The second day after I had arrived in Blantyre, Malawi,
Judith, and my 2 grandchildren and I went to Game Haven which was 15 minutes
from their home. It is a small game park
and although it does not have some of the ‘bigger’ animals, you can see more
Deer/Antelope there. The Nyala was one of the first antelope I saw and wish to
show you today.
It is a medium-sized antelope with a body that appears
slender. Male bulls are dark brown to
grey, growing more grey with age. Legs
are tan. Nyala are noted for their
striking white body striping and long, bushy tail with white underside. Both sexes have a white throat patch, lips
and chin and spots that may persist on hindquarters and 2 to 3 spots on
cheeks.
Females lack horns and have a burnt orange coat with slender white stripes like young. Females 3 ft at the shoulder, weighing 120 to 150 lbs.
Nyala
have a very shy, reclusive nature, appraoching open spaces with caution. Prefer life in dry savannahs with dense brush
near water. Do not venture far from
water sources. Stage in brush during
daylight hours, coming to water around sunset.
Generally docile, but will attack humans if cornered and males spar
casually in the presence of an estrous female.
Nyala are almost exclusively browsers of leaves except
when grass shouts are young and green.
They feed on fruits, pods, twigs and leaves. Acacia leaves and pods are most utilized in
the wild. May dig up tubers and gnaw
tree bark. Most browsing takes place
during late afternoon hours, moving into open areas to graze only in darkness.
I was wondering what the difference between Deer and Antelope
was and in case someone (like me) does not know, here is the answer.
The most prominent difference between
antelopes and deer is that male deer have antlers which they shed and grow
every year while antelopes have horns that are permanent. Another difference is
that deer antlers are branched and antelope horns are not. Antelopes belong to
family Bovidae (as do sheep, goat and cattle), while deer belong to family
Cervidae. Both are even-toed ungulates (hoofed animals) and ruminant mammals.
Majority of breeding takes place in spring and autumn
(can occur year round). Females mature
at 11 to 12 months and males at 18 months (though not socially mature until
around 5 years of age). A single young
is born, normally from August to October, after a gestation period of 8 to 9
months.
They breed at any
time, but peak season is spring and autumn.
After nyala ewes give birth they will hide the newborn for the first 3
weeks or so, returning to nurse and relocate the lamb. When the lamb can keep
up on its own it is allowed to join the herd.
This behavior is similar to that of kudu, sable and some other species
of antelope. Their alarm call is a
sharp, dog-like bark.
Bulls have a white chevron across face. Males develop manes along upper and lower neck, belly, and ridgeline of their backs. Horns of bulls grow upward and spiral loosely 1 to 1.5 times. Reach lengths of 21 to 33 inches and are yellow-tipped. Males stand 3.5 ft and weigh 190 to 290 lbs;
Manes
of males fluff as animal becomes excited.
Males also use this fluffing as part of an elaborate display of
dominance. I wanted you to see the display between the bulls so you can access this video (not mine) at
http://youtu.be/0nYa8kv976E
Thank you Kim Wolhuter from Wildcast for the video.
Nyala generally live 14 to 16 years.
I made a short video of the female Nyala and in the last few frames of the video you will see a Roan Antelope. More about them another day!
You can access it at
http://youtu.be/77xD7snl44o
If there is a black space below, click it and the video
will appear.
I hope you enjoyed this first animal I saw in Malawi because I have many more to show you over the coming weeks! I had to photograph with the
vehicle running all the time and excited children jumping around!!
By the way, my camera gave up the ghost (remember I got water in it before I left for Malawi), well yesterday I bought a new up dated one and took it out for my first photo shot) to the Walled Garden in Bangor. I will have to get used to it!
Thank you for visiting.
Many thanks for all your comments.
