Where do sitatungas live?
The sitatunga lives in thickly vegetated, muddy swamps, and marshes. Sitatungas are still found in small numbers in Saiwa Swamp National Park near Kitale, Rift Valley Province, Kenya as well as in larger populations around Lake Victoria, the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania, and in several river basins in Uganda.
Tags: Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, DRC, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Congo, Kazungula, Virunga, West/Central Africa
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What is a sitatunga?
The sitatunga is Africa’s only true amphibious antelope. It is distinguished by its long, splayed hooves. These hooves make the sitatunga clumsy and vulnerable on firm terrain but well-adapted for walking through muddy, vegetated swamplands. The sitatunga's shaggy, oily coat is another adaptation to an aquatic habitat. The males' coats are grayish-brown, while the females' are a reddish-chocolate brown, with six to eight vertical white stripes on the body. Males are also considerably larger than females and have long, twisting horns.
Sitatungas eat what is convenient.
Sitatungas eat bulrushes, sedges, and the leaves of bushes in the swamps as well as grass in adjacent riverine forests. They will also eat fallen fruit and chew the bark of some trees and bushes.
They are swamp creatures.
Sitatungas use regular, tunneled pathways through tall reeds and papyrus. As a swamp provides a year-round supply of rich food, sitatungas have exceptionally small home ranges.
Slow and steady wins the races.
They are good but slow swimmers capable of paddling several miles. Usually half-submerged, they can dive deeper if in danger, staying hidden with only part of the head out of water. They will rest on dry mounds or floating islands in the swamp, turning circles on the spot until the grass is trampled into a springy mat. Young are also placed on these mats, raised out of the water.
Young sitatungas are more independent than most antelopes.
Although essentially solitary animals, pairs associate for short periods of time for mating, and small, temporary mixed groups are occasionally formed. The young are born on a dry, trampled mat in the swamp. The newborn lies out for as long as a month, with only short visits from its mother for suckling. Although nursed from 4 to 6 months of age, it is more independent of its mother than are most other antelopes. The ties between mother and young do not last for long, for half-grown sitatungas are often on their own. Half-grown sitatungas are often seen foraging alone.