Reedbuck

Reedbuck
(Latin = Redunca arundinum , Afrikaans = Rietbok, German = Grossriedbock)

(Latin = Redunca arundinum , Afrikaans = Rietbok, German = Grossriedbock)

Numbers: Fairly Low
Weight: 40 - 80 kg (88 - 176 lb)
Shoulder height: 80 -90 cm (32 - 36 in.)
Females horns: No

Found in the central and eastern parts of the Northern Province and Mpumalanga, including the warmer Kruger National Park, as well as in the whole of Swaziland, the mountainous tip of north east Free State, mountainous tip of east Lesotho, the whole of KwaZulu-Natal,and in the eastern highlands and coastal areas of the northern Eastern Cape.

Much more at ease in the lower and especially wet areas, while still quite well equipped for the highlands, is the Reedbuck. The female will hide her newborns in a soft bed between the reeds of a riverbed or vleiland with ample vegetation. She will confuse an intruder by secretly steering away from her fawn and even gliding into the water if the density of cover is failing her. Sometimes a reedbuck simply seems to have disappeared, while in fact it is hiding between the reed or floating debris, with only the nostrils above the surface. Not all the bulls are so subtle, though. They will more readily (and magnificently) crack open the reeds in awesome speed, bounding out of danger while having a kick or two just in case a lion tries to pursue in this terrain where the reedbuck is much more at home. Somewhat of an enigma is a low frequency sound which comes with every bound as it crashes through the reeds, but this do enhance the beauty of this flight!