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Photo: Yathin S Krishnappa · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source ↗
Red Hartebeest
Rooihartbees · Alcelaphus buselaphus
The red hartebeest is a tall, oddly shaped antelope with a long narrow face, a sloping back and high shoulders. Its coat is a glossy reddish-tan with dark markings on the legs and face, and both sexes carry knobbly, sharply angled horns set on a bony base. They are fast runners of open country and are not often seen in Kruger.
Log your Red Hartebeest sighting — free →How to identify it
Look for the very long narrow face and steeply sloping back, redder than the tsessebe with oddly angled bracket-shaped horns.
Look for its tracks
Long narrow cloven hoof, pointed halves like tsessebe's; the halves splay apart when it runs.
Where to see it in Kruger
Uncommon and localised on open plains, most likely seen in the central grasslands and far-southern areas.
Did you know
The hartebeest's long face holds extra-keen senses, and it can run for ages at a steady gallop without tiring.
Often confused with
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