Puku
| Puku | ||||||||||||
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Male puku in South Luangwa National Park , Zambia |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Kobus vardonii | ||||||||||||
| ( Livingstone , 1857) |
The puku ( Kobus vardonii ) is an African antelope belonging to the waterbuck genus . With the scientific name, the Africa researcher David Livingstone honored his friend, the big game hunter Frank Vardon (1813-1860).
description
The Puku reaches a shoulder height of up to 81 centimeters and weighs 73 kilograms.
The coat is predominantly golden yellow, somewhat lighter on the flanks and gray-white on the underside. The throat is white. The legs are uniformly brown and the frond is golden yellow. Male pukus have relatively short, strong, lyre-shaped horns with clear rings. They become up to 52 centimeters long. The shoulder height is about 80 centimeters. Their relationship to the waterbuck can be seen particularly well on the head.
Distribution and habitat
The species is widespread in Central Africa and Southern Africa , where it occurs mainly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , Zambia , Botswana (exclusively in the Chobe National Park ), Namibia and Angola . The habitat are alluvial plains and swamps.
Behavior and food
The size of the female herds varies between 5 and 30 animals. Males are territorial loners. Pukus can move like galloping horses with a short suspension phase. Most of them are very trusting. They prefer grass for food.
Systematics
Although the puku was once regarded as the southern variant of the Kob , it differs from this mainly in size and in its social behavior, so that today it is mostly classified as a separate species.
supporting documents
literature
- CA Spinage: The Natural History of Antelopes . Croom Helm, London 1986, ISBN 0-7099-4441-1
Web links
- Kobus vardonii in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: Antelope Specialist Group, 2008. Accessed on January 1 of 2009.
- Britta Meyer: Wildlife of special interest (PDF file, 87 kB; English)