The biggest antelope in Africa the Eland, 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 meters and can be bulkier than a buffalo. Common eland males are much larger than females, weighing 400-600 kilos more than females.
An Eland is a large savannah antelope only found in Africa. There are two species of eland with the common one also known as southern Elands.
The common Elands are found in the East and Southern African savannahs, woodlands and plains. They have a light brown or tan coat, often with faint white stripes on the sides and also have spiral horns. An adult male reaches a height of about 5.2 ft and can weigh up to 550 kg and females weigh up to 450 kg.
A Giant Eland is the largest antelope in the all world with a male weighing up to 550kg and a female up to 450 kg. They have a reddish brown coat with darker white stripes and larger spiral horns. They are sighted in forests and savannahs of west and central Africa.
Both species of Eland are known for their ability to jump at great heights and distances despite their large size. They use bearing movements and shout to warn each other of danger like presence of apex predators. They live in herds especially common elands live in herds of up to about 400 animals.
The Eland prefer living in open lands and less dense forests. They are source of meat in countries they reside and their milk is also said to be very nutritious as it contains much of butter fat and their meat is testy like cow meat. Their skin as well is used for leather.
Elands are indigenous species of Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania & Rwanda in east African countries. Our focus here will be on the common Eland.
Elands are capable of jumping up to 8 ft from a standing start when startled 9.8 ft for young elands they use this skills to escape from the predators like the lions leopards and the hyenas also they horn to defend themselves.
The common eland’s life expectancy is generally up to 20 years in wild, but in captivity they live up to 25 years in protected area.
They ruminate more than they graze, feeding in areas where shrubs and bushes provide the leaves to them and using their horns to bring twigs and branches into reach. They also consume certain fruits, large bulbs, and tuberous roots. Water is taken when it is available, but they can go for water during the dry season
Adult male eland will engage in dominance disputes, but these tend to be displays more than physical fights. Physical aggression does still occur, but typically males are able to effectively size each other up and declare a winner using a range of non-physical signaling.
Females with young calves come together in nursery groups. After the young are grown up to the age of about three months, the mothers rejoin the female herds and the calves remain together in the nursery group. With year-round births, some adult females are always present in a nursery group and they defend all underage present. Underage usually remain in the nursery groups until they are almost two years and join other loose groupings of their sex.
As human populations growing and agriculture activities, they are encroaching on elands living spaces and destroying habitats and food sources. They have been eliminated from more than 50 percent of their historic range due to human encroachment and since the 1970s, their population decreased dramatically because of civil wars and its aftermath in countries such as Uganda.
