Gazelles are medium-sized antelopes that are found in the Savanna throughout Kenya and Tanzania. They tend to live in herds that can reach as many as several hundred animals. Their diet consists of grasses, shoots, and leaves. Open plains make them visible to predators like cheetahs, wild dogs, hyenas, leopards and more, but gazelles can reach speeds of 55 miles an hour allowing them to make a quick escape.
Catch a glimpse of Grants Gazelles in Nairobi.
Sable antelopes can be found in the Savanna woodlands and they tend to avoid open, grassy plains due to that being the home to some of their predators, such as lions, leopards, hyenas, wild dogs, crocodiles, and humans. Sable antelopes can be quite aggressive; they can kill a predator with their horns and can also kick and bite. Their horns are one of the reasons they are hunted by humans, as they are a highly prized hunting trophy.
A large member of the antelope family, the common wildebeest can reach 8 feet in length, stand over 4 feet tall at the shoulders, and weigh up to 600 pounds. They live on the grassy plains and the acacia savannas of central, southern, and eastern Africa, particularly the Serengeti in Tanzania and Kenya. Wildebeest migrate close to 1,000 miles each year following the patterns of rainfall across Africa. Close to 500,000 calves are born in February and March each year and have an average lifespan of 20 years.
Also known as the Greater Kudu, these animals are one of the large types of antelope. They can be found living in the woodlands of Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. Greater Kudus can reach 6 to 8 feet in length, stand 3 to 5 feet tall at the shoulder, and can run up to 62 miles an hour. They eat an abundance of leaves, grass, fruit, and flowers.
Bongos can only be found in the African rain forests. They can weigh from 500 to nearly 900 pounds, and their horns can grow to be up to 40 inches long. Bongos will eat mostly grass, but can also eat herbs and leaves from shrubs and trees, and they are always close to water. Bongos are considered critically endangered, the Bongo population has declined 20 percent over three generations, mostly due to being hunted by humans in neighboring communities.
Nyalas are a rather large antelope that inhabits the dense woodlands and thickets along permanent water. Their diet consists of grazing and leaves, fruit and flowers. Nyalas are often found in some game reserves, and their curved horns are a highly prized hunting trophy, which makes poaching one of the biggest threats. Today over 80 percent of the total population of Nyalas is protected in national parks and sanctuaries throughout South Africa, such as Kruger National Park.
