Waterbuck

A Waterbuck is a large, mostly herbivorous, antelope found around Saharan Africa. They usually range from 5’8 - 7’8 in length, and 3’9 to 4’5 in height. Being very muscular animals, males weigh from 437 to 578 lbs and females weigh anywhere from 161 to 214 lbs. Genders can also be distinguished by color, males are darker than females, but both genders get darker with age. Herds of waterbuck can range from six to thirty animals per herd.

The three different types of herds are nursery, bachelor, and territorial male herds. Around the age of five males start to become territorial and around the years of six to nine they are the most dominant. Males usually will stay in their territories but will occasionally leave a smaller area for a bigger space. The Waterbuck is always by a source of water because they can’t survive long being dehydrated in the sub-Saharan heat. Male waterbuck reach maturity at six, while females reaching it at two to three. Giving birth to more than one offspring at a time almost never happens, there are rarities that twins are conceived.