Hartebeest

The Hartebeest. also known as kongoni or kaama, is an African antelope. It is the only member of the genus Alcelaphus. The hartebeest is a huge antelope that typically measures 200 to 250 cm in length for its head and body. It stands just over 1 m (3 ft 3 in) tall at the shoulder (79 to 98 in). The weight is between 100 and 200 kg (220 to 440 lb). It has a short neck, pointed ears, a particularly long forehead, and strangely formed horns. It has extraordinarily lengthy legs, which frequently have black patterns.

Typically, the coat is short and lustrous. The western hartebeest has a sandy brown coat, while the Swayne's hartebeest has a chocolate brown coat. Coat colors vary per subspecies. In every subspecies, both sexes have horns, though the females' are thinner. Horns can grow to be 45–70 cm (18–28 in) long. Apart from its long face, the large chest and the sharply sloping back differentiate the hartebeest from other antelopes. A conspicuous hump over the shoulders is due to the long dorsal processes of the vertebrae in this region.

Hartebeest often lives in dry savannas and woodland grasslands, but following rain, they frequently shift to drier areas. They have been reported from heights of up to 4,000 meters on Mount Kenya (13,000 ft). The hartebeest was once widely distributed throughout Africa, but because of habitat destruction, poaching, human settlement, and competition with cattle for food, population levels have drastically decreased. The conservation status of each of the eight subspecies of the hartebeest varies.