Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Red Hartebeest

There are eight subspecies of hartebeest (Alcelaphus bucelaphus), one of which is now extinct and one, Coke's hartebeest (A. b. cokii), that we saw on our trip to East Africa. 
Red hartebeest in Etosha NP, Namibia. 
The red hartebeest, or Cape hartebeest (A. b. caama), is now found primarily in central Botswana and Namibia, with Makgadikgadi Pans and Etosha NP being two of the best places to see them. 
We saw them only once, our third day in Etosha NP, traveling east to go out the east entrance. They were set back from the road in some trees and started to move away from us when we stopped. 
The red hartebeest is golden brown with black legs, a black blaze down the nose, a white rump and abdomen and short twisted horns set high on the head. 
A better picture, from Wikipedia, gives a better indication of the markings. 

1 comment:

  1. Funky short horns and nose stripe--it looks like one of the African masks for sale in the gift shops.

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