 years.

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            The Writer, Bert Baguma, is a Travel Writer & Digital Marketer with an off-the-charts enthusiasm for culture, the natural world. Like nature, he prefers visuals, smell, taste, touch; the raw experience of change.
            Uganda gorilla tour operator and DMC, Nkuringo Safaris
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